37 replies to this topic

[FortWorthology]

Cypress Equities is planning a large mixed-use urban development called West 7th for the Cultural District.  The project would be on several blocks bounded by 7th, University, Morton, and Foch (this includes the entirety of the Acme Brick headquarters, all of which will be demolished).  It will be located adjacent to developments such as Montgomery Plaza, So7, and Museum Place.

Thus far, there has been one rendering shown - on the project's sign.  Here's a photo of it:

[krazeeboi]

Lookin' good. I really like the light features at the top corner of the buildings.

It kind of looks like an entertainment complex. What will be the mix of residential/hotel/retail with this development?

[RestedTraveler]

It's as though Sundance Square has been extended a few blocks west and into the Cultural District...very interesting.  Has it been approved and is there any word on when work is set to begin on this or is it simply a proposed development at this point?

[FortWorthology]

krazeeboi, on Jul 31 2007, 09:41 PM, said:

Lookin' good. I really like the light features at the top corner of the buildings.

It kind of looks like an entertainment complex. What will be the mix of residential/hotel/retail with this development?

I'm not sure of the ratios, but the quote from the developer is "close to one million sf of retail, residential, hospitality space and possibly service-type office."  It may actually be bigger now, though, because it seems have grown to six blocks from the three it was when that quote was made.

[FortWorthology]

RestedTraveler, on Aug 1 2007, 08:26 AM, said:

It's as though Sundance Square has been extended a few blocks west and into the Cultural District...very interesting. Has it been approved and is there any word on when work is set to begin on this or is it simply a proposed development at this point?

The developer is wrapping up things with the city and is supposed to be revealing more this month or next.  They say it will be under construction before the end of the year, which means we'll be seeing this, Museum Place, and So7's shops & lofts underway all at the same time.  West 7th Street will be almost completely unrecognizable by this time next year - about the only thing that will remain will be the old Montgomery Ward store, which is now a retail/condo development as well.

Then, there are other rumors - local architect Ken Schaumburg, who has done a lot of very pretty low-rise infill lately, has assembled property across from So7 next to Montgomery Plaza that he's calling the "Left Bank," right up against the river.  He's been hinting at some plans for it - kind of a Miami South Beach look and the potential of a tower.

[FortWorthology]

Big news from West 7th - we have our hands on more renderings and details now.

West 7th will feature 890,000 square feet of retail, office, hotel, and residential space featuring 288 residential units. It also appears that an arthouse theatre and possibly a market are part of the plans. 7th Street itself will be fronted by 7 story office buildings with ground floor retail.

The site plan & renderings:

[RestedTraveler]

Very nice!  I bet Whole Foods Market would be a good fit for the "Urban Market" there.  This reminds me a lot of Atlantic Station in Atlanta or the Point in Greenville.

[krazeeboi]

Wow, I like! Fort Worth's own version of Victory Park.

[RestedTraveler]

krazeeboi, on Aug 2 2007, 04:30 PM, said:

Wow, I like! Fort Worth's own version of Victory Park.

Victory Park still seems not-so-dense to me...but it's a long way from finished.

I've seen talk of Fort Worth needing a new arena due to the age and capacity of the Roy Rogers Arena.  Could you imagine if Fort Worth's new arena (15,000 or so seats) lands in this vacinity, too?  Wow.

Out of curiosity, what's the range for the typical $/sq. ft. for downtown condos in Fort Worth these days?

Edited by RestedTraveler, 02 August 2007 - 03:25 PM.

[FortWorthology]

RestedTraveler, on Aug 2 2007, 04:21 PM, said:

Victory Park still seems not-so-dense to me...but it's a long way from finished.

I've seen talk of Fort Worth needing a new arena due to the age and capacity of the Roy Rogers Arena. Could you imagine if Fort Worth's new arena (15,000 or so seats) lands in this vacinity, too? Wow.

Out of curiosity, what's the range for the typical $/sq. ft. for downtown condos in Fort Worth these days?

There actually are plans for the new arena already.  It will be built on land adjacent to the current Will Rogers complex near the Science & History Museum and the Cowgirl Museum.  Once complete, the plan is for the current arena at the downtown convention center to be demolished and replaced with a further expansion of the convention center.  The existing Will Rogers complex will not be demolished, of course - the theater portion will be renovated, and the arena used for smaller events.  Incidentally, the arena at the Will Rogers complex was the first arena ever built with a self-supporting domed roof.  Every domed stadium and arena today is an outgrowth of the engineering work done at the WRMC in the '30s.

Condos in downtown Fort Worth run anywhere from around $200/sq. ft. (maybe a little less in places) to, currently, over $300/sq. ft. in some developments.  There are developments in the works that may push that to around $400/sq. ft. at the upper end.

[krazeeboi]

I often wondered whether Fort Worth might ever consider courting an NBA team. I think a metropolitan area of 6M+ and growing rapidly could easily support two NBA teams.

[FortWorthology]

Demolition fencing is starting to go up on several parts of the property around some of the existing structures that will be demolished, and backhoes are being parked as well.  Looks like the project really wants to roll:

[FortWorthology]

The buildings on the block mentioned above are being demolished now.  About four on the south side of the block have already fallen.  They are really moving on this.

[RestedTraveler]

FortWorthology, on Aug 23 2007, 11:56 AM, said:

The buildings on the block mentioned above are being demolished now.  About four on the south side of the block have already fallen.  They are really moving on this.

Let the shooshting begin!  At this rate, this thing may be half finished by the time I get back out there in December.  Thanks for the updates, Kevin!  

[FortWorthology]

They're really moving now:

[krazeeboi]

They aren't wasting any time, I see!

LOL @ the 7th Haven sign.

[FortWorthology]

krazeeboi, on Sep 3 2007, 10:06 PM, said:

They aren't wasting any time, I see!

LOL @ the 7th Haven sign.

The 7th Haven building is, in fact, getting demolished, but they appear to be renovating a structure nearby on 7th itself at 7th & Carroll (across the street from the redeveloped historic Montgomery Ward building) to move in to, so they'll still be around.  I had to laugh at the sign.  

[FortWorthology]

They aren't wasting any time on this one.  The first block has already been cleared, and dirt has started moving:



Meanwhile, the next block is now being demolished:





There are demo fences up around another block already, and red tape around a fourth where they are doing asbestos removal.  After that, we should see the former Acme Brick headquarters demolished.

[FortWorthology]

This little vacant auto glass building & parking lot on the north side of W. 7th Street across from the Acme Brick buildings rather mysteriously spawned a demolition fence and backhoe recently.  There were no announcements of any new projects, and the West 7th documents Cypress put out showed that all of that project's buildings would be on the south side of 7th.

Curious, I found the address of the property and looked it up in TAD, and it is owned by none other than Cypress.  It looks like they've decided to expand the West 7th project to the north side of 7th as well.  It will be interesting to see what they plan to build here.

In related news, orange cones are being placed around parts of the Acme site.  I imagine that it won't be long before we start to see demolition work there as well.

[FortWorthology]

The demolitions continue, block by block.



The Museum Place cranes watch over the cleared blocks as Taylor's Rentals waits its turn with demo crews.



Meanwhile, across 7th, the Econo Glass & Mirror building is already gone.  That didn't take long.