Stockyards concept looks good, but …
Developers presented a grand vision for the Fort Worth Stockyards on Tuesday, a 70-acre project with restaurant, shopping, office and residential areas, a hotel and outdoor festival and event areas.
It’s an impressive plan with little to fear. Fort Worth’s Hickman family and California’s Majestic Realty Group, the property owners, promised to respect and compliment the Stockyards heritage and incorporate many of its structures in the redevelopment.
Historic preservation advocates had raised alarms about the project.
But while the Hickmans and Majestic offer tremendous ideas for enhancing the Stockyards’ draw for both visitors and local residents, it was not a specific “here’s what we’re going to do and what it will look like” architect’s design.
“This is a creative work in progress,” said Craig Cavileer, Majestic’s executive vice president, in laying out the plan to a city task force. “The Stockyards have evolved over the past 10 to 20 years, and so will our master plan.”
Fort Worth can expect nothing more. If the Stockyards are to undergo a developer’s remake — and it should, if the area is to remain a vibrant attraction and not just a crumbling relic — the city and its residents must demand creativity both in what is proposed and how it is done.
That means City Hall and the preservationists who hold the Stockyards dear — as we all should — must stay involved every step of the way to make sure it is done right.
The city task force began meeting in May and is drawing up guidelines for building design and materials, architectural style, parking and walkway design, signage and landscaping and lighting.
When specific construction plans are ready, piece by piece, no matter how long it takes, each project must receive approval from the city before it can go forward.
Some of the 72 cattle pens and the crumbling industrial buildings that were part of the Swift & Co. packing plant probably will yield to better land uses.
But in other places, Cavileer said, “We’re going to bring those buildings back and take care of them.”
Hold him to it.
This story was originally published July 15, 2015 at 5:27 PM with the headline "Stockyards concept looks good, but …."