$2.8 billion in development expected for downtown Fort Worth
A rising tide of development is raising downtown Fort Worth’s boat.
That was one of several points touched on by Downtown Fort Worth Inc. president Andy Taft speaking at the nonprofit’s annual meeting Thursday.
The Stockyards is knocking it out of the park, the Near Southside is growing with hospital and hotel development, and new construction is under way in the West 7th District, Taft said.
“Downtown is surrounded by new development springing out of the ground, and that is a much healthier place than we were just a few short years ago,” he said.
Taft ran through a list of highlights of downtown development over the past year.
Roughly $2.8 billion worth of development is in the near term pipeline for downtown, according to Downtown Fort Worth Inc’s annual report.
That includes the second phase of the Fort Worth convention center, nearly 1,600 apartment units, and 1,400 hotel rooms in various stages of development, according to the report.
The new Fort Worth City Council chamber is a huge step forward in elevating the city’s civic image, Taft said.
The first phase of the Fort Worth Convention Center wrapped up in December 2025, which should make way for a new 1,000 room hotel once Commerce Street is straightened, he said.
Texas A&M is expected to open its new law school building later this year, and break ground on its research and innovation building, which Taft said will anchor a university innovation district in the southeast corner of downtown.
However, it was the broader collaboration between the city’s various business and entertainment districts that Taft said was crucial for the success of downtown.
“All those city center stories are made possible only through the power to people working together to achieve a shared vision of success,” he said.
Downtown is reaping the harvest of seeds planted years ago, Taft said.
The challenge now is to keep that momentum going by planting new seeds that will keep downtown and the broader city strong for years to come, he said.
.jpg)