New Office Building Artfully Banking on Parker County Success

When a banker loves art, concocting a way to combine the two isn’t a big stretch.

Here’s banker Greg Morse’s latest idea. He took the metal sculpture of a pointing dog created by artist Dale Rogers out of his backyard and placed it for all to see along I-30 in Fort Worth. It’s the site of the next project for the Worthington Bank’s CEO, and that dog pointing toward the future site of his sixth North Texas bank helps create some early buzz.

Yes, the banker’s marketing has gone to the dogs, at least in an arty way.

“Sometimes one acquires a piece of art, but not sure where they will place it,” Morse said. “I had no clue what I would do with the dog sculpture, but I woke up one day and knew exactly where it would be placed.”

Pointer Put to Use

Where that dog sculpture has been positioned is the site of Worthington Bank’s sixth bank and future corporate headquarters — the southwest corner of Interstate 30 and Walsh Ranch Parkway. Now that Morse has acquired the land for the 96,000-square-foot office building, architectural firm Urban Bobcat will design the next Worthington Bank.

“We’ve been looking there for years,” Morse said. “Every kind of research led me back to the southwest corner of that intersection.”

Walsh, a fast-growing 7,500-acre development in west Fort Worth. spans both Tarrant and Parker Counties. Its multi-use spaces will be available for lease by contacting Vic Meyer at [email protected] or Jake Neal at [email protected].

Morse intends to fill the bank building with additional businesses, and he expects the space to be in demand for business, just like it has been for residential housing. The western edge of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, specifically Parker County, is ripe for business growth, he said.

“People want their children educated in the Aledo school system because it’s such a good school system,” Morse said. “But there are no banks. The addition of Worthington Bank Tower will provide residents a unique working experience close to where they live.”

Six Banks

A Fort Worth resident for 40 years, Morse is a native of San Angelo. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Southern Methodist University, an M.B.A. from Texas Christian University, and then a graduate degree from Southwestern Graduate School of Banking from SMU.

After working in various positions at other banks, he founded his first Worthington Bank in 2001. His latest locally-owned bank will be his sixth in North Texas. He’s granted them all nicknames with Arlington, his first, being called “Main.” His Sundance Square location in downtown Fort Worth is dubbed “The Fort,” while the one in Fort Worth’s Edwards Ranch is “The Ranch.”  The Denton location goes by “North Star,” and Colleyville’s site is, of course, “Colleywood.”

At Southern Methodist University where he majored in finance, he also minored in art history. As a banker, he has combined both his financial experience and his art appreciation by selecting art for each of his banks.

Unlikely Pairing

He merges the two in other ways. Besides volunteering on a lengthy list of civic boards and community organizations, such as Fort Worth’s celebrated Southwest Stock Show & Rodeo and the Arlington Chamber of Commerce’s business development board, Morse has leaned into his arty side, too. He has served on the board for the Arlington Museum of Art and the advisory board for Fort Worth’s Amon Carter Museum. He’s also a member of Kimball Art Museum’s Donor Circle.

The Parker County bank tower will be decorated in a Western motif. He’ll continue the Worthington Bank tradition with finding art that celebrates the area.

So, when he positioned the dog sculpture at the future site of this eight-floor tower, he just might have used something he picked up with his M.B.A.

“Art can be marketing,” he said. “Art is a huge part of the Worthington culture.”