Sasha Bass is stepping down as president and CEO of Sundance Square, with former Fort Worth Police Chief Ed Kraus taking the reins of the 37-block development in the center of downtown.
Kraus, who joined Sundance Square in 2019 and became vice president in 2020, steps into the top spot on Sept. 1. Bass said she will focus on leading the Sasha and Edward P. Bass Family Foundation.
The change was announced Monday.
“We are blessed to have very talented teams at Sundance Square working together to make an impact far greater than any of us could do alone,” Kraus said in a statement. “I am humbled to step into this role, and I will lead with the values and vision that have come to define this special place.”
Bass said it was a great honor to serve as the steward of Sundance Square.
“Sundance Square is one of a kind. I’m grateful for the opportunity to build amazing teams of creative and deeply caring people who have been unwavering in their dedication to us, our properties, our tenants and our visitors,” she said.
Bass joined Sundance Square as president and CEO in 2019. She was the organization’s third CEO and the first woman to hold the position.
The district — named after the Sundance Kid, who with fellow bank robber Butch Cassidy once frequented Fort Worth — began in 1979 as a revitalization effort by the Bass brothers, led primarily by Sid and Edward Bass. In 2019, Edward and Sasha Bass took control of the project.
Under her leadership, Sundance Square transitioned from a traditional outsourced real estate management company of approximately 20 employees in 2019 to a vertically integrated real estate operations company with over 200 employees, according to the Sundance Square news release.
“We began our downtown development nearly 50 years ago, and I’m thrilled to turn the next chapter over to such a capable leader,” Bass said in a news release. “Ed (Kraus) is a strategic thinker whose contributions to Sundance Square over the last five years have been so impactful that he is without question the right person to lead Sundance Square.”
Sasha Bass’s focus on live events was instrumental in doubling the number of Sundance Square visitors to 17 million in 2025. The area was the recent focus of hundreds of visitors for the World Cup matches who watched the proceedings on large video screens at Sundance Square Plaza.
Bass’s leadership also saw the departures of several key tenants — such as Reata Restaurant and Haltom’s Jewelers — who left Sundance Square over disagreements with management.
The exodus of retailers and restaurants from the development, once the centerpiece of downtown revitalization, has been a growing concern among Fort Worth central city leaders for some time.
Andy Taft, president of Downtown Fort Worth Inc., the nonprofit advocacy group for the central business district, said Kraus has been given a “great responsibility.”
“Sundance Square has the capacity to house more resident and new office, restaurant and retail businesses,” he said. “As the new president and CEO of Sundance, filling those spaces is the opportunity of a lifetime.”
The new role for Kraus is among several other recent changes to the downtown Fort Worth development. In May, Sundance Square announced that JLL would handle leasing for the 3.7 million square feet of commercial space in the development.
Before joining Sundance Square, Kraus had a 29-year career with the Fort Worth Police Department, capping it off with a 19-month run as chief.
Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Email him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org.
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