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05 December 2003, 01:05 AM
Hotel added to plans as developers begin work on South of Seventh project
By Sandra Baker - Star-Telegram Staff Writer
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/business/7411452.htm
FORT WORTH - More than two years after announcing initial plans, a group of Dallas-based developers has quietly begun construction on a long-awaited 25-acre development on the west side of Trinity Park near downtown that will now include a 150-room hotel.
The South of Seventh project will have almost 60 luxury town houses and about 125,000 square feet of retail space and restaurants, in addition to the extended-stay hotel. The project also expands the recent trends of redevelopment near the core downtown area.
Crews began moving dirt this week near the Lancaster Avenue bridge just south of West Seventh Street, where the first phase of 12 luxury town houses will be built over the next couple of months.
Called So7 for short, the development will get a new main road called Museum Way, which will split the property and join the development to the Cultural District. The shopping and restaurant development -- slightly smaller than the University Park Village shopping center -- will front West Seventh Street. The developers also promise walking paths and lavish landscaping.
The entrance to So7 will also become a new entrance to Trinity Park, they said.
Some aspects of the plan have been altered because of recent projects announced for the area since the So7 project was launched.
Financing has been arranged through Texas Bank of Fort Worth, said Ken Hughes, a partner in UC Urban, the Dallas-based developer. The project will take about four years to complete, he said.
"It takes a long time to get deals done," Hughes said. "We feel now we have it well-positioned. All the pieces ultimately fell into place."
The project plans originally included a grocery store, but that was eliminated when a developer said he plans a SuperTarget, which includes a full-service grocery, across West Seventh Street on the former Montgomery Ward property, Hughes said.
The So7 developers then added the idea of a hotel, and have under contract 2.5 acres with Dallas-based Western International. Western plans a 4-story, 150-room Residence Inn by Marriott. Hughes said construction on the hotel could begin in the next couple of months.
Because of its location between downtown and the Cultural District, the hotel would be well-positioned to get business from both areas, said Mike Mahoney, development director at Western International.
Western is not new to the market. It has nearly completed two other Marriott-brand hotels, a SpringHill Suites at Pulido Street and Interstate 30 and a Courtyard by Marriott at Lands End Boulevard and I-30, near Ridgmar Mall in west Fort Worth.
The Residence Inn, a high-end Marriott hotel, would be completed in about a year, Mahoney said.
Construction of the first town houses will be done as the first streets, infrastructure and other "dirt work" get under way, Hughes said.
In all, 59 town houses -- 2-story structures averaging about 3,000 square feet and costing $300,000 to $600,000 -- will be built.
A high-rise component will eventually be built. Designed by Kohn, Pedersen and Fox Associates in New York, it will consist of three buildings, one of which is planned to be 12 stories, Hughes said. Those plans are still being finalized.
The town houses, designed by architect Philip Shepherd, will be built around a plaza, a fountain and European-inspired streetscapes, the developers said. The Palladian-influenced stucco and stone houses will have Italian tile roofs, wrought-iron balconies and rooftop terraces, designs new to Fort Worth. Some of the units will have elevators.
"We played with almost every architectural style," Hughes said.
Martha Williams, principal in Williams Trew Real Estate Services in Fort Worth, which is marketing the residences in So7, said focus groups held on the project about a year ago showed strong demand.
"We are really excited it's finally going to happen," Williams said. "Fort Worth has not seen this concept. They've been very well thought out and designed. There is a tremendous demand for this."
The development is spread among four tracts, stretching from West Seventh Street to just beyond the Lancaster Avenue bridge to the south. It straddles the Fort Worth & Western Railroad tracks.
The land has been vacant for years. The site was a light industrial area where only the old foundations of peanut silos and former plants remain. A cab company once operated from a building on the property.
The development will be completed from the back of the property forward, to make sure the entire property is used, said Jorg Mast, a development partner.
"We always wanted to make sure to entirely develop the site, not just the frontage," Mast said.
There is no timetable on the retail component. It is designed with a Main Street concept, Mast said, and may include office space and apartments.
"The idea is to have as many local and regional players as possible," Mast said. "We're talking to retailers who are not in Fort Worth, but want to be here."
Mast said the retail component will complement the plans for the redevelopment of Montgomery Ward, which in addition to the SuperTarget include a Home Depot, and other retailers and residential units.
Conditions in the market are good, the developers said. The shopping centers nearest the planned development are University Park Village, on University Drive near I-30, and Chapel Hill, at I-30 and Hulen Street. Both centers are considered upscale and both are booming.
Ian Pierce, director of communications for The Weitzman Group in Dallas, said the overall retail market in Fort Worth is about 90 percent leased, and the downtown market stays 95 percent leased.
Coupled with UC Urban's reputation and the anticipated residential growth of about 10,000 units in and around the downtown area, Pierce said the project should succeed.
"The impact is, they are creating a trade area," Pierce said. "Creating a retail area can create a lot of traffic draw. Ken Hughes has a proven track record."
Marketing for the project will begin aggressively in January, Mast said.
The land is owned by Lensworth, one of Australia's largest developers.
In addition to Hughes and Mast, the development team includes David Dunning.
UC Urban is best known for developing Mockingbird Station in Dallas. The popular urban village off Mockingbird Lane near Southern Methodist University is a mixed-use, residential, office and retail project.
By Sandra Baker - Star-Telegram Staff Writer
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/business/7411452.htm
FORT WORTH - More than two years after announcing initial plans, a group of Dallas-based developers has quietly begun construction on a long-awaited 25-acre development on the west side of Trinity Park near downtown that will now include a 150-room hotel.
The South of Seventh project will have almost 60 luxury town houses and about 125,000 square feet of retail space and restaurants, in addition to the extended-stay hotel. The project also expands the recent trends of redevelopment near the core downtown area.
Crews began moving dirt this week near the Lancaster Avenue bridge just south of West Seventh Street, where the first phase of 12 luxury town houses will be built over the next couple of months.
Called So7 for short, the development will get a new main road called Museum Way, which will split the property and join the development to the Cultural District. The shopping and restaurant development -- slightly smaller than the University Park Village shopping center -- will front West Seventh Street. The developers also promise walking paths and lavish landscaping.
The entrance to So7 will also become a new entrance to Trinity Park, they said.
Some aspects of the plan have been altered because of recent projects announced for the area since the So7 project was launched.
Financing has been arranged through Texas Bank of Fort Worth, said Ken Hughes, a partner in UC Urban, the Dallas-based developer. The project will take about four years to complete, he said.
"It takes a long time to get deals done," Hughes said. "We feel now we have it well-positioned. All the pieces ultimately fell into place."
The project plans originally included a grocery store, but that was eliminated when a developer said he plans a SuperTarget, which includes a full-service grocery, across West Seventh Street on the former Montgomery Ward property, Hughes said.
The So7 developers then added the idea of a hotel, and have under contract 2.5 acres with Dallas-based Western International. Western plans a 4-story, 150-room Residence Inn by Marriott. Hughes said construction on the hotel could begin in the next couple of months.
Because of its location between downtown and the Cultural District, the hotel would be well-positioned to get business from both areas, said Mike Mahoney, development director at Western International.
Western is not new to the market. It has nearly completed two other Marriott-brand hotels, a SpringHill Suites at Pulido Street and Interstate 30 and a Courtyard by Marriott at Lands End Boulevard and I-30, near Ridgmar Mall in west Fort Worth.
The Residence Inn, a high-end Marriott hotel, would be completed in about a year, Mahoney said.
Construction of the first town houses will be done as the first streets, infrastructure and other "dirt work" get under way, Hughes said.
In all, 59 town houses -- 2-story structures averaging about 3,000 square feet and costing $300,000 to $600,000 -- will be built.
A high-rise component will eventually be built. Designed by Kohn, Pedersen and Fox Associates in New York, it will consist of three buildings, one of which is planned to be 12 stories, Hughes said. Those plans are still being finalized.
The town houses, designed by architect Philip Shepherd, will be built around a plaza, a fountain and European-inspired streetscapes, the developers said. The Palladian-influenced stucco and stone houses will have Italian tile roofs, wrought-iron balconies and rooftop terraces, designs new to Fort Worth. Some of the units will have elevators.
"We played with almost every architectural style," Hughes said.
Martha Williams, principal in Williams Trew Real Estate Services in Fort Worth, which is marketing the residences in So7, said focus groups held on the project about a year ago showed strong demand.
"We are really excited it's finally going to happen," Williams said. "Fort Worth has not seen this concept. They've been very well thought out and designed. There is a tremendous demand for this."
The development is spread among four tracts, stretching from West Seventh Street to just beyond the Lancaster Avenue bridge to the south. It straddles the Fort Worth & Western Railroad tracks.
The land has been vacant for years. The site was a light industrial area where only the old foundations of peanut silos and former plants remain. A cab company once operated from a building on the property.
The development will be completed from the back of the property forward, to make sure the entire property is used, said Jorg Mast, a development partner.
"We always wanted to make sure to entirely develop the site, not just the frontage," Mast said.
There is no timetable on the retail component. It is designed with a Main Street concept, Mast said, and may include office space and apartments.
"The idea is to have as many local and regional players as possible," Mast said. "We're talking to retailers who are not in Fort Worth, but want to be here."
Mast said the retail component will complement the plans for the redevelopment of Montgomery Ward, which in addition to the SuperTarget include a Home Depot, and other retailers and residential units.
Conditions in the market are good, the developers said. The shopping centers nearest the planned development are University Park Village, on University Drive near I-30, and Chapel Hill, at I-30 and Hulen Street. Both centers are considered upscale and both are booming.
Ian Pierce, director of communications for The Weitzman Group in Dallas, said the overall retail market in Fort Worth is about 90 percent leased, and the downtown market stays 95 percent leased.
Coupled with UC Urban's reputation and the anticipated residential growth of about 10,000 units in and around the downtown area, Pierce said the project should succeed.
"The impact is, they are creating a trade area," Pierce said. "Creating a retail area can create a lot of traffic draw. Ken Hughes has a proven track record."
Marketing for the project will begin aggressively in January, Mast said.
The land is owned by Lensworth, one of Australia's largest developers.
In addition to Hughes and Mast, the development team includes David Dunning.
UC Urban is best known for developing Mockingbird Station in Dallas. The popular urban village off Mockingbird Lane near Southern Methodist University is a mixed-use, residential, office and retail project.