FW downtown set to boom

April 4,2015

With a recent spurt in new projects and continued good economic news, downtown Fort Worth seems poised for a burst of development that will prove transformative.

Added to the mix of new office space, apartments and retail will be a major expansion of the Fort Worth Convention Center, made possible when residents approved moving arena events to a new 14,000-seat facility in the Cultural District.

That move alone, officials say, will generate more convention business and attract more quality hotels downtown.

News of a planned 26-story office tower topped a string of newly announced developments along East Lancaster Avenue and on Commerce Street on the old United Way site. The 16-story Sinclair Building will become a hotel, and the 13-story Hilton Fort Worth annex will give way to apartments.

Downtown Fort Worth Inc., noting a boom in condo sales and high residential occupancy, said the latest Strategic Action Plan calls for adding about 7,500 apartments and condos — another indicator that major downtown development is about to take off.