Fort Worth - Museum Place - Cultural District

[FortWorthology]

Museum Place is a large multiblock mixed-use urban development now underway in the Cultural District just outside downtown. The development grows from the big University/Camp Bowie/West 7th/Bailey intersection and is right next to the Modern Art Museum and the Kimbell Art Museum. It will cover 11 acres.

The project will feature 173,000 square feet of ground-level retail space, 130,000 square feet of Class A office space, a hotel (likely an Aloft, judging by the renderings), 40 purchasable condos, and 500 rental apartments. In addition, it will feature a new Post Office designed by Venturi, Scott Brown, and Associates.

Renderings:

The buildings containing office space:

The Post Office:

Work underway:

[krazeeboi]

Pretty cool development. It would be nice to see a fountain in the middle of that traffic circle.

[FortWorthology]

Pretty cool development. It would be nice to see a fountain in the middle of that traffic circle.

[RestedTraveler]

Here's an opportunity for one of those public-private partnerships that Fort Worth is famous for... to convert that intersection into a roundabout with a huge fountain park in the middle...or at least a very large sculpture/edifice dedicated to someone/something...Will Rogers, for example. I agree with Krazee - that space is just begging for a fountain though.

[FortWorthology]

Drilling is underway for the first building in the development. Other lots in the development are being cleared now as well.

[FortWorthology]

Here's a better view of the new Post Office going up as part of the development. It was designed by Venturi, Scott-Brown, and Associates:

Those poles in the plaza have an interesting story. The poles were, a long time ago, the supports for an advertising billboard. The billboard was there until 2000, when the downtown tornado came through. The billboard was blown away, and the poles were bent by the tornado. So, the poles are a very visible reminder of the power of nature. They are being incorporated into the new plaza, and that side of the post office will feature a mural of a huge thunderstorm crossing the Texas prairie along with the Post Office

[krazeeboi]

Interesting concept there with the poles. Who would have ever thought about making it a work of art and then connecting it with the USPS motto?

[richyb83]

What a great idea and one scary tornado!

[FortWorthology]

It has been confirmed - the Museum Place hotel is an Aloft. We have gotten official confirmation on this, after months of rumors indicating that direction. (So if you've been reading Fort Worthology, you're ahead of the game. )

Meanwhile, the first building is underway:

Several other blocks are being demolished now as well. Here's one - this Texaco will be replaced by a glassy Flatiron-style office building with ground-floor retail. The island had already been demolished when I took this photo:

These first two buildings are shown in this rendering:

Here is the site plan, for the curious:

[FortWorthology]

The Texaco is gone - that didn't take long. The Flatiron building will rise on this site. The historic building behind it will *not* be torn down - it will instead be integrated into the development, with its parking lot being converted to a new road with on-street parking.

The first building is on its way.

Finally, fencing is at last up on the site of the new Post Office.

Some of the names that have been going around as to possible Museum Place retailers include:

Apple

Anthropologie

Design Within Reach

J. Crew

Z Gallerie

La Duni

La Duni Coffee

Alo by La Duni

...and others. None of this is confirmed yet, and the Museum Place people aren't talking.

[FortWorthology]

I created a little map, showing the location of the various 7th Street/Cultural District projects and how they relate to each other:

Orange - Museum Place

Blue - West 7th

Red - Redeveloped historic Montgomery Ward building (Montgomery Plaza)

Yellow - So7

[FortWorthology]

I've put together a block-by-block walkthrough of the project - I'm glad to see all the plazas, and the "raised intersections with special paving" look interesting.

[crossroad]

I SERIOUSLY think that a light rail line should be planned between Downtown FT Worth and Cultural/Museum District. Without rail, the city will always sprawl and will not get dense and pedestrian friendly as it should be. And time is running out!

[FortWorthology]

I SERIOUSLY think that a light rail line should be planned between Downtown FT Worth and Cultural/Museum District. Without rail, the city will always sprawl and will not get dense and pedestrian friendly as it should be. And time is running out!

[FortWorthology]

As we watch the first two buildings now getting underway at the big Six Points intersection...

...another part of Museum Place that I have neglected to cover is already going vertical.

According to the documents I have, this is a live/work complex, set up for ground-floor retail with attached apartments above in classic New Urbanist live/work style. A great addition to this neighborhood. Also note the new Ken Schaumburg-designed Village Homes townhome development already complete on the right. Museum Place is already attracting more density.

[krazeeboi]

It's always exciting to see new neighborhoods carved out from scratch, built in a 100% urban manner.

[FortWorthology]

Cranes at night for the office/residential/retail building at the big intersection (I have also seen on Museum Place's site plans that this building has a space marked "cinema").

Meanwhile, the first building is topping out.

[FortWorthology]

Rolling forward...

Now closed, the Wreck Room awaits its date with the demolition crews as Museum Place moves ahead with its construction.

The site where the Texaco used to be at the big intersection has been cleared for the construction of a glassy Flatiron-style office building with ground floor retail.

With its cranes in place, the office/residential/retail building at the big intersection between 7th & Bailey has started rising from its site. With its location, this will be a very prominent building, not only at the big intersection but from farther down 7th towards downtown. It should have a commanding spot in the streetscape.

Work has now gotten underway on the new Post Office at the big intersection between Bailey and University. The tornado-bent poles that will form the centerpiece of the Post Office

[FortWorthology]

Here's a nifty update. Deep in the heart of Museum Place is this awful 7-11 behind a parking lot:

I'd been thinking that, since this was getting demolished, that 7-11 was just going to leave (the 7-11 is being demolished for a large mixed-use building).

Turns out, 7-11 is moving into Museum Place.

So it turns out that this building...

...is where the 7-11 is moving to. It will have condos above. The 7-11 is going to be reworked into a "corner store" type of place, and guess what - I've been able to get ahold of a couple of renderings of the finished product. I believe some small details have changed since these renderings, but this should give a pretty good idea of what this little building will look like. I think they've done a fantastic job of integrating the 7-11:

[krazeeboi]

^Wow, I really like that. Adding residential above was a nice touch as well.

[FortWorthology]

Just a couple of updates - the big retail/office/condo building between 7th & Bailey is already going vertical. They're moving quickly:

I've also been able to get ahold of a newer rendering of the Flatiron-style building going onto the triangular plot where Camp Bowie and 7th split:

[krazeeboi]

Very contemporary form for a flatiron building, but still a bit on the boring side. I do wish that the corner portion wasn't a big blank white wall, though. What type of building will this be? It looks like it will have reflective glass with only one entrance at the ground level from this angle, which isn't good as far as urban form goes.

[FortWorthology]

It is supposed to be all office up top, and last I heard it would have ground-floor retail as well.

[FortWorthology]

The big office/condo/retail building continues heading upward:

Meanwhile, the new 7-Eleven Corner Store/condo building further in is now getting its facade:

Demolition equipment is moving in to several other blocks now as well.

[FortWorthology]

The big building, One Museum Place, continues marching skyward. The building will feature ground-floor retail, office space in the middle, and two floors of condos on the top.

The site of the glassy Flatiron-style building across the street has now been cleared and prepped. Work should be underway soon on this new building, which will feature ground-level retail under multiple floors of office space.

The nasty old stripmall where Pro Cuts and Auto Restyling Center were located has now been flattened. This site will be home to a mixed-use building featuring ground-level retail under residential space, surrounding a hidden parking structure and interior courtyards.

This small building at the back, home of the first confirmed Museum Place retail tenant, is nearing completion. The ground floor will be a 7-11 corner store (replacing the conventional 7-11 across the street, which will be demolished for more mixed-use development), and the upper floors will be condos. You can also see some new infill townhomes on the right side of the photo.

Here's an updated overview of the project's layout: