Fort Worth Business Press by Scott Nishimura snishimura@bizpress.net
Trademark Property Co. of Fort Worth is asking the city for up to $18.5 million in incentives over 15 years, to help with the costs of building roads, bridges, and utilities on the 63-acre Lockheed Martin Recreation Association site it plans to redevelop into a riverfront collection of cafes, stores, offices, apartments, hotel and public spaces. “There’s really no infrastructure on the site,” Jay Chapa, the city’s housing and economic development director, told City Council members this morning. Trademark asked for the “Chapter 380” grant, which the city calls a last-resort gap financing tool to help improve developers’ return or bring a project up to lending standards.
City Council members will vote March 4 on the agreement. “It’s going to be a great project, and we’re excited about the development,” Mayor Betsy Price said. The incentives would be over three phases, but Terry Montesi, Trademark’s CEO, said in an interview that actual buildout should take six or seven years. “Hopefully, sooner,” he said. Trademark estimated buildout at $185 million, excluding the land.
A first phase would be $90 million, and a minimum 465,000 square feet of space, including 140,000 commercial and 325,000 residential. A second $35 million phase would be a minimum 150,000 square feet of commercial or residential. If residential, it would be about 400 units. A $60 million third phase would be a minimum 200,000 square feet of commercial or residential. The actual amount of the Chapter 380 grant would be based on an average 75 percent of the property tax gain added by the improvements, and 75 percent of the city’s one-cent sales tax. The highest grant percentage – 80 percent – would be for development costs incurred in the first five years. Seventy five percent would be for the second five years and 70 percent for the final five years. Trademark also committed to spend 30 percent of hard construction costs with Fort Worth contractors, for 25 percent of the grant.
It committed to spend 25 percent of construction costs with Fort Worth women and minority-owned businesses, for 25 percent of the grant. It agreed to spend $200,000 annually on supply and service contracts with Fort Worth companies and $100,000 annually on supply and service contracts with Fort Worth women and minority enterprises. Trademark agreed to reduce its grant by $200 per residential unit – an estimated $2.25 million – that will go to the Fort Worth Housing Finance Corp. The city would still receive a projected $7.7 million in property tax and $4.5 million in sales tax from the development over the 15-year term.