DTFW projects get tax breaks

[Geaux Tigers]

2 major projects gain tax breaks
By ANNA M. TINSLEY
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

FORT WORTH - A developer who wants to convert much of downtown's aging Tandy Center into luxury condos, parking and retail space will get more than $7 million over the next 15 years in tax rebates and fee waivers.

On an 8-1 vote Tuesday, the City Council approved the economic-development deal for developer David Porter, who plans to spend at least $62.5 million over the next several years to convert the south tower and outlet mall into a new downtown hot spot.

The abatement could reach as much as $11.3 million in coming years when inflation is taken into consideration, officials said.

"This is a redevelopment of a terribly important area of downtown," said Councilwoman Wendy Davis, whose district includes the tower. "This provides us the opportunity to replace the street grid that was there and take away the 'super-block.'

"This is a positive project all the way around."

The council also voted 8-1 Tuesday for a $1 million tax abatement for Allied Electronics to build a headquarters on the city's east side.

Mayor Pro Tem Chuck Silcox cast both no votes.

As part of the Tandy plan, Porter would convert 330,000 square feet in the south tower into condominiums and retail space, remove asbestos and demolish the outlet mall to turn that space into a parking garage with at least 400 parking spaces, said Christine Maguire, the city's community-development manager.

Demolition could start as early as December, and construction could take up to 24 months to complete.

Plans also call for demolition of the Throckmorton Street overhang and the reopening of Second Street. That work could take about 12 to 18 months, Maguire said.

"There is a new vision, which is most appropriate for this building that has been left vacant," Mayor Mike Moncrief said. "Opening Second Street will allow the sun to shine in.

"This will make a difference downtown."

Plans for the north tower call for eventual development into residential or office space.

Porter, president of PNL Cos. in Dallas, bought the Tandy Center for $16 million in 2001.

In 2003, he secured about $9 million from the downtown tax-increment-financing district for a 10-year parking lease agreement, of which the city's portion could be about $2.5 million.

Tuesday's deal calls for the city to rebate 100 percent of the city's incremental real property tax and 1-cent sales tax over 15 years, capping the available amount each year. The city will also waive about $670,000 in fees, such as building permit and temporary-encroachment fees.

In turn, Porter must spend at least $62.5 million on the project by 2009. He must also use Fort Worth contractors and local minority- and women-owned businesses.

The $1 million tax break for Allied Electronics will be over 10 years. The company will build a $28 million headquarters and distribution facility in Riverbend Business Park West.

The deal calls for Allied to retain 275 jobs, create 300 more in the next 10 years and do business with local, women- and minority-owned businesses.

Allied Electronics distributes electronic components, such as semiconductors used in cellphones and computers.

ONLINE: www.fortworthgov.org (http://www.fortworthgov.org/)

[Tnekster]

^Any opposition to tax breaks in Fort Worth or is that just a Dallas problem?

[RobertB]

It sounds like the reopened 2nd Street will be built atop the defunct ice rink, which was one of my favorite places to take the kids. Sad. :(

[gc]

good news

[Mephis Gooseberry]

Here is a post from
Full Fort Worth Star-Telegram Article:

Ed Bass to lead tower projectBy SANDRA BAKER
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER

FORT WORTH -- Fort Worth investor Ed Bass will lead the development of a 16-story Class A office tower at Third and Taylor streets, across the street from Fort Worth's central library.

Separately, plans for a 60-story office tower, which would have been the city's tallest, no longer include condominiums. Developers now plan a tower of perhaps 30 stories at the corner of Seventh and Jones streets, on the eastern edge of downtown.

The projects represent a new emphasis on office development in a downtown market that Moody's Investor Service in May rated as one of the country's strongest.

The projects also reflect the continued growth in downtown employment, particularly at oil and gas developers in the center of the Barnett Shale natural gas field of North Texas.

The 16-story project would be Bass' second office building and is expected to be completed in about two years. He led the development of the 12-story building at 420 Throckmorton St., which opened in 2002 as The Bank One Building and is now the Chase Bank Building. It is across the street from the site of the proposed building.

The proposed 300,000-square-foot tower would become a part of the Sundance Square portfolio and would be operated and managed by Sundance Square Management. The Basses have developed a 20-block area on the north end of downtown into Sundance Square, a commercial, residential, retail and entertainment district.

Its premier office buildings are City Center -- the 33-story Wells Fargo Tower at 201 Main St. and the 38-story DR Horton Tower at 301 Commerce St., both built in the 1980s.

Construction on the 16-story building is expected to begin in early January, with plans for tenants to start moving in by June 2008, said Johnny Campbell, president and chief executive of Sundance Square.

EOG Resources, an independent oil and natural gas exploration and development company, has already committed to leasing about 50,000 square feet, Campbell said. EOG already leases space in Sundance's Chase Bank and Woolworth buildings. EOG, the former exploration arm of Enron that was spun off from the trading company several years ago, is based in Houston but has a growing presence in Fort Worth.

The tower will be called the Carnegie Building to honor the inspiring architecture of Fort Worth's original Carnegie Library, Sundance Square said. The building will face the library across Third Street.

Fort Worth's first library opened in 1901 in Hyde Park at West Ninth and Throckmorton streets. It was called the Carnegie Public Library of Fort Worth because it was one of 1,600 libraries nationwide whose construction was funded by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. The building was razed in 1939.

"Sundance Square has come to be known as the prestige location for the highest quality of Class A office space in downtown Fort Worth," Ed Bass said in a statement. "The Carnegie will continue this tradition, with terrific proximity to all of Sundance Square's amenities."

Bass has been working on the development for several months, but the strength of the downtown office market led to the project's being an office building, Campbell said. The property, now a parking lot, has always been slated for development as part of the city's master plan, but its use solely for offices wasn't decided until recently, he said.

Vacancy rates in the central business district have been extremely low for the past several years as several prominent buildings were taken off the market, first by a tornado and then by a spate of buildings being converted to condominiums.

Sundance Square's office space has been more than 95 percent leased for many months, and many tenants have said they will need additional space because their companies are growing, Campbell said.

"We need space to accommodate that," Campbell said.

Each floor in the new building will be 19,500 square feet, with 17,683 square feet of leasable space. The floors will also have 13-foot ceilings, higher than typical office ceilings. The building will be 236 feet tall.

The first floor will be set aside for retail space, possibly for two or three tenants, Campbell said.

Campbell said Sundance will have a pre-development meeting this week with the city. Construction costs have not yet been determined.

Architect David Schwarz, who has worked with Bass on several projects, including the Chase Bank Building, will design the Carnegie. Vickie Dickerson, president of The Projects Group, will oversee construction. Boka Powell in Dallas is the architecture firm.

The strength of Fort Worth's downtown office market may be why several other developers are changing their plans.

What had been conceived as a spiraling 60-story, $200 million office and condo tower will now be strictly office.

Fort Worth architect Ken Schaumburg and Dallas developer William "Bill" Cawley, chairman and chief executive of Cawley Wilcox Cos. of Dallas, have teamed for the ambitious project.

The new plan's details are still being worked out, Cawley said.

"The pricing was just getting out of line," Cawley said. "We didn't think we could deliver condos at a price that made sense for the market. We'll design a building that works for the location."

Two existing office buildings that had been slated for redevelopment into condos or apartments will now return to the office market. They are Two City Place, the 16-story office tower at the former Tandy Center just north of the proposed Carnegie, and the 24-story Transport Life Building at Seventh and Main streets.

Range Resources, an oil and natural gas exploration and development company, has committed to leasing four floors in Two City Place, which is being developed by PNL Cos. of Dallas.
Two other projects are also being proposed.

Klabzuba Oil and Gas Co. had planned a 10-story, 200,000-square-foot building at Weatherford and Lexington streets but now plans to begin the development with a five-story, 80,000-square-foot building this year, said Hank Akin, Klabzuba vice president.

Akin said that even after the company occupies the building, which will take about a year to build, lease space will be available. The company will eventually add more office space for a total of about 200,000 square feet at the site, he said.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandra Baker, 817-390-7727 sabaker@star-telegram.com

[CTroyMathis]

Developer Picks Up Speed on $200M CBD Plan
By Connie Gore
Last updated: November 30, 2006 08:52pm
Visit: http://www.globest.com/news/793_793/dallas/151078-1.html

FORT WORTH-In a long-awaited debut, the five-year owner of the former Tandy Center has unveiled full details to a $200-million redevelopment of the four-block CBD landmark. The two-tower overhaul is the largest, one-shot mixed-use endeavor in the city's history.

Construction crews have been replacing windows and prepping the north tower--Two City Place--for nine months. Now, it's time to push full throttle. Work on major exterior changes for the 320,000-sf high rise at 100 Throckmorton St. will begin shortly after the calendar flips as will the hard push for reservations for 156 condos in its sister tower, Two City Place at 300 Throckmorton St. The office tower will be ready for its first office tenant in the spring while the condo tower isn't scheduled to open until 2008, with its work getting under way in mid-2007.

In laying out the time schedule, Dallas-based developer PNL Cos.' president David Porter also aired plans for Three City Place--a 30-story glass tower with more residential space. He tells GlobeSt.com that the trigger could be pulled for the third tower when Two City Place is 75% sold "if market timing permits." For now, PNL's focus is on the existing space. . .

More at link.

[RobertB]

From the above-linked article:

The office tower overhaul, costing $35 million, will include removal of a two-story overhang to glean more natural lighting in the lobby. Upcoming work includes connecting west and east Second Street, which was bisected in the mid-1970s for Tandy Center's construction. "It will transform the way we move around in our Downtown corridor and once again change our skyline," Mayor Mike Moncrief says.
How long has *that* been in the works? That will be a big change, though I'm not sure it's altogether positive. More east-west traffic means it'll be harder for north-south pedestrians. But I'm probably more upset that the skating rink, site of many happy memories, won't even exist as a hole in the ground. :(

[texastrill]

But I'm probably more upset that the skating rink, site of many happy memories, won't even exist as a hole in the ground. :(
We will miss the Christmas candles that used to be lit up on the outside of the towers.

[vman]

We will miss the Christmas candles that used to be lit up on the outside of the towers.
Yuck, I haaaated those candles. I thought they were soooo tacky. They looked just like that old children's toy Lite-Brite. I look forward to the redo.

[texastrill]

Yuck, I haaaated those candles. I thought they were soooo tacky. They looked just like that old children's toy Lite-Brite. I look forward to the redo.
That was better than seeing TANDY CENTER year around.I miss the candles,but the evolution is great!

[freewaytincan]

Looks like a new rendering there. Anyone got something bigger?

http://www.globest.com/newspics/ftw_cityplace.jpg