Dallas-Based Developer Acquires 4.6 Acres In Downtown Fort Worth, Vows To 'Enhance Vibrancy'
A Dallas-based real estate investment firm has acquired four parcels in downtown Fort Worth, though plans for the property remain vague beyond a company pledge that it is committed to the area for the long term.
Dart Interests picked up 4.6 acres in the downtown area from Farmers and Foresters LP for an undisclosed amount, though the Tarrant Appraisal District shows the four parcels to be worth around $13.5M, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
Dart’s new properties are all within blocks of the city’s former public library, which the developer purchased from the city for $18M in May 2023.
Plans had called for the construction of a pair of 20-story towers on the 2.3-acre site of the former library, but Dart hasn’t released details on whether those will move forward. The developer told the Star-Telegram that it will develop the newly purchased downtown properties but is still finalizing its vision.
Dart owns properties in 12 markets across seven states, including a $1B beach resort in Orlando, Florida, and luxury Manhattan condos. The firm said it is committed to enhancing the downtown area’s connectivity and supports “Fort Worth’s evolution as a vibrant urban center.”
Additional details will be released as planning moves forward, officials said. However, operations of an office building that was part of the purchase will be taken over by the firm.
Much of the area west of Taylor Street is occupied by parking lots or government offices in a corner that hasn’t seen much new development lately.
“It’s a very exciting commitment to downtown,” Downtown Fort Worth Inc. President Andy Taft told the Star-Telegram. “It makes all the sense in the world that the developer of the library would control the space around them for future development, and it’s very exciting that they pulled the trigger on that.”
New downtown development could create competition for Sundance Square, which owns most of the area’s retail and commercial properties.
Fort Worth is also preparing for more than $2B in downtown development, including work that will reimagine Panther Island as a mixed-use waterfront district. Fort Worth Economic Development Director Robert Sturns called that a “generational project” at a Bisnow event in the city earlier this year.
Further redevelopment could come from the sale of three buildings and a parking lot on an expanded block the city put on the market this month, the Dallas Business Journal reported. The properties include the Lone Star Gas Building and amount to more than 222K SF over 1.3 acres, according to JLL’s listing.
