What the naysayers argued was an impossibility for Lake Highlands now appears to be a reality.

LH Today has confirmed Lake Highlands Plaza is under contract.

Barring any last minute surprises, the shopping center's new owner is the commercial real estate firm The Retail Connection.

"Yes, we are now under contract with the seller," said David Wilson, president of the firm's development services division.

According to Wilson, The Retail Connection hopes for a quick closing process and expects to complete the transaction in early August.

"We are especially excited to be able to do something that the people of Lake Highlands seem to really want," he said.

"That isn’t necessarily the case a lot of times. As a developer, we’ll often times get the 'not in my backyard' stance from residents, but that’s not the case with LH Plaza. We hope to create a product that everyone will be proud of.”

The product in question will look familiar to residents who have been following this story over the past year.

As previously reported, many volunteers have played a part in promoting redevelopment at Walnut Hill and Audelia. Key in the process has been LH resident and Lake Highlands Area Improvement Association Land Use Committee member, Tipton Housewright.

An architect by trade, Housewright played a key role in developing schematics for the Lake Highlands intersection.

Those schematics were arguably a key driver in the vision The Retail Connection currently has for the property.

With a strict focus on retail and retailers, residential development is not in the firm's usual bag of tricks.

In this case, however, current plans call for a complete demolition of much of the vacant retail space seen on the property today, to be replaced with R 7.5 zoned single family residential lots.

The Retail Connection intends on keeping and upgrading the building where Highlands Cafe and T. Hee Greetings are located, as well as the vacant bank building and roughly 14,000 square feet of space in the building that houses My Office.

All remaining retail space will get a significant face lift to help modernize the property.

Regarding the residential component, a cul-de-sac will be installed along the west side of the property to accommodate up to 16 single family lots.

One person particularly interested in hearing the news of the LH Plaza sale was Kathy Stewart.

Stewart currently serves as chairperson of the LHAIA's Land Use Committee in addition to general manager at Highlands Cafe.

"As both a member of the LUC and a business owner at Lake Highlands Plaza, I'm excited that The Retail Connection has the shopping center under contract," Stewart said late yesterday.

"They've done their homework by reaching out in multiple face-to-face meetings to the neighboring home owner associations, the LHAIA Land Use Committee, as well as local business owners. They've sought out many people in the community in order to better understand and take into account our ideas for redevelopment of the center."

"In the end, The Retail Connection heard what we’ve been saying all along, which is that a sustainable retail environment can be achieved by shrinking the retail footprint and replacing it with a redevelopment of quality residential homes."

While The Retail Connection has not yet closed on the property, all signs point to the deal being done in a matter of weeks.

It's been a long time coming.

On a side note, while a lot of dominoes had to fall, when it’s all said and done LH Plaza will be another example of what can happen when the residents of this community stand up, become engaged and let their voices be heard.

In addition to Kathy and Tipton, a special thank you should go to all the volunteers who have played a part in promoting the community’s vision for Lake Highlands Plaza over the years. While the list is too long to detail here, you likely know who you are.

Job well done.