Fort Worth leaders say downtown’s variety of uses makes its future bright

May 15,2024

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See full Fort Worth Report article by Ceclila Lenzen here.

Fort Worth leaders say downtown’s future will be defined by more than the traditional view of it as a place for office workers. Rather, more residential units, hotels, a convention center expansion and the growing Texas A&M campus will play major roles. 

This variety sets an “unbelievably good foundation” for ensuring an economically thriving downtown over the next 10 years, Andy Taft, president of Downtown Fort Worth Inc., said. 

“It’s important to recognize about downtown — any downtown, really — that there is a large mix of uses all competing for space in this relatively confined area,” Taft said. “We’ve got these four big land uses, not to mention parking, that are working to compete for the economy of Fort Worth. We didn't have that in the past.” 

Taft, along with Brian Newby, managing partner at Cantey Hanger law firm; Visit Fort Worth President Bob Jameson; and Nina Petty, executive director of Texas A&M School of Law, spoke on a variety of topics regarding downtown’s future during a panel discussion hosted by the Fort Worth Report on May 15 at Texas Wesleyan University. 

In addition to the convention center and the Texas A&M Fort Worth campus currently under construction downtown, the core of the city will be shaped by future development of Panther Island and the redevelopment of Butler Place, a shuttered public housing project. 

First and foremost, Jameson said, the convention center’s expansion will set the stage for increased tourism, which will in turn generate increased revenue. Once completed, the expanded center will allow for double the amount of activity it previously accommodated, he said. The increased activity could likely lead to a need for a new hotel on the south side of downtown, he added. 

The expansion will be partly funded by an increased visitor tax, which Fort Worth voters approved in the May 4 election. 

“Tourism dollars are what drives a lot of economic development in any community,” Newby said. “This proposition will lead to additional economic development for downtown Fort Worth.” 

Petty said construction of the A&M campus will help connect the “power and the intellect” of the Texas A&M University System with Fort Worth, thanks to cutting edge resources and research, top academic quality and high levels of innovation, Petty said.

“It’s not the real estate on its own. It’s what’s on the real estate and what’s in the buildings,” Petty said. “It’s truly what happens inside the buildings, and what A&M is going to do inside the buildings that’s going to make the difference.” 

For several years, A&M has been working to engage industry partners, such as ProbablyMonsters Inc., a startup video game company from Washington that is moving some operations to Fort Worth. Petty said such partnerships will help drive economic development to downtown.  

The creation of Panther Island, a Trinity River waterfront master plan, will change the definition of Fort Worth to the world, panelists predicted. In its early stages, city leaders primarily considered developing Panther Island’s hundreds of acres between downtown and the Northside community with residential units. Now, Taft said, a consultant’s revised recommendations include 20-story buildings, which would include a mix of residential, retail and office space. 

A challenge with adding high-rise buildings in that area is that it could set up Panther Island to be a competitor to downtown — think of the juxtaposition between Dallas’ Uptown and downtown, which essentially compete for economic opportunities. Fort Worth doesn’t want or need that, Taft said. 

“Some of the decisions that are going to be contemplated over the next few months could have unintended consequences,” he said. “That’s an issue that’s going to be addressed.” 

In the southeast part of downtown, Butler Place presents a similarly enormous opportunity. City leaders have promised that the 42-acre site, which used to house primarily low-income Black residents, will have its history preserved. 

“It is very rare to have 42 acres immediately adjacent to a downtown like Fort Worth and immediately adjacent to mass transit with unbelievable interstate access,” Jameson said. “All of those benefits are not lost on the development community. There’s a line of people out the door that are very interested in taking a shot at that.” 

Fort Worth Housing Solutions, which owns the site, is currently in the process of getting the site approved for redevelopment by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. There is not yet a timeline for engaging potential developers, but Taft said Housing Solutions should finish the HUD process next year. 

As these projects unfold, the rest of downtown, including Sundance Square, will benefit, panelists said. Taft said many of the Sundance Square store-front spaces are not nearly as occupied as they were about 10-15 years ago, when they were largely full. The other developments, such as Texas A&M and the convention center, could propel the area forward economically, Taft said. 

Sundance Square “is still a remarkable place. The buildings are still beautiful, (although) they’re not as occupied as they were before,” Taft said. “Ultimately, Sundance Square will find a market-based footing, and when it does — based on occupancy, tenant mix, merchandising, and professional management — I think Sundance will come roaring back.” 

Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org or @bycecilialenzen. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.