From Fort Worth Business Press by Jack Z. Smith

Revenues generated for Fort Worth’s massive Trinity Uptown project by a Tax Increment Financing district, or TIF, are steadily increasing and exceeding projections by nearly 30 percent. This early trend is giving local officials increasing confidence that the Trinity River Vision TIF eventually will provide at least the budgeted amount of $320 million – or more than one-third – of the $909.9 million needed for the controversial flood control and economic development project. The TRV’s chief financial goal is to strengthen the city’s tax base by transforming an old, lackluster 800-acre industrial area just north of downtown into a vibrant new residential and commercial development featuring 12 miles of urban waterfront.

The TRV TIF is still in its early stages and therefore providing only modest revenues. But its revenue stream is projected to soar in future years as a result of a rise in property values and extensive new private development within its nearly 4,000-acre district.  Meanwhile, a huge loan commitment from the Tarrant Regional Water District, a major participant in the Uptown project, is being counted on to provide vital up-front funding to keep the project going. TIF revenues for 2014, all devoted to the Uptown project, total $3.12 million, said Avis Chaisson, community development manager for the city of Fort Worth, which also is a key local Uptown participant.

The 2014 TIF revenues are 12.3 percent higher than the 2013 revenues of nearly $2.77 million and 75.4 percent higher than the revenue estimate of $1.78 million for 2014 that was made in 2009. TIF revenue estimates were lowered in that year in the wake of the 2007-2008 U.S. financial crisis. Total TRV TIF revenues, from 2005 through 2014, are $16.21 million. That’s nearly $3.7 million, or 29.5 percent, above the revised projections made in 2009 for that 10-year period. A TIF is an entity, often created by a city, that derives its funding from annual year-to-year gains in local tax revenues, such as property taxes, from a designated geographic area. The TIF revenue is used for designated purposes such as public street, sidewalk, lighting, water and sewer or park improvements that encourage attractive private development and redevelopment, which in turns boosts the tax base and creates more revenues.

Fort Worth City Councilman for District 7 Dennis Shingleton, chairman of the TRV TIF board, said the TIF’s revenue flow is “going very, very well.” Future development in the Uptown area could result in a “greatly enhanced” city tax base in coming decades, he said. Jay Chapa, Fort Worth’s director of housing and economic development, said he is encouraged by the TIF revenue numbers. There are “tons of opportunities” for new development that will significantly boost property valuations within the TIF district and generate more tax revenues for the Uptown project, he said. With downtown having undergone a dramatic renaissance and the West Seventh Street corridor just west of downtown exploding with new residential and commercial development, Chapa said, “it’s just a no-brainer” that similar success can be expected in the 800-acre Uptown redevelopment area that borders the Trinity River. As Uptown blossoms with new development, it likely will have a ripple effect of encouraging redevelopment farther north on the city’s expansive North Side, which includes the historic Stockyards area, Shingleton said. That opinion also was expressed by Fort Worth City Councilman Sal Espino, who represents the North Side and is a board member of the TRV TIF and Trinity River Vision Authority, a water district unit that is helping coordinate the Uptown project.

Espino cites a growing push for quality urban mixed-use development allowing residents to live nearer where they work and play. “I think people want to be close to a world-class downtown. … They want a shorter commute and not having to deal with traffic congestion,” he said. The Uptown area would offer a very short work commute to downtown or the medical district. A new estimate by Downtown Fort Worth Inc. puts downtown employment at 44,755 jobs, said Arrie Mitchell, DFWI director of research. More than 30,000 people work in the medical district, said Paul Paine, president of Fort Worth South Inc. Barbara Becker, a downtown Fort Worth resident and dean of the School of Urban and Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Arlington, said it’s a very good sign that the early TRV TIF revenues are exceeding projections. For a TIF “to have a cushion on the front end is a really good thing,” she said. That can enable a project to move ahead more rapidly and potentially result in some development taking place sooner, she said.

J.D. Granger, TRVA executive director, said the gains in TIF revenues are resulting primarily from new residential and retail development in and near West Seventh Street and the extensive residential development on the Trinity bluffs on the north edge of downtown and overlooking the river. In a single decade, from 2003 to 2013, the taxable value of properties has skyrocketed by more than 360 percent, from $111.4 million to $403.6 million, for a 1,380-acre portion of the TRV TIF district that accounts for the lion’s share of its tax revenues, according to city figures. Uptown backers say the project could trigger the eventual creation of up to 10,000 new residential units and 3 million square feet of commercial development in the area. Numerous old industrial properties already have been acquired for the project and businesses relocated, leaving the target area ripe for urban redevelopment. The next big phase of the Uptown project is the start, perhaps in August or September, of construction on three new bridges that will span a future 1.6-mile bypass channel. Project officials say the channel, along with a hydraulic dam to be built downstream, will provide a more constant water level for the Trinity, enable creation of a 33-acre urban lake and allow removal of some levees that have thwarted waterfront development and public access to the river. The $909.9 million budget outline for Trinity Uptown calls for $320 million to come from the TIF, whose participants include the water district, Fort Worth, Tarrant County, the Tarrant County Hospital District and Tarrant County College District. The budget calls for non-local funding of $487.9 million, including $411.6 million in federal funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is leading the project’s flood-control effort. Thus far, $74.7 million in federal funding has been received for the project, including a recent appropriation of nearly $16.1 million that was mentioned at the April 9 meeting of the TRVA board.

The TIF is funded from incremental year-to-year gains in property tax revenues generated in a 3,980-acre district that includes the 800-acre Uptown area; a portion of the West Seventh area (including the So7 residential and retail development and The Stayton at Museum Way, a big high-rise residential development for seniors); and nearby areas to the north, including the planned Left Bank mixed-use development just east of Montgomery Plaza and fronting on West Seventh, and other locations closer to White Settlement Road. The TIF also includes much of the Trinity River bluffs area on the north edge of downtown, where there has been heavy residential development and more is underway or planned. In conjunction with a major expansion of the Trinity Uptown project in 2009, the TRV TIF area grew from its original 1,380 acres to 3,980 acres with the addition of 2,600 much-less-populated acres primarily east of downtown and along the Trinity River Channel. The expanded portion includes plans for major improvements to Gateway Park, Trinity River ecosystem restoration and the creation of “valley storage areas” to temporarily hold floodwaters during heavy rains.

With the Uptown project greatly expanded and its cost substantially increased, the funding life of the TRV TIF was expanded from 25 to 40 years to produce more revenue. The TIF is scheduled to shut down on Dec. 31, 2044. The TIF’s revenues are projected to mushroom in future years, hitting an annual high of $30.1 million in 2044. The TIF is projected to produce $448 million in revenues over 40 years, but, as with most TIFs, the biggest revenues are expected in its later years. Critics of the Uptown project have labeled it a “billion-dollar boondoggle” that will most greatly benefit private developers. Detractors also have complained of the TIF’s exceptionally long 40-year funding cycle, the fact that only a small fraction of Trinity Uptown project funding has been approved by voters in local elections, and that numerous businesses were pressured to relocate from the area because the water district has the power of eminent domain.

Aside from the TIF funding, the water district is providing a $64.4 million contribution to the project, Fort Worth is providing $26.6 million, and Tarrant County, $11 million. In addition, the water district has agreed to lend up to $320 million to the project interest-free, with the loan balance never to exceed $226 million. The water district is to be paid back from TIF revenues, but it estimates that it won’t be fully paid back until 2035, well after the scheduled completion of Uptown in 2023. The water district already has lent the TRV TIF about $69 million and has been paid back nearly $12.4 million, leaving the outstanding loan amount at $56.6 million. Granger said the water district is providing major funding support aside from the TIF because the water district levies only a two-cent property tax and thus generates far less in incremental tax revenues than other TIF participants. In contrasting, Fort Worth has a property tax rate of 85.5 cents and therefore contributes far more tax money to the TIF.  Randy Gideon, a consultant and architect who was a partner in the former Gideon Toal firm that was involved in early planning efforts for Trinity Uptown, said the TIF revenues can be expected to keep growing as the Uptown project progresses. The 800-acre target area will offer private developers the potential for high-density development on sizable tracts of land, he said. “More and more people want to move back into the urban core, and I think that’s what is going to drive it,” he said.

Fort Worth Business Press

From the Fort Worth Business Press by Scott Nishimura snishimura@bizpress.net

You may have noticed: they’ve torn the front off the former Barnes & Noble bookstore at University Park Village in Fort Worth. Susan Holland, the shopping center’s general manager, says Glimcher Realty Trust – University Park Village’s Columbus, Ohio owner – is a few weeks away from nailing down tenants to take over the space. Starbucks, which was Barnes & Noble’s next-door neighbor, is moving to the front of the center and taking over the former Menchie’s yogurt shop space, Holland said.Glimcher is taking the combined 25,000 square feet of the Barnes & Noble and Starbucks spaces and cutting them – at this point – into four stalls for specialty retailers and service providers, Holland said. The stores will have 18-foot-high windows fronting the parking lot, she said. Look for tenants that are new on the scene locally, Holland said. “The tenants that are coming are first to the market, and they’re national tenants,” she said.

Asked what kinds of retailers, she said, “they’re not restaurants. They’re more apparel and service.” Glimcher wants to turn the space over to the tenants in time for them to begin construction in May, with openings as early as September, she said. Elsewhere in the center, Nine West is leaving its space, she said. The shopping center’s leasing team is talking to another national tenant about that space. Barnes & Noble said in the fall it would close its University Park Village and Sundance Square stores downtown by January.​

Fort Worth Business Press

From the Fort Worth Business Press

Hey downtown Fort Worth, take a bow….

A low employment rate, a high occupancy rate of both residential and retail and a bounty of museums, parks and entertainment venues – including a twice-daily parade of longhorn steers – add up to Fort Worth being America’s top downtown for 2014. “Having a great downtown is about more than just having a great main street,” said Matt Carmichael, editor of Livability.com, which released its ranking of 2014’s top 10 Best Downtowns on March 17. “A downtown should have a cultural and retail focal point, like a main street, but it has to expand beyond that, providing a solid core for the entire community,” Carmichael said. Livability ranked Cowtown with the best downtown, among other reasons, for remaining close to its agricultural roots. It cites the 118-year-old Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo and the historic Fort Worth Stockyards as crowd pleasers, alongside new developments – including Sundance Square and the Trinity River Vision Project – that add residential, office and retail options.

The downtown area’s central business occupancy rate of 92 percent leads all Texas cities, according to Livability, and its retail vacancy rate fell by 2.6 percent between 2012 and 2013. “Few downtowns have achieved the cohesion between cowboy culture and urban sophistication that Fort Worth has,” Livability writes. Livability also ranked Bass Performance Hall at the top of the list of downtown performance venues. Rounding out the list are: Providence, R.I.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Provo, Utah; Alexandria, Va.; Frederick, Md.; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Bellingham, Wash.; Eugene, Ore.; and Birmingham, Ala.

bdillard@bizpress.net

FWBP

In the past year, Fort Worth’s skyline has seen a number of new investments — from the construction of office buildings at Sundance Square to the redevelopment of One City Place — putting the city in an enviable position. “The storyline in Fort Worth is that there’s new space and new opportunities there, “Walter Bialas, vice president and market research director for JLL, told the Dallas Business Journal. “ Much like Dallas, Fort Worth is very healthy overall and there’s a lot of new construction taking place.” Fort Worth, being part of the larger North Texas region, shares in the region’s positive job growth and has been a big economic generator of jobs on the west side of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, he told me.

As part of that growth, the city’s real estate market has tightened as industries, such as the energy sector have surged. That has developers bringing new office buildings to the market, which have a prelease rate of nearly 70 percent, according to JLL’s recently released Spring 2014 U.S. Skyline Report. That has the market’s rental rates rising 7.8 percent in the past 12 months, with a direct vacancy rate of 17 percent, according to the report. One of the largest vacancies in downtown Fort Worth is the One City Place building, a 306,470-square-foot office tower with an occupancy rate of 6.5 percent, but it’s in the midst of being redeveloped. “It’s in a great location and it will lease up fairly quickly at good rates,” Bialas told me. “Fort Worth is part of the whole job growth picture in North Texas.”

Dallas Business Journal

From Fort Worth Business Press by Scott Nishimura – snishimura@bizpress.net

The construction barricade business, strong in Fort Worth’s West Seventh corridor, figures to pick up even more this year. Several projects ranging from town homes and apartments to retail and office and two hotels are poised to begin coming out of the ground in the hot corridor between the Trinity River and Cultural District. At Museum Place, JaGee Holdings and TLC Urban expect to begin construction this summer on their third phase: a 100,000-square-foot office building and 156-room hotel across from the Kimbell Art Museum, bounded by Van Cliburn Way, West Seventh Street and Camp Bowie Boulevard, said Tony Landrum, developer for the owner, JaGee. Opening would be fall 2015. And “if we’re lucky,” construction will begin late this year or early next on the fourth and final phase: more than 200 apartments on another tract across from the museum, Landrum said.

“We have some leasing we’re trying to button up” on the office building, Landrum said. “Once we get them buttoned up, we will be good with the bankers and equity.” The group will announce the hotel flag – most likely a limited-service hotel – closer to construction launch, he said. On leasing in the project’s first two phases – including 130,000 square feet of office, 80,000 square feet of retail, 217 apartments – “we’re basically full across the board,” Landrum said. Several retail leases “are in various phases of being completed,” he said. “We’re sitting about where we need to be.” Centergy On the other end of the corridor, the Dallas developer Centergy Retail is moving deeper into talks with the Trinity River Vision Authority and the city on a potential partnership that would help Centergy cover what it estimates are $20-$25 million in infrastructure costs for its planned 34-acre Left Bank development overlooking the river and downtown.

The group has redrawn its initial plan for 1.5 million square feet of mixed-use to include more residential and less retail, in talks with the TRVA and the city, which want to bring more residential into the corridor. West Miller, the Centergy principal, estimates he could begin construction in June if he gets his agreements soon. He said he’s drawn significant interest from potential partners, including ones in multifamily, luxury hotel, office and independent living. “They’re all ready to go right now,” Miller, who is continuing to rework the master plan for what he estimated could be a five to seven-year buildout, said. “You rarely see that in a real estate cycle.” The development plans include a luxury hotel fronting the river levee and overlooking downtown, a grocery store and 1,700 multifamily units. In the middle of the corridor, Fort Worth’s Village Homes said it’s under contract on six of 10 first-phase town homes it’s building in the old Linwood neighborhood west of Montgomery Plaza. Homes Village Homes plans 54 town homes on the lots it owns today. Demand for the homes, which start at $285,000, has varied from empty nesters and young professionals and families, said Seth Fowler, Village Homes’ sales and marketing director. On prospective buildout, Michael Dike, Village Homes’ president, said “my feeling is about three years with what we have.”

Elsewhere in the district, construction is under way on the 374-unit Elan West 7th apartment community west of Montgomery Plaza, developers are in the middle of construction on the Parkside So7 second phase, and an optometrist is working on a planned office building at West Seventh and University Drive. The corridor has been the hottest in the city, generating more than $500 million in private investment between 2002 and 2013, including Cypress Equities’ West 7th development, Montgomery Plaza and Museum Place, according to city figures. And that doesn’t include investment made by the museums, which all completed major expansions in that time, the city at the Will Rogers Memorial Center or the University of North Texas. Besides the location at the edge of the Cultural District and west of downtown, developers and others familiar with the corridor said interest in Fort Worth from various capital sources remains high. Interior city infill projects are in vogue, and Fort Worth has a strong growth story, they said. “I think we’re going to see another good decade of money coming into Fort Worth,” Landrum said. “It’s just a maturing process.” He said he often fields inquiries from potential out-of-state investors interested in Fort Worth. “They’re always looking for good stories,” he said. Rents, parking Developers are still trying to determine what works best in the corridor, with several new restaurants closing their doors in recent years. High rents in some of the new development, lack of convenient parking, and not enough residential density have been the culprits, people with interests in the corridor said.

“There’s not enough draws,” Stephen Coslik, chairman of The Woodmont Co. development firm, whose offices are on the street at the river levee, said. “Parking is still an educational process. People still like to drive up.” “That retail down West Seventh has rolled quite a bit,” J.D. Granger, the TRVA executive director, said. “It’s because they need more density. They need that type of residential to create demand.” “I doubt that we’ll ever be able to supply enough apartments for the demand that’s in the area,” Landrum said.

“There’s just not enough land.” Interest has increased in the district for more parking options and a transit circulator, such as a trolley, that would run between downtown and the Cultural District. The Cultural District Alliance economic development nonprofit has been trying to drum up support for a public improvement district, where property taxpayers pay extra for improvements in the zone, which could go in part to lease nighttime parking and provide a circulator.

At least half of the property owners in the district map must agree to the public improvement district before it can be implemented. Some of the district’s larger property owners weren’t in on the idea, because of the extra tax burden. “If we can’t get that common ground, maybe we go with a smaller group,” Jack Thompson, an alliance board member, said. The Fort Worth Transportation Authority, The T, runs two bus routes that take in the corridor, but people in the corridor don’t believe buses are the right solution.

“Buses are never a viable solution,” Landrum said. “Your tourists and your locals are never going to get on them.” The Museum Place developers were on the fence regarding a public improvement district, but Landrum said some kind of connector is “the next step in maturity” for the city. He compared downtown and the Cultural District to ends of a “barbell,” with West Seventh serving as a “very vibrant axle.” A transit connector would create a big, continuous entertainment district, Landrum said. “It has to be easy and economical, if not free,” Landrum said. “Once people park their car, they hate getting back in it and going somewhere.” Joan Hunter, spokeswoman for The T, noted the agency’s attention is on trying to secure the downtown-Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport TexRail commuter rail line. “We are listening to the community and want to engage the public in the discussions, but at this time, there’s not any funding, and we already have the service,” Hunter said, regarding a West Seventh connector.

West Seventh projects

Fort Worth’s West Seventh corridor is seeing a lot of action. Some of the key projects coming out of the ground this year and next:

Left Bank Location: West Seventh between Montgomery Plaza and Trinity River. Snapshot: 34 acres, apartment, retail, hotel, senior living, office, much of it overlooking river. Timetable: Partnership talks with city and Trinity River Vision Authority. Developer says it could break ground in June. Developer: Centergy Retail

Museum Place Phase III Location: Van Cliburn Way, West Seventh on north, Camp Bowie Boulevard on south. Snapshot: 100,000-square-foot Class A office building, 156-room hotel. Timetable: Groundbreaking expected this year, following pre-leasing, developer says. Developers: JaGee Holdings, TLC Urban

Museum West Location: 27 lots in Linwood neighborhood west of Montgomery Plaza. Snapshot and timetable: 54 town homes planned, with construction under way on first batch. Most of first 10 under contract to be sold. Developer: Village Homes

Elan West 7th Location: Mercedes Drive and Carroll Street west of Montgomery Plaza. Snapshot: 374 apartments Timetable: Construction under way, 2015 opening Developer: Greystar

Parkside So7 Apartments Location: West Seventh west of Trinity Park. Snapshot: 220 apartments, second phase of development. Timetable: Construction ongoing

Chu office building Location: Southeast corner West Seventh and North University Drive Snapshot: Future home to Chu EyeWorks. Tenants also to include Regions Bank. More than 15,000 square feet office space available.

Kona Grill Location: North University Drive and Crockett Street Snapshot: Hot restaurant opened February in Cypress Equities development.

Fort Worth Business Press

From the Fort Worth Business Press by A. Lee Graham

Expansion work has begun at WestBend, the mixed-use development just west of the Fort Worth Zoo along Fort Worth’s bustling University Drive. Parking garage demolition began on Tuesday at the development’s southeast corner to provide space for a new 81,150-square-foot building.

The structure is expected to include a retail anchor on ground floor, with 57,650 square feet of Class A office space directly above. Located along the Trinity Trail, the office building will have views over the trail, the zoo and downtown. “We are excited to re-start our WestBend development,” said Terry Montesi, CEO of project developer Trademark, commenting in a news release. The 278,000-square-foot project promises what Montesi called “a walkable urban experience.” “We will have several restaurants on the Trinity Trail with large trailside patios and additional shaded public spaces representing a significant evolution of the district,” Montesi said. Crews recently removed four mature trees for relocation elsewhere on the property as part of the redevelopment plans. WestBend tenants already include Zoe’s Kitchen, Smashburger, Silver Fox steakhouse and River Plaza office tenants. When complete in spring 2015, WestBend will offer 95,000 square feet of retail and dining, and 183,000 square feet of office space.

lgraham@bizpress.net

For more on Trademark developments:

fwbusinesspress.com/fwbp/article.aspx

From the Star Telegram by Caty Hirst

FORT WORTH — The City Council launched a new search for a city manager in executive session Tuesday, a week after rejecting the first four finalists. Mayor Betsy Price said council members have not changed their expectations for a city manager: They are seeking someone who is tech-savvy, innovative and fiscally responsible, with industry and city government experience. “We had a good discussion about moving forward and casting a wider net,” Price said. The council met with representatives from WhitneySmith Co., a human resources consulting and executive search firm. The firm will re-post the position until mid- to late April, then bring candidates to the council in May. The council had hoped to have a replacement by March. The search started after City Manager Tom Higgins, who has worked for the city for nearly 30 years,announced his retirement in October. Higgins, who makes $233,400, agreed to stay on until a replacement is found.

In other business, the council approved an economic development agreement with Wal-Mart to build a 182,000-square-foot Supercenter at the southeast corner of Golden Triangle and Park Vista boulevards in far north Fort Worth. The $12 million in tax breaks come with terms that include building the store and pad site by June 2016, investing at least $13 million in the project by that time, having at least 50 employees and making a “good-faith effort” to spend at least 25 percent of certain construction costs with minority- and women-owned businesses. The council also approved an economic development agreement with Fort Worth-based Trademark Property Co., which is spending $185 million on the Waterside project, planned for Lockheed Martin Recreation Association property. The $18.5 million in tax breaks will be tied to the amount of project investment. The company must invest $90 million in the first phase of 325,000 square feet of residential or commercial space and 140,000 square feet of commercial space. In phase two, it must invest an additional $35 million and have a minimum of 150,000 square feet of commercial or residential space. Phase three calls for an additional $60 million investment and at least 200,000 square feet.

This report includes material from the Star-Telegram archives.

Caty Hirst, 817-390-7984 Twitter: @catyhirst

Dallas Business Journal by Candace Carlisle

The historic U.S. Post Office and Courthouse building — which recently was converted into a luxury 78-unit apartment building with a working post office on the ground floor — has landed on the market. The owners of the 100,000-square-foot historic building at 400 N. Ervay in downtown Dallas has hired HFF to market the property. The 84-year-old building also includes 12,503 square feet of retail space, which is 100-percent occupied. Developer Shawn Todd of Dallas-based Todd Interests and Moriah Real Estate Company Development are the property owners. Todd spent years redeveloping400 N. Ervay during the recession. The developer worked with Preservation Dallas in restoring the historic 1930s-era building to its original glory, which includes colorful frescos on the ceiling. At the time of its grand re-opening in 2012, Scott Porter, managing director of CBRE and member of Preservation Dallas told me the building was a great historic treasure.

http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2014/03/03/historic-u-s-post-office-and-courthouse-building.html

From WFAA – Dallas County News

It’s been nearly four years since Texas Stadium was imploded. And now we’re finally getting a better idea of what may happen to the former home of the Dallas Cowboys. The City of Irving held a public meeting Monday evening to get input and to show off some possible redevelopment plans. One idea is a “Stadium Park,” with an athletic field in the middle of the development. Another option is a “Town Square” surrounded by offices and retail shops and with a stadium at one end. Or how about “The Avocado”? Shaped like the fruit, it’s a mixed-use development. The 79-acre site at the confluence of Loop 12, Highway 114 and the Airport Expressway also has DART rail access and is considered a big part of Irving’s future. In the coming months, the city will work toward finalizing a development plan incorporating ideas from the various proposals.

http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/dallas/Irving-unveils-options-for-Texas-Stadium-redevelopment-248297921.html

From Fort Worth Star Telegram by Sandra Baker

FORT WORTH — Fort Worth-based Trademark Property Co. has asked the City Council to consider an $18.5 million incentive to help build roads and bridges in the $185 million Waterside project planned for the Lockheed Martin Recreation Association property off Bryant Irvin Road in west Fort Worth.

“There is a tremendous amount of public infrastructure including a bridge, riverfront park and trails and a public area” planned for the project, Jay Chapa, the city’s housing and economic development director, told the council members at a pre-council hearing on Tuesday.

“The main portion of (a financial) gap created by the project is the amount of infrastructure required to make the project work. There’s really no infrastructure on the property,” he said.

The property’s zoning calls for a vehicular bridge over a tributary of the Clear Fork of the Trinity River, Chapa said. The 63-acre development is north of Bellaire Drive and bounded by the Clear Fork of the Trinity River on the north and west and Bryant Irvin Road on the east.

Terry Montesi, Trademark’s CEO, said there’s a possibility of a pedestrian bridge also being built. The development is still early in the design stage and would be completed in three phases. Construction is expected to begin mid-year, after Trademark completes its acquisition of the property, he said.

“Much of the project is still being designed,” Montesi said. “Apartments and a significant first phase of retail and possibly some office” would be included in phase one. A grocery store will be in the mix, but Montesi is not saying which grocer because a lease is not signed.

The incentive is a Chapter 380 grant of 75 percent of the one-cent sales tax revenue generated at the development and 75 percent of the incremental real and personal property tax to be paid out over 15 years. Trademark must also commit a certain percentage of construction costs to be spent with Fort Worth minority and women-owned businesses.

Under terms of the incentive, Trademark must invest $90 million in the first phase with a minimum of 465,000 square feet of space, or 325,000 square feet for 400 apartments, and 140,000 square feet for offices, shops and restaurants. Phase two must have an additional $35 million investment and a minimum 165,000 square feet of commercial or residential space, and phase three another $60 million investment and at least 200,000 square feet of space.

Trademark has been under contract since May to buy the property from the Lockheed Martin Recreation Association. When the project was announced last year, Trademark said it planned 200,000 square feet of retail space, including riverside restaurants, 20 to 30 acres for town homes, up to 200,000 square feet of office space and a hotel.

The Lockheed Martin Recreation Association is retaining about 16 acres on the north end of the site.

The development slowed as zoning changes were made to the property, limiting construction to 800 apartments and buildings no taller than five stories.

Instead of offering affordable workforce apartments, a requirement when an incentive is given, Trademark reduced its incentive by $2.25 million, which is going to the Fort Worth Housing Corp. trust fund for future development.

“It’s going to be a great project. That area is really growing and developing,” said Mayor Betsy Price.

The council will vote on the incentive March 4.

Trademark is also developing Alliance Town Center in north Fort Worth and WestBend on University Drive in Fort Worth.