From the Fort Worth Business Journal by Scott Nishimura
Fort Worth is continuing to move development in the far south corridor of the Chisholm Trail Parkway along, with one residential and commercial case winning zoning approval and the city approving the realignment of Bryant Irvin Road. Work on the eastern terminus of the highway close to downtown also is nearing completion.
Zoning approves Dylan development
Fort Worth Zoning Commissioners on April 8 approved the rezoning of 30 acres near the northwest corner of Sycamore School Road and Summer Creek, bounded by the Chisholm Trail on the west. Legacy Capital is under contract to sell the 30 acres to Realty Capital, which plans a mixed-use development with 900 multifamily units called The Dylan. Fifteen to 20 percent of the development would be commercial. Zoning commissioners worried about whether there’s enough commercial in the plan, but agreed it meets the requirements for the mixed-use zoning at 70 percent apartments and 30 percent other kinds of uses, including townhomes and retail. City Councilman Jungus Jordan, whose district includes the far south Chisholm Trail corridor, earlier in the week called for the city staff to re-examine the definition of mixed-use, saying there’s too much room for interpretation and “mixed-use is being used as another designation of multifamily.” The Dylan plan is one Jordan said he’s concerned about.The City Council will consider the case May 8.
Richard Myers, managing director of Realty Capital, said in an interview after the zoning hearing that he believes there’s appropriate commercial in the plan, which also includes a community plaza that nearby residents asked for in Realty Capital’s conversations with them. “The key on the retail and restaurants is where they’re located” in the development, Myers said. Additionally, “it’s an institutional type of project,” he said of the the type of financing that will go into it. “You’ve got to make sure you’ve got the appropriate commercial. You’ve got to be careful you don’t put too much of one thing in that you can’t lease.” If he secures council approval, Myers said he’ll move next to securing financing and construction drawings. Legacy would retain two to three acres at the northwest corner of Sycamore School and Summer Creek, and Legacy’ has been talking to retailers about that site.
Pate Trust vetting bidders for ranch
The City Council continued zoning and annexation cases again April 7 on the 471-acre A.M. Pate Ranch at Bryant Irvin and Altamesa roads in the southern path of the Chisholm Trail Parkway, as the Pate Trust vets bidders for the property. “They have several bids, and they’re trying to determine what’s in their best interests,” Jordan said in an interview. “It’s best to give them some time to solidify their contractual arrangements.” The trust, which initiated the annexation case, asked for the continuances. The council also voted unanimously at the same meeting to move the planned southern extension of Bryant Irvin Road to the west. The extension, south from Altamesa, will form the western boundary of the planned, mixed-use Pate Ranch development. “It opens up more surface for development,” Jordan said. The zoning case, recommended for approval by zoning commissioners, would zone the land for the first time.
According to a land-use plan submitted to the city with the zoning case, the development will have 230 acres of single-family, an 83.5-acre “live-work-play” lifestyle center, 84.9 acres of mixed-use, 9.4 acres of general commercial, and a 7.2-acre neighborhood park. On its southeast side, it will have the eventual Summer Creek TexRail commuter rail station. The residential piece will include villas and “esplanade,” custom, patio, and traditional single-family homes. The council plans to annex the site at the same time it approves the zoning case. The developer Landeavor had the site under contract and worked with the Dunaway Associates planning, landscape architecture and engineering firm in Fort Worth to come up with the land use plan. Landeavor lost its major equity partner over an account in the national financial press about Texas’ exposure to falling energy prices, Jordan said recently. That triggered a relisting of the property by the Pate Trust, and the council has continued the zoning and annexation cases several times. Landeavor executives have not responded to requests for an interview, and it’s not clear whether the firm is still interested. Jordan has said he likes the proposed zoning, which was worked out with area neighborhood associations, and had considered moving forward with the zoning and annexation cases while the Pate Trust works through the property’s ownership situation. “I would have liked to go ahead, because I think there’s been a lot of work done on it,” Jordan said. The site is bounded by Altamesa on the north, Bryant Irvin on the west, and the Chisholm Trail Parkway and Old Granbury Road on the east. It’s one of several major tracts south of Altamesa that have been opened to development by the parkway.
Chisholm Trail nearing completion
Construction crews are nearing completion within the next few months of key pieces of the Chisholm Trail Parkway at University Drive, Forest Park Boulevard, and Interstate 30’s eastern terminus, the North Texas Tollway Authority’s officer over the project told Fort Worth City Council members April 7. Elizabeth Mow, the assistant executive director of infrastructure at the NTTA, said traffic numbers are meeting the agency’s expectations and sales of toll tags are exceeding expectations. “Your community is really embracing this project, and we couldn’t be happier to be part of it,” Mow said. Mow said motorists who encounter trouble on the road, which connects downtown Fort Worth to Cleburne, should look for the identifying numbers on the backs of their toll tags and use those when contacting NTTA for help. The agency’s goal is to respond within 11 minutes, no matter where on the road, she said. Concrete repair, asphalt overlay, pavement markings and sidewalk construction at University Drive should be complete by May, she said. The exit and entrance onto the parkway from Forest Park Boulevard should be complete by the end of April, she said. The frontage road ramp from the eastern end of the highway to I-30 should be complete by April, and main lanes with ramps in June, she said. “We’re ready to finish up and get out of here,” she said. The highway has already spawned major new development. Councilman Jungus Jordan, whose South Fort Worth district includes the Chisholm Trail south of Interstate 20, estimates the highway saves him about 250 hours per year of drive time. “The people of District 6 love it,” he said. “It’s a game changer in southwest Fort Worth. There’s a lot of development coming.” The road, in the planning for more than 50 years, opened in the spring last year.