Fort Worth's Amazing Development Deals May Surprise You
From 600-acre master planned projects to a revival of the Medical District and a growing hospitality market, there’s no limit on development in Cowtown. That’s why we’re excited to host Bisnow’s annual Fort Worth State of the Market event on Feb. 16 (7:30am start) at West 7th (2845 West 7th St).
Chisholm Trail Ranch
Walton Development and Management South USA president John Vick tells us there are two big goals for 2016: deliver lots at Chisholm Trail Ranch and zone and annex Rock Creek Ranch. Chisholm Trail Ranch is a 600-acre master planned community with a mix of residential, retail and office uses. Walton has started development of the first phase, which includes 169 of the eventual 1,031 single-family lots. John says the initial lot deliveries are scheduled for this spring and a builder group will be announced in a few months. The remaining lots will deliver over the next few years depending upon how quickly the builders move.
Walton has another 1,755 acres adjacent to the south at Rock Creek Ranch. John says efforts are in the works to zone and annex that property this year. The site was acquired from the State of Texas General Land Office; later this month, Walton will be submitting an application to the city to annex the portion of the property that's not already in Fort Worth and rezone the entire property for a mix of uses. John expects to include single-family, multifamily, retail and office uses along with a new campus for Tarleton State University. (Walton donated a tract to the university and is working with the city to finalize the campus.) As the university gets ready to open and more of the residential sections of Chisholm Trail Ranch have been built out, the firm will start to develop Rock Creek Ranch, he tells us.
Hospitality Needs
Dowdle Real Estate president Lynn Dowdle (right, with Younger Partners’ Moody Younger at a NTCAR event last week) tells us Fort Worth needs more hotel rooms. A 2015 study found the city needs as many as 2,000 new rooms. Lynn tells us she’s tackling that goal with several projects in Fort Worth. She'll be announcing a boutique hotel in the Museum District soon, as well as a full-service hotel in the downtown area. There are several future projects as well in the Medical District, she adds. With the expansion of Main Street and the planned streetscape, the Medical District is morphing into a more exciting destination every day, she says.
Medical District Revival
In the midst of the South Main reconstruction project, Fort Worth South president Paul Paine (here, with wife Carmel in Southern France, ooh la la) tells us he’s anticipating project completion this year. That’s good, because he also tells us the development in the Medical District is moving forward with a variety of projects from three market-rate apartment complexes under construction (totaling 780 units) at High Point (227), 400 S Jennings Apartments (217) and Lang Partners (337). There are four more apartment complexes in the planning stages. There are several hotels nosing around the Near Southside Medical District, too. (We assume Lynn knows more than she’s telling us.)
Over the next several months, expect to see openings from Gus’s Chicken, Heim BBQ (owners Emma and Travis Heim pictured) and Bentley’s Gourmet Hot Dogs. Additionally, Paul tells us UT Southwestern Medical will open its surgical center on Pennsylvania and South Main by the end of 2016. This is the first of three new blocks of construction, he tells us. A little something you may not know about Paul: he was the commanding officer of an F-14 squadron at the Naval Air Station JRB Fort Worth. His secret talent: to fly fighter jets off aircraft carriers in the Navy.
Don’t forget to register now for Bisnow’s annual Fort Worth State of the Market event on Feb. 16 (7:30am start) at West 7th (2845 West 7th St). Register here.
