Entire City Block in Downtown Fort Worth Hits the Market
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A whole city block’s worth of land in downtown Fort Worth is hitting the market, giving some enterprising developer the opportunity to convert a vacant lot into better use than parking.
Spanning 0.918 acres from the southeast corner of Calhoun Street and 7th Street, the block is situated at the edge of Cowtown’s downtown expansion eastward and just a block away from Fort Worth Central Station/Trinity Metro. It’s also near the Fort Worth Convention Center expansion and new Texas A&M law school.
“It’s not very common for a full city block in this active an area of downtown Fort Worth to come available,” said Cullen Donohue, market leader at Citadel Partners, speaking with CandysDirt.com.
Citadel Partners got the listing for this prime real estate, which is also within walking distance of the Omni Hotel and Deco 969 and has direct access to both I-30 and I-35W.
“A lot of the development sites are owned and controlled by individuals who are not interested in selling,” said Donohue. “The most recent transaction of something this size that I’m aware of is Hillwood purchased the block immediately to the north about two years ago.”
The block on Calhoun is currently operating as a pay parking lot and is owned by O-SDA Industries/Saigebrook Development, an affordable housing firm that is redeveloping the adjacent Binyon-O’Keefe building into a senior living community called Georgian Oaks at 210 E 7th St.
“I think you’re going to see this area really start to flourish even more than it is today in the coming years because of the close proximity to [A&M], close proximity to entertainment and meeting space with the convention center,” said Donohue, also noting the direct access to D-FW Airport via Trinity Metro. “It’s a location that really can create a walkable neighborhood.”
Given that the Calhoun site’s zoning does not include a height restriction, Besserer and Donohue see tremendous potential for a significant mixed-use, office, hospitality, or residential project with some density — maybe something to add to Cowtown’s downtown skyline and elevate the city center even further.
“I think a lot of these sites that were surface lots in and around a lot of metropolitan areas are going to continue to be developed … with vertical construction and more high density in the right locations to create that really walkable urban environment,” said Donohue.
Downtown Fort Worth — and frankly, the city at large — has been a magnet for investment. Just two years ago, Fort Worth Report covered the central business district clocking a record $2.5 billion development pipeline, with projects slated to transform the city center over the course of a decade. That same year, StorageCafe ranked the city fourth for real estate development.
More recently, Cowtown crossed the 1 million residents threshold. While it’s still got a ways to go if it’s ever going to catch up to Dallas in terms of population, relocation trends and their corresponding development are certainly going a ways in justifying the W in D-FW.
Robert Allen, the president and CEO of Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership, said the city’s population boom “reflects the city’s rising economic growth and momentum,” particularly when it comes to planned development in the central business district, according to a press release announcing the site’s availability.
“As the 11th largest city in the U.S. — and together with Dallas, part of the only U.S. metro with two cities that each have 1 million residents — our momentum is undeniable,” he said.
In addition to Donohue, the site is being marketed by Citadel Partners senior advisor Breck Besserer and company partner Andy Goldston.
