A premium hotel is opening in this 1920 tower in downtown Fort Worth: What we know
November 22,2022
See full Fort Worth Star-Telegram article by Jenny Rudolph here.
A century-old Fort Worth high rise will soon be back in business as a premium hotel and restaurant, perhaps as early as spring.
The Sandman Signature Hotel is going into the 20-story Waggoner Building, built in 1920 at 810 Houston St. The 245-room hotel redevelopment has preserved and restored the interior finishes of the tower, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
This will be the second Sandman Signature Hotel in the United States. The brand is part of Vancouver-based Northland Properties, which is Canada’s largest privately owned hospitality company with hotels and resorts across Canada and, more recently, in the U.K.
The company’s president, Tom Gaglardi, has owned the NHL Dallas Stars hockey club since 2011, which suggests why the first Sandman Signature Hotel in the U.S. was built in 2018 in Plano. He also owns the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League.
The Fort Worth hotel’s reservation web page lists availability starting in April 2023 with rooms around $160 and up per night. The project includes a new restaurant, Musume, on the basement level of the hotel with a kitchen bar and seating area, according to a city records. The Asian fusion restaurant currently operates one other location in downtown Dallas.
The hotel, one block from the Fort Worth Convention Center, offers a range of room options from a signature queen room to an executive king suite with a private bedroom and separate sitting area.
Guests who book a room during the hotel’s “opening celebration” season can save 30%.
Hotel amenities include on-site parking with meeting rooms and a gym coming soon. Rooms are pet friendly and feature unlimited free Wi-Fi.
The 20-story Waggoner Building was one of the tallest in the Southwest in the 1920s. The skyscraper’s namesake was William Thomas Waggoner, a wealthy rancher and oilman born in 1852. He moved to Fort Worth around 1904, was a director of the First National Bank and built two office buildings, according to the Texas State Historical Association. He also built the Arlington Downs Racetrack and was a donor for three buildings at Texas Woman’s College at Denton before he died in 1934.
“This project celebrates Fort Worth’s past while still supporting the current and future growth of downtown,” said Robert Sturns, Fort Worth’s director of economic development, in a statement. “We look forward to the Sandman Signature Hotel being part of our growing community.”
In contrast, the Sandman Signature Hotel in Plano was new construction with 233 rooms. Its on-site dining options are the casual Canadian chain Moxies and sports lounge Shark Club Sports Bar & Grill, both brands that are part of Northland Properties.
The company also has a Canadian steakhouse in its portfolio called Chop, and the award-winning Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar in Vancouver, whose Chef Alex Chen was the “Iron Chef” champion in 2019.
Location Mentioned: Fort Worth Convention Center