Here are the bars, restaurants and hotels in the pipeline for downtown Fort Worth
September 3,2024
See full Fort Worth Star-Telegram article by Harrison Mantas here.
Downtown Fort Worth has not been the same since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Roughly a quarter of the ground floor commercial spaces were closed or empty, according to a Star-Telegram survey in July.
However, several bars, restaurants and hotel projects are working their way through the city’s development pipe, according to a list from the downtown advocacy nonprofit Downtown Fort Worth Inc.
About 27 projects are in the pipeline for downtown Fort Worth. Some of them, like the Convention Center renovation and Texas A&M Fort Worth, are further a long than others, but all have the potential to change the landscape of downtown.
PLACES TO EAT AND DRINK
Houston Street between Seventh and Ninth Streets had the second highest concentration of empty storefronts in the the Star-Telegram’s July survey.
However, a new coffee shop and wine bar, Hogan Alley, opened its doors at 901 Houston St. this week. It’s in the space formerly occupied by the Brass Tap craft beer bar, which closed in July 2020.
Hogan Alley offers your typical coffee shop beverages along with a few special drinks named after Fort Worth neighborhoods, like the Northside Latte and the Chisolm Cherry Cold Brew.
A couple of doors down from Hogan Alley, a new bar called The Sterling is in development, according to city records. It will take over the space previously occupied by the TIE Thai Restaurant.
Details about the project are scarce, but a city board recently approved designs for the bar’s signage along with signs for the Oxley architecture firm that appears to be moving into the second floor office space, according to city records.
Oklahoma City-based Broadway 10 Bar & Chophouse also submitted designs for a location in the recently completed Deco 969 apartment complex.
A city board will review those designs at its 2 p.m. meeting on Sept. 5.
PLACES TO SHOP
On the southern edge of downtown, a doggy daycare and overnight spa is moving into the Nathan Frankel Electric Supply Co. building at 1109 Lamar. St.
Dogtopia has 260 locations across the United States, including 12 in the Metroplex and one in Fort Worth at 4608 Bryant Irvin Road. It advertises itself as the equivalent of children’s daycare for your dog, offering live webcams for owners to check in on their furry friends throughout the day.
Construction is underway, and the location is scheduled to open this fall, according to Dogtopia’s Instagram account.
In Sundance Square, the old Marie Antoinette’s Parfumerie at 101 W. Second St. is being redeveloped into a pottery studio called Sundance Clay, according to city building permits.
PLACES TO STAY
Two former energy company office buildings are being converted to a hotel and apartments.
The Bob R. Simpson Building at 110 W. Seventh St. will become a Residence Inn, and the historic Fort Worth National Bank Building at 110 W. Seventh St. is slated to become apartments, according to building records.
Two remodeling permits for the former bank building show plans to demolish the interiors of the 12th, 14th, 15th and 16th floors.
The Bob R. Simpson building has had less permit activity since the initial filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in December 2023.
The developer filed to change the use of the building from an office to a hotel in January 2024, writing in a permit application that the hotel would have 149 rooms, meeting space, and room for ground floor food service, however, no other permits have been filed with the city since.
The biggest hotel everyone is waiting on is the expansion of the Omni on the south side of downtown. The $217 million expansion is expected to add another 400 rooms to the Omni’s inventory.
Construction was slated to begin in Spring 2024, but only four permits have been filed with the city over the last year — a traffic impact analysis study, a drainage study, and a pair of water studies There’s been no activity since March 2024.
THE ANCHOR PROJECTS
The two projects that have gotten the most attention have been the Convention Center expansion and the Texas A&M Fort Worth Campus.
The Convention Center expansion hit a key milestone Aug. 8 when the final beam of the new southern entrance was welded into place.
The $95 million first phase will redo the back-of-house kitchens, remodel the loading docks, and make way for the straightening of Commerce Street.
This will make space for a new 1,000 room hotel, although no plans have been announced.
Phase 1 is expected to wrap up in 2026 with the second phase beginning shortly after.
The roughly $700 million project is being funded with a combination of American Rescue Plan Act funds and money from a recently increased hotel tax.
The tax is expected to generate $10 million per year, according to city estimates.
Texas A&M began construction of its Law and Education building in June 2023, and released plans in early August 2024 for its new research and innovation building south of East 15th St. between Jones Street and Calhoun Street.
The law and education building is expected to be complete by December 2025, according to Texas A&M Fort Worth.
The existing law school building at 1515 Commerce St. will eventually be demolished and replaced with the Gateway Building although a construction timeline hasn’t been released.
Locations Mentioned: Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth Convention Center Expansion, Omni Fort Worth Hotel, Texas A&M Fort Worth