Not quite a ghost town, here’s how downtown Fort Worth could change after coronavirus
Despite the surgical mask draped over Chris Gensheimer’s face, it is easy to tell he’s smiling at the woman approaching the counter in his Earth Bones boutique in downtown Fort Worth.
They clearly know each other, exchanging pleasantries about their families before the woman says she’ll be back soon.
These small personal interactions are often a thrill for small business owners like Gensheimer, but they’ve become increasingly precious as the coronavirus has left people weary of being together. The huddled groups of name-tagged convention-goers and office crowds are gone, replaced with infrequent visitors and Sunday brunchers.
After roughly 30 years in retail, Gensheimer has decided to close his three downtown shops. First a gift store in the Sid Richardson Museum, last month the Retro Cowboy and by the end of August, Earth Bones, too, will close. Gensheimer’s wife and her late sister opened Earth Bones in 1989 on Hulen Street in Arlington Heights with a collection of homemade jewelry.
Leaving retail has been in the works for a while, he said, so he can’t fully blame the coronavirus or the shutdowns that followed. But the situation did escalate his decision.
“I’ve been wanting to go do something else, but the corona was kind of a, well, you may as well jump to it and push to finish up,” he said. It could take three years to return to profitable business, he guessed. “To what end is that worth it?”
His shops are among at least seven businesses that have closed in downtown Fort Worth since the pandemic forced local and state leaders to shut down in-person commerce in March. While some businesses have been able to reopen at limited capacity, restaurants Bird Cafe, Cantina Laredo, Taverna and The Brass Tap have also shuttered.
Fort Worth’s downtown commerce is heavily dependent on tourism and conventions, two industries rocked by the pandemic. Last year downtown hotel occupancy was above 70%, according to Visit Fort Worth. It’s currently at 28%. Downtown parking is operating at about 30% of normal occupancy, according to Downtown Fort Worth Inc. The first convention since March, the Southwest Believers’ Convention, is expected to bring 1,500 people between Monday and Saturday.
Small business closures are on the rise nationally. Yelp estimated 41% of COVID-related closures it reported since March, or nearly 73,000 businesses, will never reopen. The website uses crowdsourcing to compile business reviews and track openings and closings. On a brighter side, the company’s July 25 economic impact report indicated more than 20% of businesses that closed in April have reopened.
An urban expert at Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research said cities should brace for more closures in their downtowns. It could be well into 2023 before urban hub commerce returns to what it was in 2019.
“Make no mistake about it, there’s going to be a lot of vacant restaurants and bars in downtowns across the country, including Fort Worth,” said institute director Bill Fulton, adding that while those spaces will be repopulated with new ventures, it will take time for those deals to be made.
But Fort Worth promoters, including Downtown Fort Worth Inc. and the manager of Sundance Square, hope a combination of public health initiatives, a vaccine and creative use of space will return life in downtown to a more normal vibe by this time next year.
“The reason I’m so optimistic is that other parts of the world have already started to bounce back,” said Andy Taft, president of Downtown Fort Worth Inc. “We can’t be looking at this after six months and suggest what it would be like in a year or so.”
The future of downtown Fort Worth
The pandemic has forced property managers to rethink their space and how people interact, said Henry S. Miller III, director of mixed use development for Henry S. Miller Co., the large brokerage and property management firm that handles Sundance Square under an agreement with Fine Line Diversified Development. Fine Line is owned by well-known Fort Worth businessman Ed Bass and wife Sasha Bass. The multi-block business and entertainment district is the heart of downtown and takes up more than 1.5 million square feet of office, retail and other space.
Miller said many of the changes people can expect to see in downtown have been in the works for a while, but the virus has hurried them along. Chiefly is an increased use of outdoor space.
The Sundance Square plaza is one of the largest and arguably most pedestrian friendly outdoor areas in Fort Worth, but it has been closed except for pass-through walking since March. Miller said Sundance Square is working on how to reopen the space while also ensuring safe social distancing.
In the meantime, restaurants have been using large outdoor tables to provide curb-side to-go pick up, Miller said.
A bolder use of space is in the works that has a more European feel — commandeering unused parking and possibly entire streets for outdoor dining and shopping.
Many downtown buildings don’t have enough space to do a robust commerce with reduced capacity, so moving the experience outside offers a simple solution, he said. Since June the city has allowed businesses to apply for parklet permits for the curbside parking area in front of their property, though both Taft and Miller said they were unaware of any current permits downtown. The concept is common across the country, including in Dallas.
Miller said he imagined closing streets that don’t carry major traffic for a portion or all of the block to increase outdoor space.
“It’s creating a more festive experience that is making the streets come alive, and I think in many ways is transforming the dine-out experience,” Miller said.
Fulton, the Rice University urban researcher, said these pop-up outdoor spaces are likely to stick around if they’re successful. Spread of the virus is less likely outside, but people may also become accustomed to more walkable streets.
The pandemic has shown most office-type employers there is no real need for permanent office space at a large scale, Fulton said. He expects office work to evolve into a hybrid where most of the job is done remotely while companies downsize their footprint to fit just the essential in-person meetings.
That will leave significant unused office space in many cities, he said, which could be an opportunity for companies to acquire downtown space cheaper or for building owners to convert space to housing. While social distancing has become the norm during the pandemic, Fulton said he thought many people would still ultimately want to live in and work in downtowns.
“People are increasingly going to have the ability to live where they want to live. Some people think that that means there will be endless sprawl because no one wants to live in cities if they have a choice,” Fulton said. “I disagree. Increasingly there are people who want to live in the center of the city and I don’t think that demand’s going to dry up.”
Taft said he thought it was too early to speculate on what downtown office space might look like. Most long-term leases have not come up for renewal, he said, and the majority of older office buildings that would make for attractive living have already been converted.
Downtown welcomed about 100 new residents in April, May and June, according to real estate data for the ZIP code.
“Anyone who is talking about fleeing to the suburbs is probably trying to sell something in the suburbs,” Taft said, adding that he thought downtown would bounce back rapidly. “I don’t think anyone is making major real estate decisions in this environment.”
Making it work
Down the street from the Sundance Square plaza, Glen Keely, owner of cocktail bar Thompson’s Bookstore, called the pandemic “the worst case scenario in every way.”
With no convention business or after-work drinkers, foot traffic at 900 Houston St. has all but dried up, he said. Keely criticized Gov. Abbott for closing bars again June 26, which he described as “discrimination against one sector.”
Keely wants to hold on to his business, so he worked with the city’s code compliance officer to come up with a way to sell drinks to-go. Liquor sales must be accompanied by food, so Thompson’s now sells a $4 cheese, cracker and nut plate or some olives for $1. The bar is open only 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday though Friday for orders made online.
It’s a creative way to stay open, but Keely said it’s not about making a profit. At this point, he said he’s just trying to turn his inventory into cash to stay afloat. Keely’s landlord downtown, and another at Poag Mahone’s have worked with him on leases, but he needs cash flow for either business to survive.
“Listen, I’m in the business I’m in for 35 years because I love the social interaction,” he said.
Roughly 70% of the business in Sundance Square have reopened in some fashion, Miller said, though most of the seven permanent closures, including Gensheimer’s shops, have been in Sundace space.
Miller said the management firm understands the financial constraint business owners are under, but is hesitant to “bankroll” any tenant. Many new leases are structured not to be lower on the front end and ramp up, he said, to give tenants some relief.
Despite some closures he remains optimistic about downtown, though he wouldn’t speculate on a time frame for a turnaround.
“I’m seeing it as an opportunity for us to do things that are more innovative and more in keeping with what people really want,” Miller said. “If there’s any kind of blessing out of a bad situation, I think it’s being able to change things to make living, working, playing, shopping a better, healthier, safer and more inspiring situation.”
Even though Gensheimer is closing his stores, he wouldn’t rule out returning to downtown in some capacity. He was hard pressed to be anything but hopeful.
“I want to be a cheerleader for the next month and make sure people come to our downtown,” he said. “We are open ... We’re the engine of our city”
This story was originally published August 2, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
