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Two Historic Fort Worth Towers Acquired for Apartment Conversions in One Week

January 10,2023


See full Dallas Innovates article by David Seeley here.

First, Dallas-based Bluelofts Inc. acquired the historic Oil & Gas building on West 7th Street in downtown Fort Worth (above), in partnership with Wolfe Investments. “We wanted to bring more housing for young professionals and also bring more life into that last pocket because this building is one of the last buildings that hasn’t been converted,” Bluelofts Co-Founder Ike Bams told the Dallas Business Journal. “Most of the historic properties in downtown Fort Worth have been converted into hotels or condos.” The 16-story, 166,000-square-foot tower is adjacent to the 19-story Star-Telegram building. Bluelofts plans to convert it to 180 luxury apartments with ground-floor retail.

Then just today, news came that the 16-story former Oncor building—also on West 7th Street—has been acquired by Chicago’s 3L Real Estate. According to the Dallas Morning News, the 300,000-square foot 1950s building will also be converted into apartments. “We’re big supporters of what the city of Fort Worth has been doing downtown, and are looking forward to contributing by opening more doors for people to live here within their budgets,” 3L’s Joseph Slezak told the DMN.

Both buildings are within walking distance of Fort Worth’s Sundance Square.

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Slated to be built in Fort Worth's Historic Southside neighborhood, the planned $70 million museum will get the city funding once the balance for the project has been raised. Designed by the New York office of Denmark-based Bjarke Ingels Group, the building will house the museum on its second level, with a business incubator, restaurant, 250-seat amphitheater, and storefronts at ground level. “Literally and figuratively, it was designed to be a beacon of light in an area that has been dark for a very long time,” says Jarred Howard, principal of the project's developer.

Entrepreneurs and industry leaders benefit from the city's business-friendly approach.

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Rhithm, a Dallas social-emotional learning and mental health startup, raised $4 million in a seed round last year for its emoji-based bio-social assessments app, which is now used by over 2,400 schools in 29 states, according to the company. One district that adopted the app is Fort Worth ISD—and it recently announced a change in how the app will be used.


Location Mentioned: Oil & Gas / Star-Telegram Building