Report to Members & Partners

August 2001

 

Want to Live Here? - Three years ago Phoenix Property Company decided against building a 309 residential unit mixed-use development at Magnolia and Hemphill for a number of reasons including questions about the depth of demand for central city housing and the absorption rates of the new units.  It was clear that a comprehensive demand study conducted by a well-respected firm was needed to reconfirm the residential interest reflected in a 1995 survey of medical district employees.  So, two years ago, we began selling the idea of having a group of interested entities fund a study of central city residential demand.  The result was a consortium of five non-profit neighborhood redevelopment organizations, two public entities, and 13 for-profit developers.  $35,000 was raised ($1,000 from FWS), and MP/F Research was hired to conduct the study, which was released to the funders last week.

 

M/PF Research surveyed the 61,130 central city employees and the residents of 1,296 top-of-the-market competitive attached residential housing units located in Central Fort Worth.  The objective was to gain knowledge about potential apartment renters and residential buyers of properties in Central Fort Worth and to determine the extent of demand in each category.  The 17% response rate from the 3,500 surveys distributed provided a generous sample from which to draw conclusions and report findings.  Based on the survey response, M/PF Research identified a potential demand for approximately 5,445 attached residential dwelling units in the Central Fort Worth sub-market, including just over 2,500 rental residential units and almost 2,900 for-sale residential units.  It was surprising to see the demand for for-sale units exceed the for-rental units.

 

The demographic profile of the survey respondents who preferred to rent their next dwelling and those who preferred to purchase, were quite similar.  Sundance Square, the Upper Westside, Trinity River/Park Area and the Cultural District received the highest "Desirable" or "Acceptable" ratings as potential residential locations.  The Medical District was rated next in line with 60% of the respondents indicating that they considered the area desirable or acceptable. The "normalized" preference for the Medical District was 10% (out of 100%).  Over one-half of both potential renters and owners prefer a historic building, fully renovated but retaining its authentic qualities as opposed to a newly built residential property or an historic building fully renovated to be like new. 

Parker - School's In - 46 of the 192 apartments in the Homes of Parker Commons are leased. They expect full lease-up in about 90 days.  The historic Markeen Apartments located at Daggett and St. Louis have 7 of the 14 one-bedroom units leased.  

 

Partners Breakfast - On Wednesday, September 5, at 8 am, Fort Worth South, Inc. will hold its fifth monthly Partner's Breakfast for members of the company and their guests.  IESI (environmental services) will host the one-hour event at the offices of PointWise (software development), 213 S. Jennings.  This is the occasion we use to help existing members of FWS find new business opportunities with other member firms.  To our very pleasant surprise, it's working extraordinarily well.  We welcome new participants.

 

Chat Room - Internet Pub - Last year FWS began working with Jeff McKenney of City Vending to upgrade the quality of the buildings and activity at the bars/clubs that had a history of being a nusance to neighbors and a problem for police.  The TV sitcom Cheers was often mentioned as a model.  The first product of this effort is the new club at the corner of W. Magnolia and 6^th Avenue called the Chat Room.  The Internet chat room idea came from the proprietors Meg Kaszynski and John Carney.  The building has been painted and dressed up, computers are linked up, and expectations are high. Give it a try. M-F 4p-2a,Sat-Sun 6p-2a, Sun football 12p-2a.

 

Fort Worth SoHo - "South of the Hospital District" is where Shari and Chuck Stovall purchased an existing business in June and has expanded the offerings. The Alpine Gallery is located at 1632 Park Place. Shari does pottery and displays the work of other potters, painters, glass artists, sculptors, and jewelry designers.  Chuck is a graphic designer, photographer, and marketing consultant.  A great opportunity to check it out will be on Gallery Night, Saturday, September 8.  Three adjacent galleries, Alpine Gallery, Kathy and Dennis Weverka's Designer's Resource Studio, and Schmedel & Reznikoff's, will all be open for the event.

 

Landers - In 1938 Scott Landers' grandfather started a little machine shop business at 201 S. Main Street.  During the war, when new machine parts were unavailable, the business expanded as the repair of older equipment became a necessity.  In 1960 the company patented a design for a machine that compressed animal feed into pellets.  This press, which uses 200 tons of pressure to compact feed, is still manufactured by Landers Machine Co. and has captured 10% of the world market. The second floor of the building has 14 old apartments, which are candidates for redevelopment.  Landers Industrial Services, Inc. became FWS's 200th member.

 

Henderson Underpass - The '98 City Bond Election approved $1.1 million to improve the Henderson railroad underpass.  The cost escalated to $2.15.  So the City applied for federal funds and recently received a 59% contribution commitment.  However, this requires a more intense six-month historical impact review, which is now underway. Construction is now expected to begin in the Fall of '02.  The abandoned railroad overpass will be removed; the vertical walls south of the railroad will be replaced with sloped banks, pedestrian tunnels will be removed, and the road surface will be lowered.  Expect this project to be done along with the construction of the new Vickery Boulevard connection east of Henderson

 

Wellness 4 Life Fitness Center - Adrian Davis opened this non-profit fitness center in March '00 in the former chapel of St. Joseph's Hospital.  They offer fitness programs to the general public as well as those fighting chronic illness.  Currently there are 20 to 80 client workouts per day. $75 initial membership fee and $20 per month.  Harris and All Saints are the only other fitness centers in the district.

 

Woody's Warehouse - A new retail gift shop catering to the gay community has opened at 209 S. Jennings.  Chris Hightower and Angela Bazzell attract customers from the western side of the Metroplex.  Plans are in the works for a nearby coffee shop.

 

Have / Want

Have for sale - 1221 Hemphill Street (Magnolia & Hemphill), 27,000 sf commercial retail office bldg, two floors, Gus Niver,336-2389

Have for sale - Steelcase second hand furniture, tables and chairs, 50 Modern, 1255 West Magnolia, 924-5052

Have studio apartment -1000 W. Magnolia, 2 units, 1,130 sf, above the police station, $900 per month, Nancy Medford, 817-688-1744

Have office or retail for rent - 1st floor historic Bicochii Building, 3,500 sf & 2,200 sf, 213 S. Jennings, Robert Karpman, 390-0202

Have historic office bldg. for lease - 219 S. Main, 3-story, 13,500 sf, avail January'02, former Regian/Wilson, Linda Clark, 924-1987

Have 6 lots for sale - 30,900 sf at Fairmount & Oleander, zoned multi-family, future mixed-use, $5 per sf, Tony Dauphinot, 292-9082

Have Historic Fire Station #5- Unique, fully restored, 5,000 sf office space on 2 floors office, 503 Bryan, Linda Clark, 924-1987

 

Members - Welcome and thanks to the four most recent new members of Fort Worth South, Inc.  

 

The Stone Soup Connection	Judy Phillipson	After school care service	1701 Hemphill, FW  76110
Designer's Resource Studio	Dennis Weverka	Interior design consultants	1612 Park Place, FW  76110
F.W. Economic Development Corp.	Larry McNatt	Lending and financial services	1150 South Freeway, FW  76104
Landers Industrial Services, Inc.	Scott Landers	Manufacture feed pelletizers	207 E. Broadway, FW  76104

 

 

This information is being sent to 912 Fort Worth South, Inc. members and partners. Fort Worth Southside Development District, Inc. is a private, member funded, non-profit development company dedicated to the revitalization of the near Southside of Fort Worth. Current and past issues of this newsletter are available at www.fortworthsouth.com. Don Scott - President, 1606 Mistletoe Boulevard, Fort Worth,TX 76104, Phone (817) 923-1649