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 19, 2010 4

ArtAffects Gallery – New Art Gallery on Magnolia

By: Kevin Buchanan

Located in the same building as Cat City Grill, ArtAffects Gallery opened earlier this month in the ground floor of 1208 W. Magnolia in the Near Southside.  A small two-room gallery space, ArtAffects showcases emerging regional artists working in contemporary and abstract styles.

You can’t help but notice the space as you walk or bike the street – the lights stay on until midnight, and with the works being right up on the sidewalk, the impact of the art gets transmitted right out into the public realm.  Currently, ArtAffects is featuring the work of Starr Perry, whose bold and bright artwork has found her clients ranging from Westin and NYLO hotels to Trammell Crow and London’s Heathrow Airport.

ArtAffects is run by central city resident Katie Dillow, who intends for the gallery to become an active part of the Near Southside community and the city’s art scene as a whole, both by participation in events like Arts Goggle and by working with local businesses who want to enhance their own spaces with local art (an example being a recent event at Grace in downtown).

After years of Magnolia storefronts being mainly occupied by restaurants and offices, it’s great to see some variety starting to emerge.  ArtAffects is a cool establishment that splashes art right onto the sidewalks and bike lanes of Magnolia Avenue, and I can’t wait to see it grow and evolve over time.

Check out ArtAffect’s web site for more.  Here are some other photos of the gallery in the evening:

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 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 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.

Jun 25, 2010 1

Aggarwal Building Lofts

By: Kevin Buchanan

Finally got the chance to take a look at the lofts upstairs above Dr. Aggarwal’s office, located on Lipscomb just north of Rosedale.  The Near Southside’s NS-T4-N zoning in many areas of the district requires residential in some form (either all residential or residential and something else).  As a result, many of these small mixed-use infill buildings are popping up all over the district, usually with a doctor’s office downstairs and 2-4 apartments upstairs.

The Aggarwal building was designed by the Near Southside’s own TMA Architects, who have designed many of these small mixed-use buildings (their own offices are in such a building on Pennsylvania).  Upstairs has four lofts (three are still available) of various sizes around 700 square feet, with rents at about $1.00 per square foot.  We took a walk through all three remaining lofts.

Click the photos below for a larger view.  If you or somebody you know is interested in living here, it looks to use like a cool project – the lofts are really attractive (love the exposed wood ceilings), and the building’s only a short walk from Magnolia Avenue (about a block or two, depending on how you count things) and just down the street from Magnolia Green Park.  For more information, call 817-734-6475 or 972-849-8216.

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 11, 2010 2

Chunduri Building Progress

By: Kevin Buchanan

Progress on yet another small mixed-use infill building in the Near Southside.  The building above (which we’re calling the Chunduri Building after the doctor whose office will take the ground floor) is being built just off Jennings at Grainger & Cannon.  The building is ground-floor office space with second-floor apartments.

Click the photos to embiggen.

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 3, 2010 Comments Off

Mixed-Use Infill Near West Leuda Park – Progress

By: Kevin Buchanan

This two-story mixed-use infill project just off the new West Leuda Park in the Near Southside has made a lot of progress since the last time we looked at it – it’s now got facade materials going up, a mixture of brick and stucco.

The new building is apartments over ground-floor medical office.

Apr 15, 2010 1

Bajaj Building Progress

By: Kevin Buchanan

Another update on one of the many small mixed-use buildings going up in the Near Southside.  The Bajaj Building is coming together pretty quickly now, and it’s easier to get a sense of the finished product.  The building is located on Lipscomb just north of Rosedale and is loft apartments over ground-floor medical office.  It was designed by the Near Southside’s own TMA.

Apr 5, 2010 Comments Off

Bajaj Building Progress

By: Kevin Buchanan

A quick update on another small mixed-use building going up in the Near Southside.  This is the Bajaj Building, on Lipscomb just north of Rosedale.  It’s lofts upstairs and medical offices downstairs.

The building’s facade has been going up for a while now.  New is the popped-out corner window treatment there on the right.  The building was designed by the Near Southside’s own TMA Architects, who have done many of these single-lot mixed-use buildings.

Mar 30, 2010 2

Sushi Restaurant Headed To Museum Place Flatiron Building

By: Kevin Buchanan

The Business Press is reporting that Blue Sushi Sake Grill is headed to the ground floor of the Museum Place Flatiron Building:

Blue Sushi Sake Grill leased the ground floor at 3131 W. Seventh St., known as the Flatiron building, in Fort Worth’s Museum Place mixed-use development. The building is located at the intersection of University Drive and Camp Bowie Boulevard. Blue Sushi Sake Grill inked a lease for 5,560 square feet with plans to open in fall 2010.

We’re not familiar with Blue, and a quick Google search seems to indicate that there are three locations – all of them in Omaha, Nebraska.

Mar 22, 2010 14

Daiches Building To Be Saved, Restored

By: Kevin Buchanan


(Photo by John Roberts, fortwortharchitecture.com)

Fantastic news for Fort Worth historic preservation!  What is commonly called the “Daiches Building” sits at Houston & Weatherford in Downtown, right across the street from the Tarrant County Courthouse.  So-called for the jewelry store that has inhabited its ground floor for the last 81 years, the building was built in 1910 and is basically the only original “courthouse square” structure still standing in even somewhat original condition.  It was given a ground-floor modernizing in 1955 (when the blue mosaic tile was added), but otherwise looks totally original, if rather shabby.

With Joe Daiches relocating, there were many fears among Fort Worth preservationists and urbanists that the little building would be plowed into the ground for a parking lot, has happened to two neighboring buildings not many years ago.  We are very happy to report, though, that the building will live on.  We were contacted today by commercial real estate broker David Tuttle, who is announcing that he and investor Darwin German have acquired the building and  are restoring it to its original condition for adaptive re-use.

The building’s 1955 ground floor remodeling will be removed, and the entire original appearance restored.  Upstairs, the 2nd and 3rd floor were a hotel until the 1970s and have been vacant since.  Describing the 2nd and 3rd floor as being “like a time capsule,” the original suites still include tons of original details, including original doors, transom windows, hardware, wood floors, chair rails, molding and tin ceiling tiles.

The plan is to restore the 2nd and 3rd floors and lease the suites as office space with all the modern amenities.  It is intended that the ground floor be leased as retail space – ideally, the owners want to see a coffee shop or sandwich place go in.

This is a great victory for Fort Worth historic preservation, and it’s also a great victory to keep this building active and engaged with its surroundings instead of becoming another blank parking lot.  We are looking forward to seeing the building’s restoration progress and hope to bring you photos as it goes.

Mar 17, 2010 11

City Place For Sale

By: Kevin Buchanan

Color us not suprised:

The Dallas developer that owns City Place — the high-profile redevelopment of the Tandy Center twin towers in downtown Fort Worth — has put the property on the block.

A year ago, PNL Cos. put the vacant, 19-story One City Place tower at Third and Taylor streets up for sale. PNL’s original plan was to make that tower a condo building when the anchor tenant, RadioShack, moved out several years ago.

But now, Jones Lang LaSalle, the real estate broker representing PNL, said it might be easier to sell the 1.2 million-square-foot project in its entirety, not in pieces. The time to sell is right, the broker said, because credit is loosening in commercial markets and real estate investment funds are ready to start spending again.

We’ve been thinking for a while that the City Place project had stalled, given how each plan from PNL became progressively less and less impressive as time went on.  Most recently, they had abandoned the plan to demolish part of the old Tandy Center mall and re-open 2nd Street through the project – which was one going to be one of the more positive aspects of the plan, as the huge Tandy Center superblock seriously breaks up pedestrian patterns and getting 2nd back would have helped tremendously to re-open that part of Downtown and make it more walkable and connected.  (The image above is from the initial, much more impressive redevelopment plan, with 2nd re-opened and a better mix of uses.)  Will be interesting to see how quickly the property sells and what its eventual new owners plan to do with it – here’s hoping that the re-opening of 2nd Street and the outward-facing street level retail (not the existing mall style space) will be a part of the plan.

Mar 8, 2010 5

Historic Electric Building Getting Much-Deserved TLC

By: Kevin Buchanan

These photos come to us from Atlas Properties, the new local owner/manager of the Historic Electric Building in Downtown next to Burnett Park.  The historic 1931 skyscraper has been apartments for quite a while, but under its previous out-of-state owner the building had fallen into rather poor condition.

Since acquiring the building, Atlas has launched into an ongoing renovation and improvement project.  Thus far, they’ve moved the leasing office to the ground floor, remodeled the common areas like hallways and elevator lobbies, and have remodeled the main lobby as well.  Later this week, a new cooling tower is being installed.

These photos show the improvement in the interior condition of the building.  We’ve always thought that the Electric Building was a gorgeous piece of architecture (and a valuable piece of the Downtown residential picture by virtue of its being notably more affordable than other apartment buildings Downtown) that was in need of better keepers to give it some attention, and it’s looking like that’s finally happened.

For more information, check out the Electric Building’s web site.

Mar 8, 2010 1

Chunduri Building Mixed-Use Underway

By: Kevin Buchanan

Yet another example of a small mixed-use structure is now under construction in the Near Southside.  This development, at Grainger & Cannon (just a couple of blocks from West Leuda Park), will feature a ground-floor office for Dr. Chunduri’s neurology clinic, and two apartments on the second floor.  It was designed by Gary Wood Architects.

The site is located in one of the Near Southside’s T4-N (for “Neighborhood”) zones.  The T4-N zoning requires all development to include a residential component (either residences as part of a mixed-use project, or entirely residential).  This helps ensure a wide range of housing choices and prevents monotonous commercial-only development, makes streets safer by providing round-the-clock use and more “eyes on the street,” and creates greater density of residences to give more support to local businesses as the district redevelops.

Below is an elevation drawing of the finished building:

Mar 5, 2010 4

West 7th Grand Opening

By: Kevin Buchanan

At last night’s West 7th Spring Bash, Mayor Moncrief and representatives of developer Cypress Equities were on hand to officially cut the ribbon on the big new mixed-use development.  Prior to the ribbon cutting, Mayor Moncrief spoke about the development, reiterating several of the points from his State of the City address – that Fort Worth must continue to encourage central-city growth with denser, walkable mixed-use developments rather than solely continue to sprawl.

Cypress shut down Crockett Street between Currie and Norwood, giving plenty of space for attendees to stroll around in a car-free setting.  Residents of the lofts upstairs were out on their balconies having their own parties and waving to Spring Bash attendees below.  Bars were set up in the central plaza, and of course the retailers open thus far were open and encouraging people to visit (Cypress, in fact, gave the mayor a pair of boots from Heritage Boots, one of the development’s ground-floor retailers).  Newly opened Terra Mediterranean Grill was showing off their very cool outdoor bar on Crockett, set up to face the sidewalk.  At the end of the block, a stage was set up where the band Reckless Kelly performed throughout the night.

It was a fun event and a great way to officially open the West 7th development.  Congrats to Cypress Equities on this impressive project – we look forward to seeing how it matures and continues to build out the remaining blocks and fill the last tenant spaces.

Mar 4, 2010 2

West 7th Spring Bash Tonight

By: Kevin Buchanan

Just a reminder that the Spring Bash at the West 7th development is tonight from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM.  There will be a ribbon cutting for the development, a performance by the band Reckless Kelly, a beer garden, and more.  It will be held on Crockett between the two loft/retail buildings.  The event benefits Cook Children’s Hospital.  For more info, check our last post on the Spring Bash.

Mar 3, 2010 13

New Mixed-Use Infill near West Leuda Park

By: Kevin Buchanan

The Near Southside wave of small mixed-use infill developments continues.  This example is going up on St. Louis just south of Pennsylvania, right down the street from the nearly-complete new West Leuda Park (as well as the Leuda-May Apartments and Hattie May Inn, as well as just around the corner from the Rahr Brewery).

This building is another loft-apartment-over-medical-office development, of the kind that is becoming very popular in the Near Southside.  There will likely be even more to come – these small (often single-lot) mixed-use infill structures are a really interesting aspect of the Near Southside’s revitalization.

Feb 25, 2010 1

Aggarwal Building Update

By: Kevin Buchanan

The Aggarwal Building, a new mixed-use development on Lipscomb just north of Rosedale (across the street from the Bajaj Building), is pretty well complete at this point.  The building was designed by TMA Architects, and is four loft apartments upstairs with a medical office downstairs – another example of the small infill mixed-use buildings being built all over the Near Southside.

We’ve been in touch with some of the people involved in the building and are planning a walkthrough in the not too distant future.  We hear that of the four apartments, one is already occupied, and another has a tenant coming in this summer.  We’ll have an update with contact information on the lofts in another post.

Feb 25, 2010 Comments Off

Bajaj Building Update

By: Kevin Buchanan

One of the Near Southside’s ongoing series of mixed-use infill developments, the Bajaj Building, continues to progress at its site on Lipscomb just north of Rosedale.  The development will feature a ground floor medical office and loft apartments upstairs, and was designed by the Near Southside’s own TMA Architects, who have been specializing in these small single-lot mixed-use infill projects.

Feb 24, 2010 1

Photos from the Fort Worth South Banquet

By: Kevin Buchanan

Last night, at the beautiful Masonic Temple, Fort Worth South, Inc. held its latest annual banquet celebrating the ongoing continued success of the Near Southside’s revitalization.  Fort Worth South president Paul Paine gave a stirring presentation on the accomplishments in the Near Southside thus far, and several upcoming projects and developments.

In the photos above, you can see the overall crowd, a shot of the banquet’s them – People and Places – and a shot of Paul during the presentation.  You may notice the rendering in the background – that showcases a brand-new streetcar-oriented development planned for South Main Village at South Main and Pennsylvania – TownSite Co.‘s project at the former Motheral Printing Plant.

Among the items touched upon by Paul:

  • The Magnolia Avenue refreshing was just the beginning, as streetscape improvements are coming to South Main, Hemphill, and Evans, and more are being planned for streets like Jennings, Pennsylvania, and Vickery.
  • The Near Southside will be home to a fully-integrated bicycle transportation network.  The Magnolia bike lanes are the first example, and there are plans for bike lanes on Jennings, Pennsylvania, Vickery, and more.
  • Even in a down economy, the Near Southside is doing incredibly well – employment is up, rents are strong for both office and retail, residential work is steady, and restaurant sales are up 117% from last year.  He also mentioned the impending arrival of the Near Southside’s second bike shop, Trinity Bicycles in South Main Village.
  • Crime continues its steady downward spiral, with Fort Worth South working with the Fort Worth Police to strongly reduce crime.  Bicycle patrols are reappearing in the Near Southside, and the police are moving from their current home at Magnolia & College into a larger building at Magnolia & Hemphill currently being renovated (more to come on that project).
  • In two to three weeks, the Magnolia streetscape project finishes up with the activation of LED net lighting in all the trees along Magnolia from 8th Avenue to Hemphill.
  • Paul stressed the need for more construction of quality rental apartments, as there are just over 740 units in the Near Southside and the district is over 95% on occupancy.  Considering the Near Southside’s more affordable nature compared to Downtown, there is a strong need for more quality rental units.
  • He touched upon several upcoming projects, including the Oleander West development, the Motheral development, a nearly 300-unit apartment development planned near the Schaumburg Lofts not far from South Main Village, and more.
  • Edit:  Paul also mentioned specifically that they are trying to attract a real urban grocery store to the Near Southside, using Fort Worthology’s photos of Austin’s Royal Blue Grocery as an example.

Catering was provided by Chadra Mezza & Grill, and was delicious – as was the beer provided by Rahr Brewery.  The banquet points to the incredible success in revitalizing the Near Southside and the excitement of its upcoming projects.

Feb 24, 2010 Comments Off

So7 Sidewalk Improvements Continue

By: Kevin Buchanan

The So7 development continues to do major sidewalk improvements.  The development is adding new sidewalks and widening existing ones throughout its property, to create a much more fully integrated pedestrian experience.  One of the most important for pedestrian quality and safety are the new full sidewalk crossings at the rail line running between the Stayton and the ArtHouse condos.  This creates a new, fully paved, much safer crossing of the rail line than what was there before.

Feb 23, 2010 3

Terra Mediterranean Grill Open This Week

By: Kevin Buchanan

The newest eatery in the West 7th development is opening this week.  Terra Mediterranean Grill, the newest offering from the Chanaa family, has been chatting up their opening this week on their Twitter feed, and the Star-Telegram’s great Eats Beat man himself, Bud Kennedy, also mentioned the opening:

Now, the next major opening in the West Seventh area is days away:Terra Mediterranean Grill, a Lebanese restaurant from the owners ofAli Baba in Dallas.

The Chanaa family expects to open Terra next week.

Look for garlic chicken, gyros and hummus, maybe as soon as Monday at 2973 Crockett St., one block east of University Drive.

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