Posts under ‘Architecture & Preservation’

Sources have sent in the first rendering and site plan for the redevelopment of the former Carnival on 8th Avenue in Fairmount by Cook Children’s, and I’ve actually got some good news about the project. While the existing suburban-style layout isn’t going away, unfortunately, and the building’s definitely not going to be winning any [...]

While we’re talking about Near Southside streetcar alignments, I thought I’d also bring you all the preliminary design renderings for Magnolia’s “Complete Street” makeover proposal, which would re-stripe the street from four lanes to two with a center turn lane, to slow traffic and increase safety, and add dedicated bike lanes. Again, these are [...]

Just a reminder, if you’re not aware of this: there’s a live webcam watching construction progress on the new Fort Worth Museum of Science and History available here. The webcam can be controlled to point in different directions and zoom in and out. Above is an image of the museum from the [...]

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It’s back! The Fort Worthology Show returns to the podcasting airwaves, retooled and brought back after a long hiatus. Join co-host Stephanie Scarborough and myself as we talk Fort Worth urbanism, architecture, transit, and more. Today’s episode: the Tarrant County College buildings. [...]

The new episode of the PBS series NOW, Driven to Despair, is a very well-done showcase of the problems and weaknesses of car-dependent planning and far-flung suburbia. The episode introduces us to the Schleighs, a family living in California exurbia in a large four-bedroom house. Mr. Schleigh gets up at 4:00 AM every [...]

The rumors were true - the Albertsons at TCU will be coming down to make way for a mixed-use development featuring the first urban-styled grocery store in Fort Worth. The new development, on the northwest corner of University & Devitt and just south of the Bank of America at University & Berry, will be [...]

The image above is our first look at the new building being planned by XTO Energy for the block at 7th & Calhoun across from the historic Binyon-O’Keefe Warehouse that XTO’s moving into. The new building features a few floors of office space and then several floors of parking. Local firm Hahnfeld Hoffer [...]

The site plan above depicts a new mixed-use development planned for the southeast corner of University & Devitt near TCU. The development will feature 7,200 square feet of retail space, 52 residential units, and a 122 space parking garage. Click for a bigger view.

I’ve now got some much better renderings of the in-planning Texas & Pacific Warehouse redevelopment project, and I know you would all love to see them. :) These are much better than the renderings I’ve shown before. The renderings depict the Texas & Pacific Warehouse converted into loft apartments with ground-floor retail, [...]

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You may remember this small building at 8th Avenue & Magnolia from my recent post about endangered historic buildings. I’m now receiving word that this building may be more endangered than I thought. The word I’ve heard is that the building is to be demolished and replaced with a Comerica Bank [...]

This video comes from Reconnecting America, and is a quick intro video the group did to promote human-scaled development. It’s been making the rounds in the smart growth blog world so I thought I’d share.

Construction on The Carnegie, the new 16-story Class A office tower in Sundance Square, is just about complete. I saw a tenant moving in recently, most likely EOG Resources. The building’s traditional design is turning out very well indeed, in my opinion. Now, some detail shots.

I love the building’s detailing on the [...]

Across Samuels Avenue from the luxurious Villa De Leon condo development, Lincoln Apartments is building a new 300+ unit apartment development. Site prep has been underway for a while now, and at last there is something rising from the site. As seen in the top photo, the development’s parking garage at the rear [...]

On Samuels in the Trinity Bluff development, the luxurious Villa De Leon condos next to Charles Nash Elementary continue to steadily progress towards completion. Facade prep is underway and balconies are being installed. The condos start at $786,000.

As can be seen at the top of the building in the photo above, the steel framing of the crown on the Omni Hotel & Condos is now being assembled. The framing will be covered with glass like that used on the condo tower portion of the building below it, giving an angled “swoop” [...]

One of my reasons to arive ahead of the group Thursday was to get to see first-hand some of the public artwork of Seattle-based artist Dan Corson. Dan was recently chosen to provide the public art component of the planned Hemphill-Lamar Connector, which will create a new connector street that runs under the railroad tracks [...]

As Historic Fort Worth often does, I thought I’d post my own list of some structures in urban Fort Worth that I feel are most endangered and worthy of preservation. I will try to not have too much overlap between the HFW list and mine, but some is inevitable. Here we go, in [...]

Must have missed the link - turns out that WFAA did a story on the proposed Magnolia Avenue bike lanes. Click here to watch it. A pretty decent story, all in all - though I must say I look forward to a future where requesting that we reduce traffic lanes, slow cars, and [...]

I’m hearing rumors that the Albertsons by TCU will be getting a heavy makeover, possibly a rebuild, that will feature underground parking, space for additional retail tenants, and 3-4 floors of office space on top.
Just a little rumor for you. Thanks to reader Jeff for forwarding me the tidbit!

I came to the Pacific Northwest a day early to tour the Fort Worth Central City - Trinity River scale hydrology model before its dismantling at the conclusion of testing later this year.
(Note from Kevin: The Fort Worth Central City Hydrology Model is a 40:1 scale model of the Trinity River after reconfiguration by [...]

The new campus commons at TCU seems more or less complete. The new residence halls are open, the green space is mostly finished apart from some minor landscaping details, and the new Brown-Lupton University Union has opened. The biggest activity at the site now is the construction of Scharbauer Hall on the site [...]

The TownSite Co. acquired this building not long ago when it bought what is usually known as the former Motheral Printing site in the Near Southside. TownSite is making plans at the 11-acre assemblage of buildings and vacant lots centered around the intersection of South Main & Pennsylvania for a mixed-use development on the [...]

I’ve been noticing a new building rising on Rogers Road between Collinsworth and Riverfront (near University Park Village), and from the method of construction I figured it was a new apartment development. There hasn’t been any sort of information at the construction site as to what was going on, and I haven’t heard anything [...]

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A tip of the hat to The Recyclican, who noticed this Star-Telegram article by John Austin. XTO Energy is making plans for a new building at 7th & Calhoun, across the street from the historic Binyon O’Keefe warehouse they’re restoring.
The $38 million building would occupy the block bounded by Seventh, Jones, Calhoun [...]

With the Weekly’s Best of 2008 issue now out and about, I must confess - this one puzzles me. Of all the new architecture in Fort Worth, Cantey Hangar Plaza is the best?
I get that the Weekly will never get David M. Schwarz, because they do tend to skew pretty modernist in their architecture [...]