Southlake Retail Space Tour Checklist for First-Time Tenants

Quick answer: Touring Southlake retail space without a checklist costs tenants tens of thousands of dollars in missed buildout costs, parking constraints, co-tenancy risk, and zoning surprises. This is the checklist Daniel Weber uses on every Southlake retail tour.

Before the tour - desk diligence

1. Confirm the zoning classification (C-1, C-2, C-3, TZD for Town Square) supports your use. The City of Southlake publishes use tables - we cross-check before scheduling.
2. Pull the CoStar lease history to see prior asking rents and tenant turnover for the address.
3. Identify the landlord and listing broker and check the broker's transaction history.
4. Map the co-tenants - your neighbors and the anchor - and check their lease expiration dates.
5. Run a 3-mile demographic pull: Southlake Town Square delivers $247K–$395K median household income within 3 miles.

During the tour - the 15 checks

6. Visibility from the main road - measure the unobstructed sight line from SH 114 / FM 1709.
7. Parking ratio - count spaces vs. SF and compare to City of Southlake code minimums for your use.
8. HVAC capacity and age - confirm tonnage matches your use; ask for service records.
9. Plumbing rough-in - critical for restaurant, medical, and personal-services tenants. A second-gen restaurant space with existing grease trap and hood saves $50K–$150K.
10. Electrical service - amperage, single vs. three-phase, panel capacity for your equipment.
11. Signage allowances - Town Square (TZD) and Southlake monument signs are tightly regulated.
12. Storefront condition - glass, demising walls, ceiling height (10 ft+ desirable for most retail concepts).
13. ADA compliance - restrooms, entry, parking. Bringing a non-compliant space up to code is the tenant's problem unless negotiated.
14. Loading and back-of-house access - critical for restaurant deliveries and retail restocking.
15. Adjacent tenant noise / odor - touring at the same time of day you'll operate matters.
16. Trash, grease, and recycling enclosure - capacity and proximity.
17. Sidewalk and patio rights - Town Square patio square footage is part of the deal.
18. Roof and exterior condition - landlord responsibility, but capex disputes often hit tenants via CAM.
19. Recent renovations - what was done, when, who paid, and whether anything is amortizing into CAM.
20. What did the prior tenant pay? Always ask. A surprising number of landlords will tell you.

After the tour - what to do next

If the space is a finalist, your tenant rep should produce:

• A side-by-side comp analysis of base rent, TI allowance, free rent, and renewal options against current Southlake signed comps
• A written LOI strategy before drafting
• A landlord background brief - who they are, what they've recently negotiated, and what concessions they grant

Common Southlake retail tour mistakes

• Falling in love with visibility and ignoring HVAC capacity
• Skipping the demising-wall question (where does your space stop and the neighbor's begin?)
• Accepting "as-is" condition without quantifying buildout cost
• Not asking the landlord directly about exclusivity for your use
• Touring without a checklist and trying to "remember it all"

Want our Southlake tenant rep team to tour with you? It's free - the landlord pays our commission. Call (817) 559-1235.