Sundance Square brings in outside firm to help lease empty storefronts
Sundance Square is getting some help leasing up its retail space.
The 37-square block retail and entertainment district in the heart of downtown Fort Worth is contracting with real estate services firm JLL to do “targeted retail leasing,” according to a May 8 press release.
The company will be responsible for leasing out over 105,000 square feet of space, according to the press release.
“We see significant opportunity to further strengthen the tenant mix in ways that reflect both Fort Worth’s identity and evolving consumer demand,” Sundance Square vice president Ed Kraus said in the press release.
JLL’s experience and market insights will help Sundance Square build its momentum, Kraus said.
The move comes nearly six years after Sundance Square transitioned to an in-house leasing team in November 2020 when billionaires Ed and Sasha Bass took sole ownership of the district.
In July 2025, Sundance hired Fort Worth-based LanCarte Commercial to lease out a handful of the district’s office properties. Now JLL is stepping in to handle the district’s retail space.
Like many downtown districts, Sundance has struggled in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. A 2024 Star-Telegram survey found roughly a quarter of its ground floor retail spaces were vacant.
Sundance Square representatives have previously pointed to national trends to explain the downturn, however, former district shop owners have pointed the finger at Sundance’s billionaire owners Ed and Sasha Bass.
The district started a small-business incubation program in March 2022 to fill some of its empty spaces with mixed results. Collection Mexicana and Cary O’Keefe jewelry are still operating under their original ownership, however, others have since been taken over by Sundance, according to Tarrant Appraisal District Records.
Downtown has seen a slow uptick in foot traffic and an increase in residents, according to data from nonprofit Downtown Fort Worth Inc.
There’s also been increased interest in the southern end of downtown with development of Texas A&M’s Fort Worth Campus and the renovation of the Fort Worth Convention Center.
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