A proposed $850 million mixed-use development at the former site of the Fort Worth Independent School District central administration received unanimous approval for zoning changes requested for the project. No one spoke in opposition to the project.
The owners, FW Westside Investors LLC, requested a zoning change for 11.45 acres of the 35-acre project, at the northeast corner of North University Drive and White Settlement Road, from industrial to mixed-use. The case was heard at the May 8 zoning commission meeting. The Fort Worth City Council will vote on the request at its June 11 meeting.
Westside Investors is a partnership between private equity investment firm Keystone Group LP of Fort Worth and Larkspur Capital LP. Bob Bass is a founder and chair of Keystone Group.
According to zoning commission documents, the project will comprise about 2 million square feet of residential, retail, office and hospitality development. The filing notes that the project is near the Trinity Trails system and about 1 mile from the Panther Island development.
“It’s a very high visibility area we’re dealing with,” said Ray Oujesky, an attorney with Kelly Hart & Hallman who presented to the zoning commission on the project.
“The project will have a concentration of jobs, housing, entertainment and public spaces,” according to the description provided in the filing.
A portion of the property in play is currently owned by car dealer Autobahn Fort Worth, which also has business ties to Bob Bass. The luxury automobile dealer had originally plannedto move into a 25-acre plot of land across from The Shops at Clearfork in the Clearfork development in southwest Fort Worth. City Council members approved a $22 million incentive package for the move in spring 2023.
But the Fort Worth Report recently reported that Autobahn has also been exploring a site in Benbrook. There is an item regarding that project on the Benbrook zoning commission’s May 9 meeting agenda.
Fort Worth ISD sold the central administrationbuilding in 2020 for $4.96 million and relocated to a site farther west, at 7060 Camp Bowie Blvd.
The project at the corner of University Drive and White Settlement Road comes as other properties near West Seventh Street and the Cultural District are also seeing new development.
John Goff’s luxury Crescent Hotel project at 3300 Camp Bowie Blvd. recently opened and includes a high-end office component. Goff has announced he is planning a second office building at the site.
In October, the Fort Worth City Council also approved a $30 million economic development agreement to support two projects valued at $400 million on two high-profile sites, one on West Seventh and the other on University Drive.
During their May 8 meeting, the zoning commission also voted to delay a request to rezone 121 acres located on the eastern side of Chisholm Trail Parkway between the McPherson Boulevard exit and the Tarleton State University campus in southwest Fort Worth to allow for a data center at the site. City staff had recommended against the zoning change, which will come back to the commission in 30 days.
Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org. Disclaimer: Autobahn is a sponsor of the upcoming Fort Worth Report Charity Calendar. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policyhere.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.