The city of Fort Worth is proposing a nearly $1 billion expansion of the Stockyards with new commercial and residential developments, underground parking garages, expanded livestock buildings and improvements to the Cowtown Coliseum.
The multiyear project would almost certainly be the largest investment in the Fort Worth Stockyards since the Swift and Armour meatpacking companies built their operations there more than a century ago.
The development would be on land that’s mostly surface parking lots and livestock pens behind the coliseum and Billy Bob’s Texas.
The city would partner with developers, under a complex package of incentives, to build at least 300,000 square feet of commercial space, at least 295 units of multifamily housing, three hotels with at least 500 rooms and two underground parking garages with a total of 1,300 spaces.
The city’s economic development manager, Michael Hennig, presented the proposal to the City Council on Tuesday evening. This would be considered a second phase of redevelopment at the Stockyards, following Mule Alley on the south end of Exchange Avenue. That project — started in 2014 and completed in 2021 — included the luxury Hotel Drover and a row of boutiques, restaurants and live music bars.
Mayor Mattie Parker thanked the developers for the effort they have dedicated to the project.
Carlos Flores, council member for District 2, which includes the Stockyards, said the project is a welcome addition to the area. He noted phase one of redevelopment at the Stockyards exceeded financial expectations.
Councilmember for District 5, Gyna Bivens, was supportive of the project, but frustrated by a lack of effort towards development in east Fort Worth.
“What I find challenging is, it is difficult to get this type of hocus pocus money magic when it comes to east Fort Worth,” Bivens said.
According to city officials, all of the new construction for this second phase in the Stockyards would be completed by December 2032.
The development could bring an estimated $425 million in new tax revenue to the city, without increasing property taxes for residents.
Combined with revenue from parking garages, the project would bring a value estimated over $844 million to the city.
The plan requires the council to approve tax incentives for Fort Worth Heritage LLC, an affiliate of Stockyards Heritage Development Co. that developed the Hotel Drover and Mule Alley shops. Stockyards Heritage is a joint venture between Majestic Realty Co. and Hickman Companies.
M2G Ventures, a Fort Worth-based real estate and investment firm, would partner with Fort Worth Heritage on the project. The firm served as the exclusive retail partner on Mule Alley, which is almost fully leased out.
Overall, the developers have committed to a minimum investment of $630 million for this new project.
The city’s incentives package would give the developers an estimated $71.6 million in annual grants over 30 years. It would allow the city to purchase the two underground parking garages for just over $126 million; the estimated cost to build the garages is $175 million.
The total public investment is estimated at $382 million. However, revenue generated from parking garages would likely bring the public cost down to roughly $145 million, which would be funded by new incremental taxes generated by the project.
The City Council is expected to vote on the incentives package on June 25. If passed, it will go before a city Tax Increment Finance District board in August.
New parking garages
Underground parking garages are more expensive to build than parking decks, but they allow more room for development, city officials say.
Parking can be notoriously tricky to find at the Stockyards. While there are several paid surface lots, many visitors find street parking sometimes several blocks away during busy times of year.
During a proposed 30-year lease agreement with developers, at least half of the 1,300 spaces must be available for the public for hourly fees. The city expects to take in more than $12 million a year in parking revenue.
The plan also includes $15 million in improvements for Cowtown Coliseum and the Fort Worth Herd. The coliseum dates back to 1908 and is home to weekly rodeos and other events.
The developers would build a new barn for the livestock, horse stalls, steer pens, a covered warm-up area for livestock and improved facilities for employees. The coliseum would have new spaces to showcase animals to visitors.
The developers would convey all or part of these facilities to the city, which would pay maintenance costs.
More shopping, dining and hotel rooms
The 300,000 square feet in new commercial space would be a significant expansion to the shopping, dining and entertainment offerings in the Stockyards.
By comparison, the Mule Alley redevelopment added a total of 180,000 square feet.
The additional 500 hotel rooms in the proposal is more than double the number of rooms at the Hotel Drover, which has 200. The Hyatt Place in the Stockyards has 101 rooms.
Several other hotels are in various stages of development within a few blocks of the perimeter of the Stockyards.
The new apartments with at least 295 units wouldn’t be the first within the heart of the Stockyards.
Other multifamily construction is already underway just to the east of the development site, between Packers Street and the railroad tracks. Adjacent to the historic Armour building, the San Antonio-based multifamily developer Kairoi Residential is building hundreds of new apartments across eight buildings on the eastern edge of Exchange Avenue.
An oil and gas company called U.S. Energy Development Corporation bought the Armour building in 2022 and is renovating the 51,000-square-foot space to move its headquarters from Arlington.
More than 3 million people visit the Stockyards every year, with about one-fourth of them from out of state, according to developers.
Source Agencies
