Development is coming, even as questions remain about Fort Worth’s Panther Island
Little is certain about what’s next for Panther Island.
The bridges are done. Most of the environmental cleanup and land acquisition is finished. There’s still some work on moving utilities, but there’s no reason development can’t begin, said Trinity River Vision Authority spokesperson Matt Oliver.
As it was conceived 20 years ago, Panther Island is intended to be home to 10,000 residents with plenty of shops and offices. The project awaits federal funding for a 1.5-mile bypass channel between the two forks of the Trinity River that would create an 800 acre island.
There has been little money allocated to building the channel in the past five years. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who are taking a lead role in building the channel, allocated $6 million in 2017 and $1.5 million in 2020, but nothing in 2021.
While the flood control portion remains in limbo, private development is offering its own vision of the project.
Panther Island is the hottest strip of real estate between downtown and the Stockyards, said Sarah LanCarte, president of LanCarte Commercial Real-Estate. Her company represents Lionhead Capital, which owns 26 acres on the island.
LanCarte said she has received multiple offers to develop the various parcels into residential and commercial spaces. Lionhead is being selective with who it chooses to partner with or sell to in order to develop the island.
“We’re making sure there’s real value added on what they’re developing because it affects the whole entire island,” LanCarte said. She didn’t have a timeline for when any sales or developments would be announced, but said she expects something soon.
Uncertainty about the channel is not dampening interest, she said.
“I mean people are curious, but at the same point they recognize where this land is situated and are excited about the opportunity,” she said.
The channel isn’t necessary for developers to have financial success on Panther Island, said Will Northern, a partner and broker at Northern Crain Realty. However, he argued without the channel Fort Worth would be missing out on a unique opportunity to attract out-of-state businesses.
“You’re introducing one of our most overlooked assets, which is the river, and completely re-imagining how people interact with the water,” Northern said.
New development should consider the impact on north side residents, said Dennis Chiessa, an assistant professor of architecture at UT Arlington. He worried this growth might displace residents as a result of rising property values.
Chiessa led a research team at UTA’s College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs that looked at ways the area could accommodate new development without displacing residents. He suggested zoning changes to accommodate more density that could mitigate the potential impact.
Most of the north side is zoned for single family housing, however, Chiessa said this could be changed to allow more duplexes or in-law units to be built on individual plots. This would allow residents to earn income from new construction.
The project has received roughly $62 million in federal funding. Congress allocated $526 million for the project in 2016 though disagreements with the Trump administration over the project’s feasibility held up funding.
The last of three Panther Island bridges opened in early October. The bypass channel and oxbow-style floodplains downstream in Riverside Park are designed to help prevent a Trinity River flood. The intention is to allow Fort Worth to remove some levies near downtown while maintaining the others.
The Army Corps of Engineers is expected to release its Fiscal Year 2022 work plan in the first quarter of next year, Oliver said. That plan will show how much money the Corps is allocating to the flood control project next year.
The city is working closely with the Trinity River Vision Authority and Fort Worth’s congressional representatives Kay Granger and Marc Veasey to secure federal funding to finish the channel, said District 2 council member Carlos Flores.
“For me, the goal is to reclaim and develop this previously industrial and underused area to the benefit of District 2 and all of Fort Worth city,” he said. Flores pointed to the soon-to-be opened Encore Panther Island apartments, the Coyote Drive-In, and Panther Island Brewing as a examples of this reclamation project.
Oliver said design on the northern half of the channel is 60% complete. New federal money would first go to completing that design before construction could begin.
He was hard pressed to answer what would happen if the federal funding didn’t come through.
“The corps has never started a project that has been authorized, that has been given money that just stopped,” Oliver said.
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