As developer interest in Panther Island increases, the city is creating a plan to allow buildings of up to 20 stories or 324 feet in certain areas along North Main Street in the project.
The plan to increase the height of buildings on Panther Island is headed to the Fort Worth City Council on Tuesday, April 23. The council is expected to approve the changes recommended by consultants HR&A Advisors that were previously approved by the Zoning Commission on April 10.
The current restriction limits the height of buildings to eight stories. Part of the idea for the increase is to encourage more density, which can help support transit and more affordable housing for the area.
While the new recommendations are for taller buildings, they would not approach the height of some downtown buildings, said Andy Taft, president of Downtown Fort Worth Inc.
The city of Fort Worth staff report compares the building heights proposed for Panther Island with downtown Fort Worth. Panther Island heights would be comparable to the former Pier 1 building, which is now being converted to use as City Hall. The tallest building in downtown Fort Worth is Burnett Plaza, which at 40 stories, is 567 feet. The report also compares the proposed Panther Island heights with other waterfront developments such as the False Creek waterfront in Vancouver, British Columbia, and the South Waterfront in Portland, Oregon, which have similar height restrictions to those proposed for Panther Island.
“The concern is that some of these buildings would be competitive with downtown,” Taft said. “I think the poster child for that concern is uptown Dallas versus downtown Dallas. We’ve seen a lot of exodus from downtown into uptown. I’m sure we don’t want to replicate that in Fort Worth.”
A rendering shows the different Panther Island development zones from a city staff report. (Courtesy image | City of Fort Worth)
Council member Carlos Flores, who represents District 2, which includes Panther Island, said the changes in the building height should work with downtown.
“It’s clear that the highlighted corridor has been intended here … to create a corridor that leads into downtown that is complementary to what exists in downtown,” he said, during a work session on the proposed changes.
Some concerns about the planned changes are regarding the office market itself, which is undergoing changes, said Taft.
According to a reportfrom real estate firm Transwestern, the office market is still “rightsizing” following the pandemic. “Tenants are reducing space on average 20%. With leases still rolling, expect this to play out in the stats for years to come,” the report states.
While downtown Fort Worth’s office vacancy rate is fairly low, Taft noted that several office properties have been taken off the market in the past few years.
The 338-acre Panther Island project should complement the areas adjacent to it, such as the Stockyards, downtown and West Seventh, said Taft.
“If you want your central business district to continue being a central business district, we need to make sure that we don’t introduce a highly competitive market to the traditional downtown core,” he said.
The staff report says that the area along Main Street is an opportunity to create a “transit-minded Texas Main Street.”
Taft said real estate and business leaders will be in discussion with the city as plans move forward with Panther Island.
“I think people that understand the economics of skyscrapers, which is a different business model from what is being proposed for Panther Island, can provide some guidance,” he said.
Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.