Fort Worth approves zoning change for Stockyards hotel over neighborhood concerns
The Fort Worth City Council on Tuesday night unanimously approved a contentious zoning change in the city’s north side, freeing up the development of a new hotel on the edge of the Stockyards.
Impassioned debates over the proposed Hampton Inn and Suites on North Main Street had played out for weeks in neighborhood meetings and community chat groups before landing on the City Council’s desk April 9.
The project’s advocates argue it will help accommodate the city’s ever-growing influx of tourists while catalyzing economic opportunities for locals. Its detractors worry north side residents will reap little more than worsening traffic, noise, and property expenses.
“I would not do anything to harm the area that I grew up in and still reside in,” said District 2 council member Carlos Flores as he picked apart opposition critiques. “The market is beginning to change; in my opinion, by looking at this, this change is favorable.”
Bryan-based developer Oldham Goodwin first presented mock-ups for the 149-room hotel in February. It plans to build the four-story structure on the remains of a shuttered supermarket rimmed by homes to the west and north and fast-food restaurants to the east and south.
The group is in the early stages of constructing another hotel a few hundred feet away on Northeast 29th Street. The initiatives are two of at least four hospitality projects in the works around the perimeter of the Stockyards, the feather in the cap of the city’s tourism industry.
Some residents of bordering neighborhoods have chafed at the change, fearing it will erode the character and security of their communities.
“Our streets are becoming overrun by tourists, who often engage in disruptive behavior because of excessive drinking,” Danielle Flores (no relation), a north sider living a block north of the prospective Hampton Inn, told council members on Tuesday evening, flipping through pages of prepared remarks. “The safety of our children is at risk; they can no longer play freely on the streets due to increased traffic and frequent car crashes.”
Gladys Guevara, a member of the Northside Neighborhood Association and vocal critic of the plan, shared Flores’ concerns.
“I believe it’s a further burden on longstanding residents to increase the traffic, noise, and peace residents expect from the residential community,” Guevara said over a telecast Zoom call. “Some feedback that I’ve received is that they would like to see more diverse retail space and restaurants that will mutually benefit the residents and tourists from the Stockyards.”
Council member Flores acknowledged their anxieties but pushed back against their reasoning.
“Desired development begets desired development,” he said. “I know that change worries some residents, and justifiably so; that’s why we have these conversations.”
An online petition circulated by Danielle Flores in the days leading up to the council vote garnered close to 100 signatures, including, she said, from nearby residents and employees of surrounding businesses. (How many signees lived in the north side is unclear.) Despite the outburst of digital discontent, Flores and Guevara were the only two opposition speakers to speak before the council, Flores the only to show in person.
The developer’s team boasted letters of support of their own from community groups, local chambers of commerce, and homeowners in the immediate vicinity of the property.
Some soon-to-be neighbors of the hotel shared mixed emotions about the project with the Star-Telegram — including relief that the long-neglected land would be put to use, but a desire for other forms of commerce.
Ultimately, council member Flores’ peers rallied to his side.
“Not only does this provide much needed hotel rooms in a city that’s rapidly growing,” district six council member Jared Williams said just before votes were cast, “this also adds financial benefits to our community as well, in the sense of not only property taxes but sales tax and hotel occupancy tax — all that can be reinvested into building our community and our city.”
This story was originally published April 9, 2024 at 9:35 PM.
