Renovation in the works for downtown Fort Worth high rise
January 3,2019
See full Dallas Business Journal article by Claire Ballor here.
A mid-century high-rise in the heart of Fort Worth is getting a facelift.
The former Bank of America Center, which has been renamed First on 7th, will undergo a renovation process aimed at bringing the building up-to-date while preserving its architectural integrity, said Jack Clark, president of Red Oak Realty.
“Our plans are based on a sense of responsibility and stewardship for such an architecturally significant building,” Clark said in a written statement. “The structure’s essential character and design will remain intact, even as we bring it into the 21st century. We like to say that we’re taking it from modern to modernized.”
Red Oak Realty is leading the renovation project for the 21-story building at 500 W. 7th St., which was completed in 1961 for First National Bank of Fort Worth and designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the New York architecture firm behind Burj Khalifa and the One World Trade Center.
The renovations will add street-level retail and restaurants; improved landscaping for the plaza, where three Isamu Noguchi granite sculptures sit; and a renovated lobby. The building sits across from Burnett Park and the renovations will allow the structure to be better connected to the green space, according to a release.
Several blocks down the road, another historic office tower is undergoing its own transformation. The former XTO Energy Inc. building at 714 Main Street was recently sold to a Tennessee development firm that plans to turn the tower into a boutique hotel.
According to city records, Development Services Group proposed converting the office building into a 232-room Kimpton hotel after the building was put on the market in June.
Location Mentioned: First on 7th