Skip to Main Content
Alert
Road Closures Sunday, February 23 for The Cowtown Marathon. Expect Delays in and around Downtown. Read More

City Place, Rotary Plaza among Trailblazer Awards-winners in downtown Fort Worth

April 2,2015

Daffodil Planting 8

Streams & Valleys received the Innovation Award in the Trailblazer’s Award program for its planting of daffodils along the Trinity River. BOB HAYNES STAR-TELEGRAM ARCHIVE

Reposted from Star-Telegram

Downtown Fort Worth Inc. honored eight people and places on Wednesday with its annual Trailblazer Awards during the organization’s 33rd annual meeting at the Worthington Renaissance Fort Worth Hotel.

The group, a member-funded nonprofit advocacy group, started the awards program in 2007 as a way to recognize the projects and hard work of individuals and others downtown.

▪ The Greenspace Award was given to the Fort Worth Rotary Club for Rotary Plaza in Trinity Park. Dedicated in April 2014, the plaza serves as trailhead on the Trinity Trail system and features a pavilion and the 1916 monument from the original Rotary Park at Summit Avenue and West Seventh Street.

▪ The Innovation Award went to Streams & Valleys for the Phyllis J. Tilley Memorial Bridge, Project Daffodil and 45 years of improving the public use of the Trinity River downtown and throughout the city. The bridge is named for Phyllis Tilley, the late activist who helped found the organization and the annual Mayfest celebration.

▪ The Placemaking Award was presented to Sundance Square for the Sundance Square Plaza, the one-acre open space created in the heart of Sundance Square that has hosted concerts and ESPN broadcasts. Last year, the project received the prestigious Pinnacle Award from the International Downtown Association.

▪ The Sustainable Development Award was presented to TIER, the real estate investment trust that owns Burnett Plaza, to recognize work it has done to upgrade the building’s operating systems to bring it to LEED Silver certification. Those efforts have resulted in a 20 percent reduction in energy consumption at the 40-story building.

▪ he Preservation & Adaptive Reuse Award was presented to MorningStar Oil & Gas for the redevelopment of the former Star-Telegram building at 400 W. Seventh St. Bob Simpson, co-founder and former chairman of Fort Worth-based XTO Energy and a co-owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team, bought the 1921 building and restored it to its original appearance.

▪ The Urban Design Award was presented to Spire Realty Group in Dallas for its pedestrian-friendly redevelopment of City Place, the twin office buildings at Third and Throckmorton streets that was the one-time headquarters for Tandy Corp. and RadioShack. Spire bought City Place in February 2011 and completed the redevelopment started by the previous owner. The buildings are now multi-tenant.

▪ The Marketing and Promotion Award was presented to the Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau to recognize its role in building an industry in downtown. The CVB is celebrating its 50th year promoting Fort Worth to tourists and conventions.

The group’s President Award was presented earlier, in January, to Todd Holzaepfel, a Downtown Fort Worth Inc. vice president who retired Jan. 31. Holzaepfel served the organization for 30 years, helping to create and then overseeing the downtown Public Improvement District No. 1.

Sandra Baker, 817-390-7727

Twitter: @SandraBakerFWST