When Dallas-area developer Fehmi Karahan fi rst shopped around the subject of a mixed-use component in West Plano’s Legacy area, he was greeted with skeptics. Critics dissed his idea of an open-air retail center within striking distance of the Shops at Willow Bend (Plano) and Stonebriar Mall (Frisco), both of which were being planned.
Additionally, “When I first started in 1998, my lender didn’t want to underwrite the office component,” said Karahan, who is president and CEO of Karahan Cos. Some 20 years later, things are much different. Karahan’s mixed-use Legacy West has been an undeniable success. And the open-air center — Shops at Legacy — has silenced critics; it’s been a good amenity draw for companies such as Toyota and FedEx, to name a few.
Karahan shared his story and experiences with participants at The Real Estate Council’s “Market Matters: Mixed-Use Summit,” which took place in February. In an interview with Greg Kraus, Invesco Real Estate Acquisitions Group Managing Director, Karahan discussed his upbringing in Istanbul, Turkey, and how it formulated the open-air marketplace idea that would eventually be the hallmarks of both the Shops at Legacy and Legacy West.