DrkLts

Fort worth is the county seat of Tarrant County... Espn in downtown FW and Superbowl in Arlignton... Tarrant County is gonna rock!

Even without water, Alliance may soon be a port Designation would let Alliance levy taxes for infrastructre By ANNA M. TINSLEY Star-Telegram staff writer (Alliance, which covers 17,000 acres in far north Fort Worth, could get an inland-port designation under a bill in the Legislature. Alliance Airport, BNSF Railway and Interstate 35W provide the transportation for the development's distribution centers.) FORT WORTH -- AllianceTexas could soon be an inland port, drawing countless international shipments and new dollars for improvements, under a state plan that drew endorsements Tuesday from local leaders. Under a bill in the Texas Senate, city and county leaders would work together to create the ports, define property to be included in them and create governing boards to levy taxes for infrastructure and security improvements. "Establishing a port authority will allow Alliance to continue to compete," said David Pelletier, director of communications for Hillwood, the company owned by Ross Perot Jr. that is developing the 17,000-acre AllianceTexas. "There's a lot of states looking to establish inland ports because it's about economic development." The push for the legislation comes soon after the unveiling of plans to turn thousands of acres south of Dallas into a warehouse and distribution center that some say could rival Alliance. What happened Tuesday: County and Fort Worth leaders unanimously endorsed a plan to create inland-port designations in Texas. The measure by state Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Lewisville, also won approval in the Senate Natural Resources Committee and is headed to the full Senate for debate. Where an inland port could go: The bill says a port could be established in an area with a municipally owned airport, a Class 1 railroad and a priority corridor highway. In Fort Worth, those are Alliance Airport, BNSF Railway and Interstate 35W. The bill would allow inland ports across the state. What an inland port would do: Much like a Public Improvement District, the authority would tax itself and use that revenue for improvements such as roads, runways, security measures or customs. How much this could generate and what for: Pelletier said there are no estimates on how much money could be generated by the inland-port designation. But it would help Alliance move forward with infrastructure improvements. Why this is needed: "Establishing an inland-port authority will strengthen Alliance's position as a major international trade corridor," said Nelson, whose district includes Alliance. "Goods from all over the world are clearing customs right here in our back yard, so it is vital that there be resources available for security, infrastructure and continued growth." What local officials are saying: Assistant City Manager Joe Paniagua said the city's staff supports the concept of an inland port but has some concerns. They include whether the port authority's board would be subject to the Texas Open Meetings Act and whether the port authority could buy land and build facilities that would be tax-exempt. Staff writer Mike Lee contributed to this report. Anna M. Tinsley, 817-390-7610

One obvious difference Dallas has, compaired to the other two cities mentioned, it has another major city "FORT WORTH" one county over connected to it be freeways and commuter train to form a mega regional area known locally as the Metroplex. Houston and Atlanta hold thier own. Without FW, Dallas' metro population wouldn't be as big as it is claimed now.

I didn't know there even was or will be a "Port" in Dallas, and I live in DFW! I see no talk about it in the Dallas or Fort Worth forums. So why all the fuss here in H-town?

Yeah, it need some serious updating. Now it's up 661,850 from the last time Willy1 suggested that request

Well, I do hope FW and Austin does get more tall skyscrapers. It's always been all about Dallas and Houston skylines. It's FW and Austin's turn to reach for the sky.

Someone from the Fort Worth forum asked, is that a lake at the tip? lol A more refined map...

TxDave, do your homework... Fort Worth is #19 on the top 20 big cities. You meant, all 5 major TX cities in the top 20 right??? This map will show what they mean... Why do people keep calling DFW Airport, "the airport in Dallas" when clearly its closer to Fort Worth???

Here is the article in full..... Dallas Business Journal - 3:17 PM CST Thursday Trump sets sights on Dallas Glenn Hunter Editor Real estate tycoon Donald J. Trump says he's eying land in North Texas for a project called Trump Tower Dallas. "We're literally looking at something right now, and if we do it we'll make it very, very successful," Trump told the Dallas Business Journal by phone from New York Thursday. While he declined to provide specifics, the wealthy entrepreneur said he'll visit the tower's proposed site next month when he speaks at the Learning Annex Real Estate Wealth Expo at the Dallas Convention Center. "The speech is giving me the incentive to go out and look at the land," Trump said. "The land that we'll purchase will be terrific, if we decide to do this." Asked to describe the site's location, Trump said: "I'd rather not. Because otherwise, it won't be available for purchase for very long." Trump, president and chairman of the New York-based Trump Organization, developed the Trump Tower skyscraper and the Trump International Hotel & Tower, a luxury hotel and residential building, in New York. Most recently he announced plans for Trump Tower Philadelphia, a 45-story, $190 million luxury condominium project along the Delaware River waterfront. It would be similar to other Trump buildings planned for Las Vegas, Chicago and Tampa, Fla. Experts say Dallas has been a hot market for high-end condos. The most successful such projects have been the W Dallas Victory Hotel and Residences and the Residences at The Ritz-Carlton, said real estate consultant Ted Wilson, a principal at Dallas-based Residential Strategies Inc. That's mainly because both the W and the Ritz have "national and even international brand appeal" and are associated with full-service hotels, Wilson said. ghunter@bizjournals.com | 214-706-7109

pretty sweeeeeeet!

Breathtaking!

Isn't it getting pretty dangerous near Laredo? Especially if you cross the border into Nuevo Laredo. I hear alot of drug trafficing is spilling into the U.S. side. I keep hearing alot of murders and kidnappings are happening. I would assume that would slow down anybody from moving into Laredo.

Old news, but did any of you Houstonites know that Neiman's if partly owned by a FORT WORTH firm??? DFW's WFAA Channel 8's web sight had the following in it's archives. FW getting a little more classier Neiman Marcus agrees to buyout 11:00 PM CDT on Monday, May 2, 2005 From Staff and Wire Reports John David Emmett / DMN Neiman Marcus Group Inc., an icon in luxury retailing, said Monday it has agreed to sell its chain of department stores to two private investment firms for about $5.1 billion in cash. Texas Pacific Group, based in Fort Worth, and New York-based Warburg Pincus agreed to pay $100 per share for Neiman Marcus, which operates 35 Neiman Marcus stores, a Bergdorf Goodman women's store and a Bergdorf Goodman men's store. The price is a slight premium to Neiman Marcus' closing price of $98.32 on Friday but is more than 25 percent higher since mid-March when the company announced it was considering putting itself up for sale. Some Dallasites worry the ownership change could result in the closing of the chain's flagship store in downtown Dallas. "Since I was a little girl we shopped in downtown Dallas at that store," said customer Mary Beth White. "I can remember being there, 3 or 4 years old, having lunch with my mom." Legendary local figure Stanley Marcus left Neiman's 30 years ago and died in 2002, but strong roots and a solid reputation have kept the retailer looking good. And while some worry about the stores losing their Lone Star connections, Neiman Marcus officials said many people forget - or maybe didn't know - that a Boston company has owned the chain since 1969. Shares fell $5.10, or 5.3 percent, to $92.10 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange as investors sought to lock in profits. "We are very pleased with the results of our strategic review," said Neiman Marcus Chairman Richard A. Smith. "This transaction provides outstanding shareholder value and represents an endorsement of the excellent performance of our entire team." Smith and his family, who own a "significant" portion of Neiman Marcus' stock, separately agreed to vote their shares in favor of the transaction, the company said. The acquisition is the latest in a flurry of retail deals in the last few months, fueled by private equity firms that are flush with cash as well as heavy cash flows from the likes of merchants like Federated Stores Inc., who feel the way to grow in an overall stagnant apparel market is to gobble up other chains. On Friday, Saks Inc., the Birmingham, Ala.-based department store operator, said it is selling its Proffitt's and McRae's department stores to privately held retailer Belk Inc. for $622 million in cash as it considers selling its northern mid-priced department store group. Saks, however, said it will retain and continue to operate its luxury Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprise division, as well as its upscale Parisian stores. Texas Pacific, which manages over $15 billion in assets, has investments in a number of companies including the retailers Petco, J. Crew and Debenhams and the fast-food restaurant company Burger King. On Sunday, its investment in Lenovo, the new chinese owner of IBM's personal computer division, was confirmed. Warburg Pincus has about $13 billion under management and invests in the financial services, health care, media and energy industries as well as real estate. Investment banks Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan both advised Neiman Marcus on the deal. The Associated Press and WFAA-TV's Karin Kelly contributed to this report.

I dunno, you might wanna add Fort Worth to that list of "outside Houston and Dallas". If you haven't read the DFW section, Fort Worth has a chance of getting a 60 story, 900'ft tower in '06. If the building actually comes out to be 900 feet, then it will only be 21 feet shorter than the Bank of America Plaza in Dallas, and taller than Dallas' second tallest building. At 900 feet, it would be Texas' fifth tallest. 1. JPMorgan Chase Tower Houston - 1,002 ft. 2. Wells Fargo Plaza, Houston - 972 ft. 3. Bank of America Plaza, Dallas - 921 ft. 4. Williams Tower, Houston - 901 ft. 5. Block TU Tower, Fort Worth - 900 ft.

Yeah, you'd think so. The thing is, if ya noticed in the article, one of the developers is from Dallas. I doubt he'd stab Big D in the back like that would he? lol :closedeyes:

John T. Roberts on his Fort Worth Forum mentioned this interesting fact... If the building actually comes out to be 900 feet, then it will only be 21 feet shorter than the Bank of America Plaza in Dallas, and taller than Dallas' second tallest building. At 900 feet, it would be Texas' fifth tallest. 1. JPMorgan Chase Tower Houston - 1,002 ft. 2. Wells Fargo Plaza, Houston - 972 ft. 3. Bank of America Plaza, Dallas - 921 ft. 4. Williams Tower, Houston - 901 ft. 5. Block TU Tower, Fort Worth - 900 ft. I also think it would be the state's tallest building with residents. We couldn't call it the state's tallest residential building because of the mixed uses.

for those who prefer Dallas media as reliable, a Dallas paper with a similar article... Dallas Business Journal - 2:41 PM CST Wednesday Developers plan 60-story development in Fort Worth Holli L. Estridge Staff Writer Local developers are in the planning phases for an estimated $200 million, 60-story office-condo tower in downtown Fort Worth. Situated on the southeast corner of Calhoun and Sixth streets, the structure would be the central business district's tallest skyscraper and the first built there since the 1980s. Fort Worth architect Ken Schaumburg, and Dallas' Wilcox Development Services and OmniPlan are partners on the project, which could have 200,000 square feet of office space, 300 condos, a top-level, club-type restaurant and 10 floors of parking. The proposed tower has not yet garnered financing. Schaumburg, who owns the tower site, will primarily handle the condo design. The units would offer floorplans up to 5,000 square feet, with prices in the $350 per square foot range. Schaumburg said he had originally purchased the property with a smaller project in mind. "I bought it with the idea of doing probably 300 condos on it, without the office component," he said. "Bill's (Cawley of Cawley-Wilcox Cos., of which Wilcox Development is a part) forté is high-rise office development. He approached me with the idea of doing both." The partners are discussing making the tower an even larger project, Schaumburg said, with more condo units per floor. If they decide to go that route, they would have a 50-story building instead -- still the tallest in downtown. Shaumburg said 10 floors of parking situated beneath the structure, but on and above street level, would eliminate the series tunnels and bridges associated with many other downtown skyscrapers. "The parking garage is a spiraling garage with the office and condos," Schaumburg said, of OmniPlan's design. "The public and office tenants will have no connection to the condo parking and tenants." Representatives of OmniPlan could not be reached to comment on the tower project. Cawley said his firm was looking for a site to build 200,000 square feet of office space when he began talks with Schaumburg. GVA Cawley, a Dallas-based real estate firm Cawley leads as president and CEO, already owns the Ridglea Bank Building off Camp Bowie Boulevard and the three-building Overton Centre office complex. "Fort Worth has one of the most stable, and one of the best office markets in the country," Cawley said. "Rental rates and occupancy are high and vacancy is low." The planned office space, city leaders have said, will help meet heavy demand for Class A office space, which has a low vacancy rate. Schaumburg said Cawley expects to presell 50 percent of the office space before the tower breaks ground. Developers anticipate completing design work, marketing tools, videos, virtual tours and a rendering by mid-February 2006. Then, they will begin pre-sales and the four- to six-month-long process of architecture, engineering and permitting work. The project, if built at 60 stories, would surpass in height Fort Worth's tallest tower, the 40-story Burnett Plaza located at 801 Cherry St. The new tower would stand as high as downtown Dallas' Bank One Center and Fountain Place. hestridge@bizjournals.com

Some exciting FORT WORTH news... Posted on Wed, Dec. 14, 2005 Developers plan 60-story tower in downtown Fort Worth By SANDRA BAKER STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER Fort Worth -- Area developers are considering a spiraling 60-story, $200 million office and condo tower on the east side of downtown that, if built, would become the city's tallest building -- and the first skyscraper built here in more than 20 years. Fort Worth architect Ken Schaumburg and Dallas developer William "Bill" Cawley, chairman and chief executive of Cawley Wilcox Cos., have teamed for the ambitious project, one that could spur redevelopment in an area of downtown that has been bypassed by most recent redevelopment efforts. The project, planned for the southeast corner of Calhoun and Sixth streets, would likely offer some of the highest-priced condominiums in the downtown residential market and create a residential center near the city's public-transportation hub. Cawley said the project would include 200,000 square feet of office space, 300 condos and 10 floors of parking. It is in early design and budgeting stages, and not all of the financing has been obtained, he said. He said his company and other investors will back the project financially. "I don't expect that to be a problem," Cawley said. "Fort Worth is a great office market, and it's a great city. It's one of the most stable markets in the U.S." Schaumburg and representatives with Wilcox Development Services, the development arm of the Cawley Wilcox Cos., met with city officials Monday in a pre-development planning session for the 900-foot-tall building, planned for the city block bounded by Seventh, Eighth, Calhoun and Jones streets. There is no name yet for the project, but it is being referred to as the Block TU project in city filings. "It looks like everything is good to go," Schaumburg said. The condos are expected to sell for at least $350 a square foot, meaning the largest condos, at 5,000 square feet, would go for $1.75 million, Schaumburg said. As it's now planned, the building's floors each would be 20,000 square feet. The street level would have retail space, followed by 10 floors for parking for 1,100 cars. There would be separate parking entrances for office tenants and residents. Above the parking floors would be a transitional floor of open space, followed by 10 floors of offices, according to the preliminary plans. Above the office floors would be a floor for the building's mechanical equipment and then a sky lobby, which would house recreational space for the condos, including a swimming pool. Above that would be 37 floors of condos. Schaumburg said he would like to see a public restaurant on the top floor. The condos will range from about 800 square feet to 5,000 square feet, with most 1,500 to 2,000 square feet, Schaumburg said. Costs will begin at $350 a square foot, which will set the top end of the market downtown. Marketing efforts for pre-sales will likely begin in late February, he said. If completed, the building will surpass the city's tallest building, Burnett Plaza, 801 Cherry St., which is 40 stories and 567 feet high. The second-tallest building is D.R. Horton Tower, 301 Commerce St., at 547 feet high and 38 stories. Carter+Burgess Plaza, at Seventh and Main streets, is also 40 stories, but 525 feet. The east end of downtown is home to a few warehouses and several empty lots that are used for parking. It is also home to the Intermodal Transportation Center, the city's bus and train terminal, opened at Ninth and Jones streets in 2002. City leaders say the project would be a huge boost to downtown because most of the recent development has been focused on the northern, southern and western edges of the central business district. "We've long seen the potential of that area to benefit from the growth of downtown," said Fernando Costa, the city's economic-development director. The site is just a few blocks from Bass Performance Hall and within a few of blocks of the heart of the city's office and commercial district, the workplace for about 40,000 people. Andy Taft, president of Downtown Fort Worth Inc., a nonprofit booster group, said the project will tap into two markets in great demand -- office and residential. He's hoping that the development could spur similar projects. "The office space is very tight in downtown, and the combination of office and residential in that location is an intriguing idea," Taft said. "There is a lot of land in that corridor for redevelopment opportunities." Mayor Mike Moncrief said the proposed building would certainly change the city's skyline. "I know there's demand for square footage downtown, offices large and small alike," Moncrief said. The vacancy rate for Class A office space in downtown Fort Worth has remained at historic lows for the past couple of years, and if forecasts are correct, it's going to keep getting tighter. Grubb & Ellis says that the largest tenant demands will occur in the Class A office market, the most modern buildings with the latest amenities. Corporate relocations and consolidations are creating the greatest demand for space, Grubb & Ellis says in its market assessment. Other projects are also in the works for downtown Fort Worth. Klabzuba Oil and Gas Co. in Fort Worth plans a 10-story Class A office building near the southwest corner of Weatherford and Lexington streets, on the western edge of downtown. The company said the 200,000-square-foot building could be under construction in mid-2006. Schaumburg said Cawley approached him earlier this year about a possible project. The land was acquired by Schaumburg in April from TXU Electric Delivery, which had used it for fleet parking. At the time, Schaumburg said he anticipated using the city block to expand his nearby Le Bijou luxury town-house development, which will be under construction in the coming weeks. "I had planned on a condo project, but this makes it pretty exciting to combine both," Schaumburg said. The Cawley Wilcox Cos. are not unfamiliar with Fort Worth. Wilcox Capital in July bought the three-building Overton Centre office complex in southwest Fort Worth. In 2002, it bought the Green Oaks Hotel, a west Fort Worth landmark, and in 2003 it bought the Ridglea Bank Building off Camp Bowie Boulevard. Most recently, Wilcox Development built the JPMorgan International Building, a 1.1 million-square-foot building in Dallas, the 420,000-square-foot Sybase corporate headquarters in Dublin, Calif., and the 250,000-square-foot Blue Shield of California building in Sacramento. Schaumburg will serve as design architect on the Fort Worth project , but Omniplan in Dallas will be the architect of record. The Fort Worth building would be as tall as two 60-story buildings in downtown Dallas -- the Bank One Center at 1717 Main St. and Fountain Place, 1445 Ross Ave. The tallest building in the Metroplex is the 72-story Bank of America Plaza, 901 Main St., in downtown Dallas, according to the Web site Dallassky.com. Schaumburg is behind several high-dollar condominium projects in Fort Worth, including The Versailles, at Henderson and Peach streets, and Bluff Street, at 959 Bluff St. He has also talked about a $48 million, 23-story condo tower on the western edge of downtown that would overlook the Trinity River at Peach and North Lexington streets. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sandra Baker, 817-390-7727 sabaker@star-telegram.com

Anyone notice that Fort Worth is #19? Not even Boston, Altanta, Seattle, or Las Vegas are in that top 20 list. Making me look at FW as a major player with the big boys

If anyone going to Dallas, hope ya got family/friends there waiting because hotels are packed already the local news in Big D are saying. Try friendlier Fort Worth if ya gotta be in DFW! Just some advice

Whoa!

Has anyone been to Six Flags up there? If ya go up in the Oil Derrick, (orange tower) couple of hundred feet up on the observation deck, you look west and see downtown Fort Worth, and then you walk around to the east side (just a few paces) and you can see downtown Dallas! All from one spot. Just seeing two city downtowns from one place is too cool.

You forgot to mention FW is ALSO now bigger than Atlanta and Las Vegas. Hard to believe tho, but it's true. I looked it up...shocked

Looks like while everyone been so focused on Dallas, Fort Worth will be the next city that everyone will be talking about when it catches up to or passes up Big D in a few decades. lol