08.01.2024

Today’s Forecast

102º | 0% chance of precipitation
Sunrise 6:43 a.m. | Sunset 8:27 p.m.
Full Weather Report | Traffic Report

🏢 How downtown is being reshaped

The future of downtown: Northeast quadrant

The former XTO Building, aka the Bob Simpson Building, will be a Residence Inn by early 2025. | Photo by FTWtoday

As part of our ongoing series about the future of downtown, we’re turning our attention to the northeast quadrant, which runs from Belknap Street to West 6th Street north to south and Jones Street to Houston Street east to west.

This section is home to decades-long tenants, including Sundance Square, Bass Hall, and The Worthington Renaissance Fort Worth Hotel, which has been in downtown since April 1981. Keep reading to find some new players on the scene.

Oncor conversion

Hillwood, a leading developer in north Fort Worth + Alliance, made its first-ever purchase in downtown in October 2023. The developer purchased a full city block between West 6th and West 7th Streets and between Calhoun and Jones Streets; it was previously owned by Oncor for decades. While Hillwood has not officially announced all plans for the development, representatives from Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. believes the site will soon hold apartments and retail spaces.

Bob Simpson building

The former home of XTO Energy at 110 W. 7th St. will become a Residence Inn by Marriot designed by local firm Bennett Partners. The building was originally constructed in 1910 and is listed on the National Register for Historic Places.

ftw-star-telegram-building-tower — The Star-Telegram Building shares a lobby with the Oil & Gas building.
|
Photo courtesy of Loopnet

The Star-Telegram building

Dallas-based Bluelofts, Inc. bought both the Oil & Gas building (1954) and the Star-Telegram building (1929) and is planning to build 268 residential units. A portion of the Star-Telegram building will remain office space — but no longer houses the newsroom.

Heritage and Paddock parks

Admittedly a smidge outside the northeast corridor coverage area, both parks — near the Tarrant County Courthouse — will be revitalized as part of a $50 million project. Those parks will play a significant role in linking the north end of downtown to the Panther Island project.

Events

Thursday, August 1

Artz ‘n’ Dragz | Thursday, Aug. 1-Saturday, Aug. 3 | 2-4 p.m. | Red Goose Saloon, 306 N. Houston St., Fort Worth | Free | Paint, drink, and see a whole lot of glamour at this interactive drag show.
PBR Stockyards Showcase | Thursday, Aug. 1 | 7:30 p.m. | Cowtown Coliseum, 121 E. Exchange Ave., Fort Worth | $15-$75 | Let ‘em buck — come on out and hold your breath for an exciting evening of bull riding.

Friday, August 2

First Fri-YAY | Friday, Aug. 2 | All day | Fort Worth Bike Sharing stations | Free | Hop on a Fort Worth Bike Sharing bike for a complementary cruise or commute, courtesy of North Texas Healthy Communities.
Kindergarten Boot Camp | Friday, Aug. 2 | 10:30-11:30 a.m. | Fort Worth Public Library - East Regional, 6301 Bridge St., Fort Worth | Free | Kiddos entering school can practice being a student in a classroom setting before their big first day.
Heel-Toe-Split | Friday, Aug. 2 | 6-7 p.m. | Bowie House, Auberge Resorts Collection, 3700 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth | $18 | Kick off this beginner class with a margarita as you learn the basics of two-step and line dancing.
Howie Day | Friday, Aug. 2 | 7-9:30 p.m. | Arlington Music Hall, 224 N. Center St., Arlington | $27-$42 | Howie Day will play “Stop All the World Now,” one of his most seminal albums, front to back for its 20th anniversary.

Saturday, August 3

Fort Worth Taco & Margarita Fest 2024 | Saturday, Aug. 3 | 11 a.m. | Simmons Bank Pavilion, 1911 Montgomery St., Fort Worth | $0-$79 | Look out over all of Fort Worth from the Dickies Arena pavillion and devour some tacos in the process.
Exhibition: Talespinner | Saturday, Aug. 3 | 9 a.m.-5 p.m. | Community Arts Center, 1300 Gendy St., Fort Worth | Free | The two-person art performance by Laura Camila Medina and Kacey Slone narrates how the idea of “place” changes for people over time.

Events calendar here

Click here to have your event featured.

News Notes

Olympics

WFAA has a North Texas athlete tracker for the 2024 Paris Olympics, which updates medal count and overall results in real-time. It’s part of the station’s larger Olympic coverage. (WFAA)

Development

Following a corridor study on a six-mile stretch of East Berry Street running from I-35 West to Lake Arlington, the Transportation and Public Works department will present a pedestrian-friendly plan to the City Council in late 2024 or early 2025. Mixed-use urban development would occur in three spots along the six miles. (Fort Worth Report)

Coming Soon

Per the ever-vigilant Fort Worth Foodies Facebook group, it appears a Kura Revolving Sushi Bar is coming to north Fort Worth, opposite Costco. Kura has updated its own site with a “Coming Soon” location in Fort Worth.

Weather

The Saharan dust is headed back to Fort Worth this weekend. Wait, what? How is a desert 7,000 miles away impacting our weather? Allow us to explain. (WFAA)

Open

Philly Dave’s is now slinging cheesesteaks in north Fort Worth at the old location of Stevie’s Diner (5500 N. Tarrant Pkwy.). The meat and the bread get flown in directly from the City of Brotherly Love.

Sports

TCU football head coach Sonny Dykes added two former NCAA head coaches, Dana Holgorsen and Todd Graham, to his staff as analysts for the upcoming season. TCU now has four former head coaches on this season’s staff. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

Edu

As teachers report back to school, some are traveling from out of state to The Welman Project, a Fort Worth nonprofit where teachers can grab free school supplies. You can donate to Welman Project and aid those teachers. (WFAA)

Number

Ever wondered what annual income makes you a top 1% earner in Texas? It’s $762,090, according to SmartAsset research. In 2023, the Texas 1% income was $631,849.

Listen

Who is the best TCU football quarterback of all-time? Do you lean to Andy Dalton because of the 2010 Rose Bowl victory, or nominate someone else? Get the biggest stories every day from the local experts of the TCU Horned Frogs with Locked On’s daily podcasts.

Pro Tip

Instead of scrolling through social media while you sip your coffee, try reading 817 Biz. It’s a free newsletter that features no-snooze, bite-size business news from Tarrant County. Subscribe for free — and see it in your inbox on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings.*

Shop

Get more from your Costco membership — this week only, get a $40 digital Costco shop card and $60 off an order of $200+ on Costco.com when you buy an Executive Membership on our deals site.*

Civic

🎶 “Take a look, it’s in a book...”

The downtown library may find its permanent home

The 512 W. 4th St. property, across from the YMCA, was formerly The Center for Transforming Lives, which is relocating to a bigger space later this year. | Photo courtesy of City of Fort Worth

Fort Worth has not had a downtown library branch in over a year, as the previous Central Library at 500 W. Third St. closed on June 30, 2023. That may soon change. The City Council will vote on Tuesday, Aug. 13 on whether to purchase the Center for Transforming Lives building for a new library

How we got here

In December 2022, the city sold the former Central Branch location to Dallas-based Dart Interests, LLC for $18 million. It had listed the building earlier that year, citing a 45% decrease in usage since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last summer, Dart Interests released the initial renderings for the property, which feature two 20-story towers for mixed-use development.

Where we are now

Utilizing the money from that sale, City Property Management and Library Administration could purchase the Center for Transforming Lives building at 512 W. Fourth St. Because portions of the building are not protected by historic registry, approximately $6.5 million (also from the property sale) additional would be needed to modernize the site. Renovations could begin in early 2025.

Keep up to date with library emails.

The Buy

The Buy 8.01.24 (Affiliate)

This Turkish cotton beach towel — it’s extremely absorbent, made with 100% natural cotton, and is the perfect soft aqua blue companion for your next trip to the ocean.

More worth The Buy

The Wrap

Today’s edition by:
Ted

Fort Worth Oktoberfest will run from Thursday, Sept. 26 to Saturday, Sept. 28 in Trinity Park. A three-day ticket is $20, Thursday tickets are $10, and Friday + Saturday tickets are $15. Kids under 12 are free with an adult.

In 2017 and 2018, I did the stein-hoisting competition. I think I might have lasted one minute in 2017; didn’t get even that far in 2018. It’s way harder than it looks.

Missed our previous newsletter?

›

Send Us A Scoop, Question, or Feedback

›

Advertise with us to stand out.

›

Games | Crossword, Sudoku, and More

›

Content marked with an * is paid advertising. Content marked with an ^ is created by our content studio. The company may also generate commission from affiliate links in the newsletter.

Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.

P.O. Box 2505, Greenville, SC 29602

ADVERTISE | CAREERS | ETHICS | PRIVACY | THE BUY