Aug 26, 2010 7

Stayton Progress

By: Kevin Buchanan

The first of three towers at the Stayton retirement condo development in So7 has topped out, and the building’s distinctive swooping roof is going up.  It also appears that they’re getting closer to having some facade work underway.  Towers 2 and 3 aren’t far behind – the development’s already making a pretty noticeable addition to the Cultural District.

If you’d like to get a sneak preview of the Stayton, check out our in-depth look at the project from last year.

As an aside, can I point out a problem with the new So7 sidewalks?

The width’s pretty good, but the arrangement of the lamps and trees is awkward.  You’ll be weaving your way between the two when you encounter them together, and when just passing trees their location inboard towards development means pedestrians will be out on the edge by the curb, next to traffic.  From a pedestrian standpoint, it’s better to have all the objects like lamps and trees in the area of the sidewalk next to the curb, to provide a physical and psychological barrier between pedestrian walking space and traffic.  (Picture all the trees lined up on the same side as those lamps, and you’ll get the idea.)  Minor?  Perhaps, but I wanted to point it out all the same.

Aug 12, 2010 2

Blue Sushi Sake Grill Progress

By: Kevin Buchanan

Looks as though Blue Sushi Sake Grill is rolling right along in its future home – the ground floor of the Museum Place Flatiron, where 7th, University, Camp Bowie, and Bailey come together, across the street from Eddie V’s.

Blue is, oddly, an import from Omaha, Nebraska.  There are three locations in Omaha, with the Museum Place location being its first venture out of that area.  So, if anybody out there has been through Omaha and dined at Blue, what did you think?

Aug 11, 2010 11

Foch Office Development

By: Kevin Buchanan

The redevelopment of the Quonset hut and adjacent warehouse structure on Foch near the West 7th development is well underway – here’s a recent photo of the project.  There have been quite a few questions on this project, and what I know now is that it’s an office space project, and the architect for the redevelopment is Cunningham Architects.

Here’s the warehouse structure next door being heavily renovated.

The development looks intriguing – clean and modern.  With one exception…

It looks like no sidewalks on the side street!  There have been a few redevelopments in the West 7th surroundings that have left out sidewalks, either completely or partially (Capital Bar, last we noticed, had no sidewalks in front).  That’s unacceptable in a redeveloping Urban Village setting – I’d hope more of these projects would take their pedestrian-oriented location into consideration and put in sidewalks on all sides.  As it stands now, outside of Cypress Equities property the sidewalk situation in this area – even on newly renovated properties – is disappointingly spotty.

Aug 9, 2010 Comments Off

West 7th Phase II Progress

By: Kevin Buchanan

Phase II of the West 7th development is well underway now.  This view, taken from on high looking southwest into the Phase II block, shows the materials being staged on the main site of the new loft/retail building, as well as excavation and construction work for the parking garage that will sit behind Fred’s.

This new construction at West 7th will fill out the last vacant block around the development’s signature intersection at Crockett & Currie, and will add 96 new loft apartments atop 25,000 square feet of new retail space.  About 75% of the original phase retail is leased, and the current lofts are 99% leased.  The project is, as before, a development of Cypress Equities.

Below is an elevation drawing of the second phase loft/retail building, as seen from the north (the main Crockett Street facade).

Jul 23, 2010 6

America’s Favorite Art Museum – The Modern, or the Guggenheim?

By: Kevin Buchanan

ArtInfo is holding an online tournament to determine America’s favorite art museum, and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth is in the running.  There are several match-ups to vote for.  In the current round, the Modern is matched up against the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.  A little birdie tells me that the Modern is actually pretty close to the Guggenheim in the voting, so spread the word and see if we can’t get the Modern a little more recognition.

So, what’s it going to be – Tadao Ando’s Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, or Frank Lloyd Wright’s Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum?  Click the link and vote!

Jul 14, 2010 4

MK’s Sushi Headed to West 7th

By: Kevin Buchanan

MK’s Sushi, which looks to have gotten its start in Bedford, is headed for Cypress Equities’ West 7th development.  It’s been added to the West 7th web site, with an address of 2801 W. 7th – that’s roughly in the ground floor of the office/retail building at 7th & Foch, according to Google Maps.

MK’s menu appears to be pretty well-rounded, including several vegetarian options.  No word just yet on an opening date.

Jul 8, 2010 5

Potential Streetcar Alignments Being Studied

By: Kevin Buchanan

The city has released some documents from HDR, Inc.’s current planning work on Fort Worth’s modern streetcar system, and one of the documents gives some more depth, information, and details on the potential starter alignments being considered and how they’re being measured.  It’s important to note that at this stage of planning, the routes are not set in stone.  There are several potential starter routes for the first phase of the modern streetcar system, and each is being evaluated according to a set of criteria.  The end result might be one of these lines, or it might be a combination of parts of lines.  These answers will come from the study currently underway by HDR, Inc. that is providing a blueprint for our modern streetcar system.  This information comes from publicly-available planning documents posted to the City of Fort Worth’s official streetcar project web site, available as a PDF at the following link:  DRAFT Technical Memorandum – Alignment Refinement.

The criteria that the potential starter routes are being measured against come from factors in successful streetcar systems in other cities, and the goals and issues that a Fort Worth solution could be designed to address.  The criteria are focused on improving the development and mobility situation in Downtown and its surrounding neighborhoods.  They reflect the objectives of the project as told to HDR, based on meetings with City of Fort Worth officials and staff, organizations like Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. and Fort Worth South, Inc., and the city’s Modern Streetcar Task Force.

The sort of criteria that these routes are being measured against include:

  • Existing and anticipated population in the alignment corridor
  • Existing and anticipated employment in the alignment corridor
  • Major destinations served
  • Developable land
  • Potential yield from TIF and other locally-generated sources
  • Assessed value base
  • Compatibility with city and TIF district plans
  • Relative lack of engineering or traffic management constraints
  • Estimated ridership
  • Capital and operating costs
  • Public and stakeholder support

The following routes are being screened against these criteria.  Each is being analyzed as a potential stand-alone Phase 1 of the streetcar system.  It’s expected that, once the evaluations are complete, potential combinations of these lines could also emerge as a starter project, but the initial evaluation is of each route alone.  Note also that these descriptions are of the starter routes and do not include potential extensions to each route.

You’ll note that most of the lines include several segments that are the same as the other lines.  HDR’s plans showcase how the starter lines can build together over time into a network, and how they can share most of the same trackage in Downtown.

Click on the routes for a larger view.

West 7th

The West 7th alignment is 3.0 miles end-to-end.  From the Intermodal Transportation Center at 9th & Jones, the line heads westbound on 9th to Commerce, where it turns northbound and heads to 6th.  At 6th, the line turns westbound on 6th to Cherry, where it makes a slight right to merge from westbound 6th to westbound 7th.  The line heads westbound on 7th to Montgomery, where it then heads southbound to Camp Bowie, the terminus of the line.  It heads back into Downtown using the same route – northbound on Montgomery, then eastbound on 7th – until it reaches Henderson.  At Henderson, the line turns northbound on Henderson, then eastbound on 3rd.  After heading eastbound on 3rd, the line turns southbound on Calhoun before turning eastbound on 9th to go one block to the terminus at 9th & Jones at the ITC.

North Main

The North Main alignment is 1.4 miles end-to-end.  From the Intermodal Transportation Center at 9th & Jones, the line heads westbound on 9th to Commerce, where it turns northbound.  It heads northbound on Commerce through Belknap & Weatherford and makes the merge onto North Main past the Tarrant County Courthouse.  The line crosses the Paddock Viaduct (North Main bridge) where it is then envisioned that it would be integrated into the Trinity Uptown master plan.  One option, shown here, would have the line turn onto a reconstructed Commerce and head north before turning westbound on NE 6th and then southbound on North Main to head back to Downtown.  Once across the Paddock Viaduct, the line would merge from the bridge onto southbound Houston and continue southbound to 3rd, where it would turn eastbound and head to Calhoun.  At Calhoun, the line would turn southbound and head to 9th, turning eastbound on 9th to go one block to the terminus at 9th & Jones at the ITC.

Trinity Bluffs

The Trinity Bluffs alignment is 1.4 miles end-to-end.  From the Intermodal Transportation Center at 9th & Jones, the line heads westbound on 9th to Commerce, where it turns and heads northbound to 6th.  At 6th, the line turns westbound and heads to 7th, where it heads further westbound to Henderson.  It turns and heads northbound on Henderson to 3rd, where it turns and runs eastbound.  Upon reaching Pecan, the line turns northbound and heads to Bluff, then eastbound to Samuels.  It runs northbound on Samuels to the Cold Springs intersection, the terminus of the line.  It then heads back to Downtown via Samuels, Bluff, and Pecan.  At Pecan & 4th, it turns and heads westbound to Calhoun.  The line then runs southbound on Calhoun to 9th, turning eastbound on 9th to go one block to the terminus at 9th & Jones at the ITC.

Near Southside – Jennings Option

There are two potential Near Southside alignments being considered at this time.  This is the Jennings option, which is 2.0 miles end-to-end.  The Jennings option heads southbound on Houston from 3rd.  At 9th, the line cuts over to Throckmorton headed southbound, then further over to Jennings.  It heads southbound on Jennings past Lancaster and under the railroad tracks and I-30, continuing southbound on Jennings to Pennsylvania.  The line then heads westbound on Pennsylvania to Henderson, turning southbound on Henderson to Terrell.  The line turns westbound on Terrell to 6th Avenue, the terminus of the line.  It heads back into Downtown eastbound and northbound via the same route – Terrell, Henderson, Pennsylvania, and Jennings – before reaching Throckmorton and heading northbound to 3rd, heading eastbound on 3rd back to Houston to head back to the Near Southside.  It is important to note that the Jennings option does not directly serve the ITC, but provides a connection to the TRE and the future SW2NE train at the Texas & Pacific Station.

Near Southside – South Main Option

The second potential Near Southside alignment is the South Main option, which is 3.2 miles end-to-end.  This alignment leaves the Intermodal Transportation Center at 9th & Jones heading westbound on 9th.  It turns and heads northbound on Commerce then westbound on 6th.  It then turns and heads southbound on Houston, crossing Lancaster, the railroad tracks, and I-30 then merging southbound onto South Main.  The line heads southbound on South Main to Magnolia.  It turns and heads westbound on Magnolia to 7th Avenue, where it turns northbound and heads to Terrell, the terminus of the line.  It heads back into Downtown via the same route – 7th Avenue, Magnolia, and South Main – then turns eastbound towards Jones after crossing the railroad tracks, I-30, and Lancaster.  It then turns northbound on Jones and heads back to the ITC at 9th & Jones, where it would then turn westbound onto 9th to head back out.

Near Southside & Rosedale/East Side – Rosedale Alignment

The Rosedale line is 2.2 miles end-to-end.  It leaves the Intermodal Transportation Center at 9th & Jones heading westbound on 9th.  It turns and heads northbound on Commerce then westbound on 6th.  It then turns and heads southbound on Houston, crossing Lancaster, the railroad tracks, and I-30 then merging southbound onto South Main.  The line heads southbound on South Main to Rosedale.  It turns eastbound on Rosedale to Evans, which is the terminus of the line.  It heads back into Downtown via the same route – Rosedale and South Main – then turns eastbound towards Jones after crossing the railroad tracks, I-30, and Lancaster.  It then turns northbound on Jones and heads back to the ITC at 9th & Jones, where it would then turn westbound onto 9th to head back out.

Again, let us stress that these alignment options are still being measured against the design criteria.  The exact starter alignment has not yet been selected, and may in fact be a combination of elements of multiple alignments.  We’ll have more as the study by HDR continues.  For more information on this process, head to the City of Fort Worth’s official streetcar project web site, where this data is available to the public as a PDF at the following link:  DRAFT Technical Memorandum – Alignment Refinement.

Jun 30, 2010 1

West 7th Concert Tonight

By: Kevin Buchanan

The West 7th development is putting on a free concert tonight at Crockett & Norwood, in one of the few undeveloped lots of their project.  Starting at 6:00 PM, they’ll be showcasing acts both local and from the larger Texas area.  The lineup is thus:

6:00 PM:  Kevin Aldridge of Chatterton
7:00 PM:  Luke Wade
8:00 PM:  Doug Moreland

Bring blankets and lawn chairs.  Terra Mediterranean Grill will be selling food and drink.  Other participating merchants include Pure Bliss Therapeutic Massage, LA Fitness, Yofé Fresh Fruit & Yogurt Cafe, Backwoods, Paciugo, and Toni & Guy.

Jun 28, 2010 Comments Off

Critical Mass Returns to Fort Worth

By: Kevin Buchanan

Critical Mass, the group bike ride intended to raise awareness of local bike culture, has returned to Fort Worth in a big way.  Last Friday, June 25th, over 60 bike riders gathered at Burnett Park in Downtown Fort Worth at 7:00 PM for a mass group ride that took them to the 7th Street corridor, back through the heart of Downtown, and then on to the Near Southside.

This isn’t the kind of Critical Mass you might have heard of in rare cases in a few other cities – there’s no angry confrontational mindset here, just a laid-back family-friendly group ride to show Fort Worth that bike culture is here in a big way.  With the sheer amount of riders in this one, the event took on an almost parade-like quality with people gathering on the sidewalks to watch and wave as the group rode by.

Here’s some shots of the group meeting at Burnett Park, heading down 7th back into Downtown, and cruising down Magnolia in the Near Southside.  Click the photos to embiggen.

Jun 25, 2010 1

Fort Worth Weekly Music Awards Nominees Up, Awards Event this Sunday

By: Kevin Buchanan

Do you like music?  Sure, we all do.  Since you do, you’ll want to head over to the web site of the Fort Worth Weekly, where the nominees for the annual Fort Worth Weekly Music Awards are online.

What’s more, the Weekly’s Music Awards extravaganza is this Sunday, at six clubs around 7th Street:  The Backyard at Capital Bar, Fred’s Texas Café, Lola’s Saloon, Poag Mahone’s, The Pour House, and 7th Haven.  The show is free, and is going to feature 36 Fort Worth artists (all are nominees):  The Orbans, Calhoun, Dove Hunter, Whiskey Folk Ramblers, Josh Weathers and the True+Endeavors, The Burning Hotels, Stella Rose, Goodwin, Clint Niosi, Rivercrest Yacht Club, Stoogeaphilia, Eaton Lake Tonics,Pinkish Black, Quaker City Nighthawks, The Dangits, Chatterton, Fate Lions, Titanmoon, Rabbit’s Got the Gun, KatsüK, Maren Morris, Exit 380, Cityview, The Phuss, The Will Callers, Jefferson Colby, Keegan McInroe, Browningham, Secret Ghost Champion, JZ & Dirty Pool, Phantom Caste, Kristina Morland, My Wooden Leg, Jason Worley, Christian L. Williams, and Vatican Press.

The full schedule and festival program can be found in the current Weekly.  If you’re big on local, independent music, you’ll want to check out the Weekly’s festival.

Jun 24, 2010 4

West 7th Phase II Underway

By: Kevin Buchanan

Left-to-right:  Michael Wheat (Cypress Equities Senior Vice President of Leasing), Fernando Costa (Fort Worth Assistant City Manager for Infrastructure Services), Dale Fisseler (Fort Worth City Manager), Bill Thornton (President and CEO of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce), Tom Higgins (Fort Worth Assistant City Manager for Economic and Community Development), Kirk Williams (Cypress Equities Senior Vice President of Development), John Fainter (Cypress Equities Vice President of Development), and Joel Burns (Fort Worth City Council Member District 9).

Phase II of the West 7th development by Cypress Equities officially got underway today with a groundbreaking attended by several Cypress and Fort Worth city officials.  Phase II’s site is the “southeast block”, bounded by Currie, Crockett, and Foch, with a parking garage that will go behind Fred’s to the south.

The next phase of West 7th is comprised of 96 new loft apartments on the upper floors above 25,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.  The additional residential and retail space comes thanks in part to the strong leasing of the original phase – around 75% of the original retail space is leased, and the loft apartments in the first phase are 99% leased.

Below is a rendering of the new phase, showing the new building’s Crockett facade.  Click to embiggen:

The new building is of complimentary style to those on the other three blocks from Phase I, and will fully complete the Crockett & Currie intersection, where unique corner elements come together in the center of the project.  Additional renderings of Phase II can be found in the gallery below.  Hats off to Cypress for keeping the project rolling during rough economic times – we’re looking forward to seeing Phase II rise.

Jun 23, 2010 5

Councilman Zimmerman Issues Statement on Ridglea Theater

By: Kevin Buchanan

District 3 Council Member Zimmerman has issued the following statement about the Ridglea Theater:

Over the past several days, the District 3 Office has received numerous phone calls and e-mails regarding the fate of the Ridglea Theater. We’ve heard a great number of concerns, and I share many of those. The Ridglea Theater has been an important part of the Camp Bowie landscape, and citizens have a strong connection with this landmark. Unfortunately, the future of this property has been uncertain for quite some time.

All things considered, it’s important that we strike a balance between preserving the character of this community while at the same time encouraging positive redevelopment. This is a delicate balance, but it can be achieved.

Bank of America has shown interest in the Ridglea Theater. That’s good news. And while the proposed plans to remodel the building into a bank office would adhere to its present multi-use zoning designation, Bank of America has shown a willingness to be a good partner and consider preserving the building’s façade, including its marquee and tower. Although Bank of America has not yet purchased this property, we greatly appreciate their interest in maintaining the character of this important part of our city. Nothing has been finalized, but we will continue to work closely with Bank of America, city officials and the residents of the surrounding community to work toward a positive outcome.

I think I’m seeing that Council Member Zimmerman and the rest of us are approaching this from two very different positions.

He says we have to “encourage positive development,” and takes that to mean ripping out a mixed-use development featuring a live theater and replacing it with a Bank of America branch. The many, many folks who want to see the Ridglea saved do not consider that an example of “positive development,” for a variety of reasons. You’ve got the loss to Fort Worth’s indie music scene – local bands replaced with BoA employees. You’ve got the loss of another single-screen movie theater, a handful of which still remain in the city – a detriment to the city’s connection with an important social and cultural facet of its past. You’ve got the loss of a major historic structure on Camp Bowie that truly sets the architectural stage for several of the historic structures around it – an architectural loss. Hiding all this behind the “well, they’d keep the facade” argument just results in a hollow, false identity covering up another generic bank.

He also says the proposed bank branch would “adhere to the present multi-use zoning,” which is completely untrue unless BoA plans to be running a live music theater in their bank lobby. I’m not certain that “mixed-use zoning” and “Urban Village program” mean what he thinks they mean. My understanding is that the project would demolish all of the Ridglea except the facade, and would also demolish the adjoining office & retail building. The new construction behind the mask of the Ridglea facade would be a BoA branch, while the space currently occupied by the office/retail building would become…a parking lot.

Going from a complex with a live theater, offices, and retail space to a single-use bank branch is in no way “adhering to the present multi-use zoning.” It’ll just be…a bank. That’s one use. Parking does not constitute a second use.

The Ridglea area is designated by the City of Fort Worth as an Urban Village. The city’s web site states that the purpose of the Urban Village program is thus:

Urban Villages are small geographic areas (usually one square mile) zoned for dense, multiple-use development that is mass-transit and pedestrian friendly.

Parks, business, entertainment, homes, and stores — all within walking distance of each other in an area with a consistent look and feel that emphasizes the culture and heritage of those who call it home. A city within a city.

The City of Fort Worth is working with developers, business groups and neighborhood associations to revitalize older commercial districts using capital improvements, mixed-use zoning and economic incentives to help urban villages throughout the Central City.

In no way does the demolition of a historic mixed-use project for its replacement by a single-use bank building with a big new parking lot meet any of the goals of the Urban Village program. Put simply: by the city’s own stated goals for this area, this is a bad deal.

“Bank of America has shown interest in the Ridglea Theater. That’s good news.” Frankly, I think that’s horrible news, councilman. Why are we approaching this from the standpoint that “Bank of America ruining a historic theater & mixed-use building” is good news? That is an unacceptable baseline for the citizens of this city who want to see this beautiful building complex saved. New development along that stretch of Camp Bowie has been trending in a generic suburban-bank-branches-and-chain-restaurants way for a while now, and continuing that trend rather than pursuing the sort of development that the city itself says it wants to see in the area doesn’t strike me as progress, nor does development of another generic national corporate bank branch to replace something with real through-and-through local character and heritage strike me as progress.  In my opinion, this is a bad, bad deal – the loss of architectural value, the loss of cultural value, the loss of built heritage, the loss to Fort Worth’s music scene, and the creation of an inappropriate development form in a designated Urban Village.

I’d also like to add that, in a document dated October 2007 that outlines the master plan of the Ridglea Urban Village (PDF link), the following statement relating to Council Member Zimmerman’s predecessor, the late Chuck Silcox, can be found:

After a discussion of future uses for Ridglea Theater, Council Member Silcox said he would request that the City begin the historic designation process for the structure.

It seems even Chuck Silcox wanted to keep the Ridglea intact.  Clearly, the Fort Worth city government has dropped the ball.

I hope you’ll all keep telling the City Council how bad an idea this is. Keep e-mailing them and telling them to designate the Ridglea as a Historic & Cultural Landmark. Not all new development is good development. Even I, Mr. Let’s Build Cool New Stuff Dork, know that to be true. I’d like to think that Fort Worth has more ambition and creative value than to let such a wonderful historic resource like the Ridglea get consumed by a generic bank branch.

Jun 22, 2010 50

UPDATED: Ridglea Theater and Office Building Doomed to Demolition by Bank of America

By: Kevin Buchanan

Photo by John T. Roberts

Terrible news for Fort Worth historic preservation:  the Ridglea Theater, one of only a handful of remaining single-screen movie theaters in Fort Worth, and its adjacent office building would be nearly entirely demolished under a plan from Bank of America, who want to demolish everything but the facade of the theater and build a new bank branch on the site behind the facade.

It’s yet another black mark on Fort Worth’s track record of historic preservation, which (despite what City Hall would have you believe) is incredibly poor.  The Ridglea has no protection of any kind, not even Demolition Delay.  Historic Fort Worth added the Ridglea, along with the other remaining single-screen theaters, to their Most Endangered list this year.

The Ridglea has for years served as a live music venue, and still does, playing host especially to Fort Worth’s metal scene.  That track record of active use makes the comments from the Ridglea’s district’s council member, “Zim” Zimmerman, even more puzzling.  Zimmerman is quoted in the above DFW.com article as saying:

“The interior is [in] very poor shape, probably not worth the cost of rehab.”

What’s puzzling is that not only has the Ridglea been in active use for years (and is in fact still in active use), but having been inside it ourselves in the not too distant past, it hardly looked anywhere near as bad as indicated above.  We’ve seen theaters in far, far worse condition be restored and go on to live healthy lives.  Seems a very odd statement to make considering the Ridglea is in better shape than a lot of historic buildings that have been successfully rehabbed in Fort Worth and it’s still being used.

What’s doubly unnerving about the proposal at the Ridglea is that just down the road a short distance is an example of a bank that went into a historic single-screen theater and actually kept it intact – the Frost Bank that occupies the former Bowie Theater:

Photo by John T. Roberts

Seems to us that Bank of America is not such a one-of-a-kind flower that they couldn’t pull off something similar at the Ridglea, saving the building for other future uses.

Single-screen theaters in Fort Worth are an extremely endangered breed.  There’s the old Bowie (now the Frost Bank), the vacant Berry, the Ridglea, the New Isis, and only a tiny handful of others in various states of decay.  While Fort Worth likes to think of itself as being different from Dallas, in terms of preservation we’re right there next to our neighbors to the east.  This city does not take historic preservation seriously.  We’d hope that the city council would take this new threat to one of our few single-screen theaters as a wake-up call to stand up for preserving more of our built heritage – but how likely is that?

We hope a lot of you out there would contact the city council and express your disappointment in the sorry state of historic preservation in this city and this latest failure to save one of our rare single-screen theaters.

UPDATE: The management of the Ridglea (not the owner – the folks who run the music venue) have released the following statement on their web site, and are urging people to write to the City Council (especially District 3 representative Zim Zimmerman) and the Zoning Commission to express their displeasure with the proposal to demolish everything but the Ridglea’s facade for a bank branch:

As you may have heard, the previous owner of the Ridglea Theater complex lost the building to FixFunding, LLC, a funding company based in Dallas. The complex has been up for sale and may have already been sold to a bank. Richard has shown the Ridglea to their “team” of architects more than once.

However, the City of Fort Worth has requested that IF FOLKS DO NOT LIKE THE PROPOSED ZONING CHANGE, THEY SHOULD LET CITY COUNCILMAN W.B. “ZIM” ZIMMERMAN AND THE FORT WORTH CITY COUNCIL KNOW IMMEDIATELY!

Richard and I would love to get this stopped – not because of what we do here (after all, we need to retire sometime) but simply because this is the last of the grand old buildings in Fort Worth. It would be a shame to lose part of the heritage of Fort Worth, and it should be preserved! The paintings are original! The mosaic floor could never be replaced, and the structure itself inside is beautiful. Of course the present owners are probably not interested in the history, and I can see their point – they are in the business of making money.

This is going to hit the newspapers immediately, and we would like to let our loyal supporters know what is going on! It’s HORRID!!!! Our lease runs into early next spring, so we hope we can stay at least that long.

Meanwhile, it’s BUSINESS AS USUAL! Ridglea Theater needs the local support now more than ever. Please contact the Fort Worth City Council, and let them know how much you want the Ridglea Theater to stay!

If you would like to help support the preservation of Ridglea Theater, please use the contact information below to make your voice heard.

City Councilman W.B. Zimmerman
District 3 Office
1000 Throckmorton St.
Fort Worth, Texas 76102
Telephone: 817-392-8803
Fax: 817-392-6187
E-mail:District3@fortworthgov.org

Jun 9, 2010 10

West 7th Phase II Breaks Ground Thursday, June 24th

By: Kevin Buchanan

Cypress Equities has just told us that later this month, on Thursday the 24th, they’ll be holding a groundbreaking ceremony for Phase II of the West 7th development.  The Phase II groundbreaking will be for the southeast block, the last missing piece of the Crockett & Currie intersection.  The southeast block was once planned for a hotel, but we’ve heard that instead the block will become another mixed-use building with residential lofts over retail space.  The southeast block construction will also wrap around behind Fred’s, as can be seen in the aerial photo above.

The groundbreaking ceremony will be held from 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM on Thursday the 24th in the Movie Tavern, upstairs and across the street from the southeast block.  This should provide a clear view over the site, and Cypress will undoubtedly be talking about the plans for the development’s second phase.

We are looking forward to seeing more buildings rising at West 7th.  The development has thus far been the most successful of all the 7th Street projects at creating a real sense of place and making walkable, livable, and enjoyable spaces, and getting the last corner of Crockett & Currie filled in will make it even better.  We hope to have some renderings and other information on Phase II shortly.

Jun 4, 2010 6

Urban Agriculture Comes to Fort Worth – Fairmount Community Garden & New Public Market

By: Kevin Buchanan

Fort Worth is a bit behind the times on the urban agriculture movement, but the city is starting to embrace it at last.  Above is the first official city-approved community garden in the city of Fort Worth – the Fairmount Community Garden, located at 5th & Maddox across from Fairmount Park in the Fairmount neighborhood in the Near Southside.

Built on what were once vacant lots repossessed by the city, the Fairmount Community Garden was put together by a group of neighborhood residents wishing to promote local food sources in Fort Worth.  With sponsorship by a multitude of local organizations and companies, and help from Fort Worth South, Inc. and District 9 City Council representative Joel Burns, Fairmount has finally opened its long-awaited community garden.

The Fairmount Community Garden is comprised of 76 plots, each 8′ x 4′, leasable by residents for $35 per year.  When last we chatted with garden organizer Susan Harper, all 76 lots were apparently spoken for, and a waiting list for openings is in place.  The organic garden is already producing food.

Signs that urban agriculture and local food are gaining ground in urban Fort Worth can be found elsewhere now, as the group The New Public Market is putting together a proposal to lease and renovate the gorgeous old Public Market Building on Henderson into a new public market featuring local and Texas food providers.  While putting together their plans for the Public Market Building, The New Public Market is having Market Days – and the next one is tomorrow (Saturday, June 5th).

Market Days are held at Into the Garden on Camp Bowie.  From 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM, The New Public Market and other providers will set up shop and offer up the following goods:

1. New Public Market ~ market goods
-A. local wholesale produce
-B. Cece’s Citchen ~ artisan baked biscotti and other gourmet goods
-C. Mickey’s Mustard ~ totally unique banana pepper mustard
-D. New Canaan Farms ~ Jams, jellies, condiments, sauces and salsas
-E. Ranch Oak Farm ~ smoked turkey breast, smoked ham, cured pork tenderloin, smoked chicken and smoked beef tenderloin
-F. El Rancho Grande Restaurante’ ~ pecan pralines, corn chips
and tortillas
-G. Crazy Water and Dublin Dr. Pepper
-H. Texas Basket Company ~ shopping supplies
-I. Cut flowers
-J. John Lucicdo’s homestyle pastas
2. Texas Olive Ranch ~ pure Texas olive oils, balsamic vinegars
3. Texas Honeybee Guild ~ black prairie honey, creamed honey, honeyed pecans, pollen and other bee products
4. Cold Springs Farm ~ fresh produce from Weatherford
5. Hot Tamalez ~ crowd pleasing tamales and salsa
6. Project 44 ~ Cherith Farms products and Urban Gardens
7. Aduro Bean & Leaf ~ locally roasted free trade coffees
8. Manchacek Bakery ~ kolaches and other Czech baked goods
9. Genesis Beef ~ order grass fed beef for home delivery and grilled hamburgers

We hope that a lot of Fort Worthology readers will support the New Public Market and their efforts by attending Market Day whenever it occurs.  Getting the Public Market Building back into work as a food market would be a great benefit, especially for Downtown and the Near Southside, and driving this sort of thing forward would help support more local food markets in areas like the Near Southside and Cultural District.

In addition, efforts to create more community gardens in our redeveloping urban neighborhoods like the one in Fairmount will help create a stronger local food movement in this city, especially when joined with gardens replacing lawns in our urban bungalow neighborhoods and the creation of rooftop gardens, windowboxes, and other local food sources for multi-family & mixed-use buildings.

Here are a couple of other photos of the Fairmount Community Garden:

May 27, 2010 2

Renzo Piano’s Kimbell Expansion

By: Kevin Buchanan

Above and below are renderings of Renzo Piano’s fortcoming expansion of the Kimbell Art Museum in the Cultural District.  Piano’s new building will sit across from the Kimbell’s main entrance, on a portion of the current “Great Lawn.”  It will be of similar size and scale to the original Louis Kahn building, and defers to its predecessor in many ways – for example, Piano is attempting to correct the way people enter the complex, by orienting an entrance from a new underground garage to direct people into the space between the two buildings, facing the original Kimbell’s main entrance (most people seem to throw their car in one of the eastern lots and scurry in via the below-grade back door rather than making their entrance through Kahn’s beautiful main entrance on the west side).

About the best article on the new design we’ve found is this one from the New York Times, written by Nicolai Ouroussoff.  Here are some excerpts:

Mr. Piano invested a great deal of creative energy fine-tuning the relationship between his building and the old one, which will face each other across a shallow reflecting pool. Most visitors will arrive through a new parking garage buried underneath this pool and ride an elevator or take one of two broad staircases up to the front of the addition. In a nod of respect to Kahn, Mr. Piano has oriented both the stairs and the elevator to the east, so that as you emerge at ground level, your first view is of the vaulted arcades of the Kimbell’s main entry facade rather than of his own building. From there you turn back into the addition or proceed along a more drawn out and ceremonial route around the reflecting pool and into the original museum.

His respect for Kahn’s masterwork, in which one can feel Mr. Piano reworking Kahn’s ideas over and over in his head, is obvious in the interiors as well. Approaching from the new reflecting pool, visitors will be able to look straight through the glass walls of the addition’s lobby to a strip of garden running behind, and beyond that to the glass-walled, 295-seat auditorium — a visual sequence that offers a richly layered counterpoint to Kahn’s outdoor entry. Inside, the layout of the main galleries on either side of the lobby mirrors Kahn’s plan. And by partly burying the auditorium, library and secondary galleries in back, underneath a mound of grass, Mr. Piano keeps his building from dominating the site. Even the choice of material — ethereal glass as opposed to Kahn’s concrete and travertine — suggests deference, making the addition a ghostly twin of the original.

The scariest challenge of the project, surely, was trying to create a roof structure that could hold up against Kahn’s vaults. Mr. Piano too is celebrated as one of the great masters of light; the curved louvers of the Menil Collection have been studied as attentively by architects as the Kimbell’s roof structure. Here, working with the engineer Guy Nordenson, Mr. Piano creates a system of twinned wood beams supported on concrete pillars. A complex system of fabric scrims, glass panels and metal louvers rests on top of this frame, creating a highly refined light-regulating machine.

May 24, 2010 Comments Off

Stayton Construction Progress

By: Kevin Buchanan

The Stayton, the new tri-tower retirement condo project in the So7 development in the Cultural District’s 7th Street corridor, is starting to become very noticeable as the first tower clears the Lancaster Avenue bridge.  The three connected towers will eventually rise to 11 stories, containing condos with 46 different floorplans, a top-floor restaurant, medical services, and more.

We took an in-depth look at the Stayton last year.  These panoramas show the development in its current state as it rises alongside So7′s townhomes, ArtHouse condos, and Residence Inn.

May 24, 2010 7

Patrizio, Fireside Pies Progressing at West 7th

By: Kevin Buchanan

Two Italian eateries, Patrizio and Fireside Pies, are headed for the West 7th development, across Crockett Street and the central plaza space from each other.  Work on Patrizio is much farther along – a recent update on the Patrizio site indicated an “April 2010″ opening for the restaurant, which is obviously not true, but it looks close nevertheless.

Work on Fireside Pies has been underway for a short time.  There’s not yet an opening date that we’ve seen, but things are definitely moving forward for these two new West 7th tenants.

Apr 9, 2010 Comments Off

Modern ‘Til Midnight Tomorrow Night

By: Kevin Buchanan

A reminder from the Department of Cool Things:  Modern ’til Midnight is tomorrow night.  Running from 6:00 PM to midnight (obviously), the Modern will be open for one of their always-fun parties/gallery showings featuring live music, cocktails, extended hours for Cafe Modern, special activities, and more.

This iteration’s live music list is the following:

In the lobby:  DJ Gabriel and DJ Gwendolyn

Outside:
7:00 PM – Monastary
7:50 – Ben Jones
8:50 – The Orbans
9:50 – Seryn
10:50 – Warpaint

At 8:30 PM, the museum will show the film I Shot Andy Warhol.

In addition, there is a costume contest if you’re so inclined:  dress like your favorite ’80s celebrity for a chance to win prizes.

Admission is $15, or free for Modern members.

Apr 7, 2010 13

Streetcar Study Passes Unanimously

By: Kevin Buchanan

After much discussion by the city council (including some rather uninformed commentary by a couple of council members), late last night the council voted unanimously to hire HDR to conduct the full streetcar study that we have been waiting on. Phases 1 and 2 will address many subjects – exact alignments and starter corridor, funding, ridership, economic benefits (including how much development could result along the corridors), etc. After these phases, it will be decided whether HDR will conduct Phase 3, the full engineering plan.

There are still many challenges ahead for streetcar supporters, and there will be plenty more work to do to help make this a reality. It will take time, but a significant roadblock was cleared last night. We now have what is arguably the finest set of transit minds in the country on our side doing the full study, so we are in good hands. We’ll save the analysis, and the correcting of certain council members, for another time. For now, we’ll just say “thank you” to the supporters who spent a long night in council chambers and a “thank you” to all those in the public and private sectors who have worked to get us this far.  All your support had a very real impact on how this vote went.

Apr 6, 2010 Comments Off

One More Streetcar Support Letter

By: Kevin Buchanan

A late arrival, but here’s one more letter of support for the streetcar project, from economic developer Michael Hennig:

April 6, 2010

Mayor Mike Moncrief
Members of the City Council
City of Fort Worth
1000 Throckmorton Street
Fort Worth, TX 76102

Dear Mayor Moncrief and City Council Members,

As an individual who has great fondness and admiration for the City of Fort Worth and as a professional within the field of economic development, I strongly urge you to continue your support of the proposed Fort Worth Streetcar now and in the future.

As you are doubtlessly aware, transportation has been inextricably linked to Fort Worth’s past vitality and development, and I am confident that this will continue to be the case now and in the future. It is, perhaps, for this reason that an issue such as this is held so close to the hearts of countless residents and why, I am sure, your mailboxes have been unusually full in recent weeks.

It would be easy to write this project off as a mere token of nostalgia, a fun but expensive toy (as some have come to describe it) – that is, if the past and the facts were ignored. But I am convinced that beyond the environmental and social benefits that have been brought to your attention, the proposed Fort Worth Streetcar, especially when integrated into a broader transportation network, would yield significant economic benefits to the community. Though I could name many of these, I will highlight just a few.

Once developed, and particularly if extended beyond the Central Business District, the proposed streetcar system would support existing businesses and help to spur new development in high-profile portions of the city that have already been targeted for development through Fort Worth’s well-respected Urban Village Program. As ridership grows, development takes place, and spending near the streetcar line is augmented, a substantial impact will be felt in the City’s TIF and PID districts. In this manner, a streetcar line would produce a multiplier effect within Fort Worth’s most important urban areas.

Another pair of investments that would receive powerful support through the addition of a streetcar line is the City’s ongoing and impressive efforts to boost tourism and convention activity in and around the Downtown Core. As a frequent traveler who has visited many nations on several continents, it is difficult to describe the benefit of having a readily accessible and well integrated transportation network available.

The addition of a streetcar line would also support Fort Worth’s efforts to attract young, mobile professionals and to connect labor with key employment centers. Development and business attraction activities would also be enhanced by the presence of a modern streetcar system which, among other things, would reduce parking requirements in difficult infill areas.

In the end, once Fort Worth has taken the important step to develop a twenty-first century transit system that reflects its stature within the state and the nation, I truly believe that Fort Worth’s close-knit, small-town feel will be enhanced rather than reduced and that the economic benefits of a streetcar line will far outweigh the near-term costs.

Throughout its history, Fort Worth has proven that it does not shy away from any opportunity to lead the state into a new frontier. The proposed streetcar would greatly support the City’s efforts to engender a community that is truly world-class – not simply in size and population, but in character, class and reputation.

A project of this magnitude requires steadfast support from community leaders and I thank you for your service to the community which few could equal. I humbly ask for your support on this important project tonight and well after the first tracks have been laid.

Respectfully yours,
Michael Hennig

Michael Hennig, MPA
President
Civtech Solutions, Inc.

Apr 6, 2010 4

Reminder: City Council Meeting Tonight

By: Kevin Buchanan

One last reminder for all who can attend to come to the City Council meeting tonight at Fort Worth City Hall (1000 Throckmorton) to support the vote to hire HDR to design our streetcar system.  Free streetcar support t-shirts will be available for the first 200 people to attend.

Apr 6, 2010 Comments Off

Local Business For The Streetcar

By: Kevin Buchanan

Our friends at Trinity Bicycles, the new bike shop in South Main Village in the Near Southside, have written their own letter of support for the modern streetcar project and have posted it on their site.  Here it is:

As you all know, one of our biggest missions here at Trinity Bicycles is increasing the viable transportation options for our neighbors here in Fort Worth. Obviously, we think bikes should play a big role in Fort Worth’s transportation future.

We’re not solely pro-bike, though. We’ve been around long enough to know that all alternative (read: non-car) transportation options tend to fare better when they are interconnected, plentiful, and even somewhat redundant.

That’s why we want to ask everyone who believes that our city needs more and varied transportation alternatives to show up at tomorrow’s (ed. – That would be tonight’s meeting now) Fort Worth City Council meeting at 7 p.m. to show your support for the City’s modern streetcar plan.

The vote to hire transportation super-planners HDR (they worked on Portland’s system) was supposed to happen 2 weeks ago, but it was postponed until tomorrow evening, and there was some rumbling that the political winds may have been shifting and the plan might not get funded.

Word today is that the vote is likely to be successful after all, but it is not something we as citizens should leave to chance. We need to make it clear to our elected officials that their constituents want real choices on how they move about their city. Please come help us fill the council chambers with streetcar supporters, and thereby help the Mayor and City Council feel good about their decision to vote to fund the planning phase of the streetcar project. And of course, having a crowd visibly supportive of a Streetcar system might come in handy just in case any votes are wavering tomorrow night.

We know it must seem scary for a city council member to vote to spend a large amount of money on a project that will take years to come to fruition. But the truth is, as a city, we just can’t afford not to take this step. We are being left behind every day we do not move forward with bringing our transportation system into the 21st century.

How many young, creative, active people do you know who have moved to a “cooler” city (Austin and Portland come to mind) to pursue careers? I know too many, all of whom said they “loved Fort Worth, but….”

Even our neighbors to the East in Dallas have seen how transit options can revitalize neighborhoods. Just look at what’s happening in Oak Cliff, Knox Henderson, or just about anywhere along the light rail lines they have built.

And right here in Fort Worth, I can tell you from personal experience, just the very promise of a Streetcar system has improved the economy. Trinity Bicycles chose to relocate from Irving, TX, to its location at 207 S. Main in part because it was on a proposed streetcar line. Now the final space in a long-empty historic building is filled, and not just with any business– a retail business that will be putting sales tax into the City coffers.

If we chose a location based on a system that hasn’t even been started yet, imagine how many more businesses will move into town if the system actually gets built…

Apr 6, 2010 2

Another Streetcar Support Letter

By: Kevin Buchanan

With the City Council voting tonight on hiring HDR to proceed with the streetcar project, we’ve gotten ahold of a couple of other letters of support for the project from various places in the city.  Here’s one from citizen Brian Kieta.

Dear Esteemed Leaders of Our Fair City,

PLEASE…do not stunt the growth of this ever-growing, remarkable city of ours, by voting against the proposed streetcar system.  If we truly desire for our great city to be unapologetically added to the list of “world-class” cities, we MUST have an efficient and pleasing public transportation system (and a system of bus public transport certainly does NOT count toward our inclusion on such a list).   Let me bring to light the following cities which truly are a pleasure to live in and visit, mostly due to their outstanding public transit: Paris, New York, San Francisco, Boston, London, Montreal, Chicago, Moscow…

Granted, the population of these cities is much more than Fort Worth, but simply take a Fort Worth-sized slice of any of these great metropolis’ and realize that its’ outstanding public transportation is the veins through which the life of the city flows.  Not only in terms of infrastructure and municipal function, but in how much greater the quality of life is for cities that flow well.  The fantastic sense of city unity and community exists mostly because of these well-planned, easy to use systems.

I think Fort Worth is aching for a life-giving opportunity that a modern, well-planned and executed streetcar system would bring.  Many Fort Worth residents think that all of their commuting life is meant to be spent in the confines of the automobile and have never had the chance to experience what life is like lived in the midst of, and supported by, a fun to use public transportation system.

I have heard that there are other competing interests for the funds necessary to move this vision forward, and that a crucial time of decision is upon us (you).  Let me urge you to not let your politics get in the way of doing the right thing: vote in support of the streetcar system.  You and I both know that a stellar public transportation system would literally transform this city into a place that both young and old would absolutely love to live in, and hate to leave.  Having traveled all across the globe, I have personally witnessed and heard testimony after testimony of how good public transportation literally changes how people live.  It affects the daily decisions of how people live their lives.  Suddenly, you realize that people living together, getting to know one another and prospering together is really what great public transportation is all about.  Economic growth and city pride is really just a pleasant (and assured) by-product. It’s the people that make up a city – and public transit is all about that human element.

I am not considered to be a qualified expert on the subject of public transportation – but I do know people, and when excellence is brought forth in an effort to enrich our lives, we the people, respond positively every time.  In my humble opinion, this is a decision that can’t fully be made on numbers, facts and studies alone; there hasto be some element of gut feeling put toward this decision. Just as a football coach has to make a hard decision at a crucial point in the game, the fear of making a bad decision can’t paralyze you from actually making one that you feel in your heart, is the right one to make. It still comes down to the coach making the final call with all the information he’s been given, and it must be made with confidence.

Thanks for all the time and effort you put into making Fort Worth a great place to live.  It really is a hidden gem, and mostly because of the work done by you and your colleagues to make that a sentiment a reality.

Sincerely,

Brian Kieta
Fort Worth Citizen
1991 – present

Apr 5, 2010 6

City Council Expected To Pass Streetcar Vote Tomorrow

By: Kevin Buchanan

We have learned that due in no small part to the efforts of streetcar supporters who called in and e-mailed from our earlier posts on the subject that the City Council looks to have changed its stance and is now expected to vote tomorrow night to hire HDR to conduct the full streetcar design study.

Should this come to pass as we are expecting, it is a major victory for the streetcar project and ensures that it will be moving ahead.  It’s not a commitment to build it, so don’t think this process is over.  It is, however, a huge step forward – HDR will be able to put together a detailed design & engineering plan showing us exactly what needs to be built, how to run it, and how it can be paid for.

We would like to thank all of you out there for calling and writing to the Fort Worth City Council on this – we have been told in no uncertain terms that our efforts were a major part of this.  Note that we are still calling for as many of you as possible to attend the City Council meeting tomorrow night at 7:00 PM at Fort Worth City Hall – it just looks like we’ll be in for a celebration (similar to the standing ovation that accompanied the Bike Fort Worth vote) rather than a fight.  We’d still like to see a strong showing of support in front of the council.  And yes, there will still be free t-shirts, available outside council chambers, to wear in to show your support for the project.

This is another step forward for real transportation choice in urban Fort Worth, and for the economic and livability benefits of great transit in this city.  Thank you all for your help.

Linklog

Browse the Fort Worthology Linklog - interesting and cool urbanism, transit, and bicycle links that aren't necessarily Fort Worth-centric.

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