$12,000 penthouse? Rents revealed for apartment tower in downtown Fort Worth
Deco 969, the 27-story luxury apartment complex opening in downtown Fort Worth in February, has released its rent prices.
The “ultaluxury community” tower features more than 20 floor plans with apartments ranging from more than $2,000 per month to more than $5,000 per month.
The smallest unit — a 684-square-foot unit with one bedroom and one bathroom — starts at $2,037 per month. Several other one bedroom and one bathroom options range from $2,000 to $3,000.
A nearly 1,600 square foot unit with two bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms starts at $5,232 per month.
The complex at 969 Commerce St. also features six penthouse options.
The least expensive penthouse — with one bedroom and 1.5 bathrooms — is nearly 1,200 square feet and starts at $5,536.
The only three bedroom option within the complex is a nearly 2,200-square-foot penthouse. It starts at $9,618 and has three bathrooms.
The most expensive penthouse starts at more than $12,500. At nearly 2,800 square feet, the unit features two bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms.
Units in the tower will be open for pre-leasing in December. Pricing and touring will also be available at that time, according to developer Southern Land Company.
Deco 969 is the first new-build apartment tower downtown in decades. The location at East Ninth and Commerce streets is within a block of the Fort Worth Convention Center, the central rail station and the future Texas A&M-Fort Worth campus.
The 300,000-square-foot property will feature 302 units for rent, eight floors of parking and retail and restaurant space on the first floor.
Amenities will include a 24th floor sun-facing pool and heated spa, a poolside bar and lounge, a 180-inch poolside video screen and a dog grooming spa. The property will also include a 25th-floor greenspace with fire pits, a bar in the lobby, meeting rooms and workspace, a demonstration kitchen and a full-time concierge, according to its website. The apartments will have “abundant unobstructed downtown views” as well as “private balconies rich in space and views.”
Deco 969 will be one of the tallest buildings constructed downtown in years. When complete, it will be the ninth tallest building in the city.
Real estate experts have said for months that Deco 969 will be a closely watched project when it comes online. Rent rates and how quickly the development fills up will be indicators of demand for more downtown apartment growth.
David Walters, senior vice president of CBRE, the commercial real estate services company, has previously said he thinks Deco 969 will be a great test for the future success of residential development in downtown.
“The Deco project will be interesting. It will kind of be the bellwether for future projects,” Walters told the Star-Telegram last year. “I know there are other residential developers that would love to go vertical. I suspect if Deco leases up quickly, does well and gets rents that meet their performance, you’ll see other developers that are going to follow.”
Dallas-Fort Worth has the third-highest real estate prospects of any major metro in the U.S., according to 2024 forecasts by accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Andrew Alperstein, a PwC real estate partner, said real estate activity in DFW is growing, because the market is large and diverse but still affordable. This allows the Metroplex to form a “powerhouse economy” and attract a wide range of businesses.
Multi-family growth has consistently made up 50% or more of the overall real estate activity in the Metroplex, Alperstein said.
Vacancy in the multi-family sector is expected to decline by about 1% over the next four years while rent grows by 3% to 5% during the same time period, Alperstein said. DFW leads the nation’s big metros in population gain.
Apartments in DFW are more than 90% occupied with average rent prices of $1,488 across the Metroplex as of November, according to data from MRI ApartmentData. In the downtown Fort Worth and TCU submarket, the average rent price is $1,531 per month.
The Metroplex has nearly 45,000 new apartments under construction and more than 77,200 units proposed for construction as of November, according to the market insights platform.
Growth in rent across DFW comes as rent prices soar across the U.S. amid historic inflation increases.
Across the U.S., rent prices grew by 17% from 2021 to 2022, a significant increase compared to 3% to 5% rent increases over the past decade, according to real estate platform Stessa.
And as of 2020, the U.S. has a housing shortage of nearly 4 million units, according to federal home loan mortgage company Freddie Mac.
Last October, when Deco 969 was still 10 stories away from completion, a drone video offered an aerial look at the project’s construction.
This story was originally published November 16, 2023 at 2:00 PM.
