Report to Members & Partners

October 2001

Gateway Project - Fort Worth South’s September 20 offer to purchase nine acres of city owned property in the northeast quadrant of Forest Park Boulevard and W. Rosedale was not presented to the City Council for action because of the City's discussions with the Fort Worth Housing Authority about acquiring the site. Assistant City Manager Mike Groomer said that the City will postpone further consideration of a sale of the property until after those discussions were completed. Fort Worth South, Inc. has a plan to develop the site as a quality "gateway to the medical district " that would include retail, commercial, restaurant, and lodging uses.

North Texas Affiliated Medical Group - NTAMG President Susan Willis advises that their physician group of 125 docs is planning to build a new office building for the administrative activities of the practice. NTAMG contracts with Tarrant County Hospital District to provide physician support to all of the county Hospital District facilities. The 12,500 square foot one-story building will be built on the west side of May Street north of John Peter Smith Hospital. Construction starts February 2002 and they hope to be in their new space late in the year. Architects Karl Dietz and Joe Halback are designing the building.

Darrow McSpedden Sellars, Inc. - Ray Darrow, AIA, and his associates have begun remodeling and expanding a building at 300 College at the SW corner of Daggett and College Streets, and plan to relocate their architectural firm from their current offices in southwest Fort Worth to the District. This project is especially interesting because it not only involves the remodeling and expansion of an existing vacant building, but the site will become a prominent corner location at the intersection of College and Vickery when the new Vickery Boulevard is completed in August 2003.

Robert W. Kelly Architect Inc. - Robert Kelly has purchased the vacant building at 126 S. Main Street and will remodel the structure for reuse as the firm’s business office. The five employees are expecting to move in to their new offices early next year, and have lots of room to expansion. In addition to the above mentioned DMS and Kelly firms, two other significant architectural firms have relocated to the District in the last couple years: Hahnfeld Hoffer Standford Architects/Planners & Quorum Architects, Inc.

Galleries BBQ - On Friday, October 19, 2001, after 36 years, Dennis Crumley served his last sliced barbeque sandwich at his restaurant at the corner of Hemphill and Pennsylvania Avenue. The name of the restaurant was recommended by Denny’s mother, who was an artist and wanted a location to display the work of local artists. She felt, and Denny agreed, that Galleries BBQ sounded better than Denny’s BBQ, especially if it was to attract her artistic friends. Denny and wife, Malinda, plan to trade the restaurant property for a ranchette in Aledo. We wish them the very best. Thanks for all the good years. You’ll be missed.

American Flag Service - Someone asked how the American flags magically appeared along W. Magnolia recently. American Flag Service was started as a business by Helen Bowles fifty years ago. Today for $13 per 3’x5’ flag on a 10’ wooden pole, per year the company arranges to display flags on four national holidays - Memorial Day, Flag Day, Forth of July, and Veterans Day. In 1984 Patrick Bierly, a TCU MBA, started working part-time delivering flags. In 1994 he bought the business, and now runs it part-time with the help of his brother. If you are interested, Patrick can be reached at 817-926-7507.

Day Labor Center - For decades day laborers have congregated along Lancaster Street early each morning to wait for the contractors to pick them up for a day’s work. This activity will be relocated with the removal of the overhead and plans to redevelop Lancaster. The City is remodeling a building at 2012 15^th Avenue between I-30 and the Trinity River, east of Forest Park. It will become the home of a more organized system of connecting day laborers to contractors. About 40% of the laborers are homeless and will come from the shelters on East Lancaster via a shuttle provided by the T. The remaining workers come from all areas of the city. The city will offer support services at the site and create legal deterrents for work (pick-up) corners in other parts of the city.

New Old Residential - The Homes of Parker Commons has 25% of the 192 units leased (call Christine Dunning @ 870-1739). Markeen Apartments has 10 of 14 units leased (call Suzy @ 214-324-1904).

Adopt DeZavala Elementary School - DeZavala is located at 1419 College Avenue, a few blocks south of Magnolia. It has 485 kids from the neighborhood, a talented and committed staff, and a real need for some help from the business community. We need a local employer to adopt the school. If you’re curious to know more about what is involved, please call Janie Christie, School & Community Partnerships, FWISD @ (817) 871-2448. The following businesses located in the district are currently involved in the adopt-a-school program: BJ Keefers Restaurant-Accelerated High School, Black Chamber of Commerce-Como Elementary, Broadway Baptist Church-Van Zandt Guinn Elementary, Harris Methodist-Trimble Tech High School, OmniAmerican Credit Union-Trimble Tech, Plaza Medical-Leonard Middle, Talem Envir.-Wilson Elementary, VA Clinic-Peak Elementary, Trinity Coatings-Clayton Elementary.

Trinity Rail Express — There are currently 5,000 to 6,000 rides each week day (40% above forecast) on the Trinity Express between Richland Hills (current western terminus) and Dallas. The service will be extended to the T&P Depot on December 3, although the pedestrian tunnel connecting the waiting room to the Vickery parking lot under I-30 may take a few additional weeks to complete. It costs $4 per ride to Dallas (round trip) and from the T&P it will take 70 minutes with 95% reliability. Riders can buy a monthly pass for $60, which permits you to ride all transit services in the Metroplex, including DART.

Transit Study - An open house will be held at the Moncrief Cancer Center, 1450 Eighth Avenue, between 1:30 PM and 4:00 PM on Tuesday, November 27 to receive input from local employees and businesses about the proposed light-rail and heavy rail commuter systems being proposed for the near southside. Tom Shelton, consultant with Carter Burgess, is leading the study to create a master transit plan for Tarrant County. The session is open to everyone. Please come by.

Crime Stats - Again, crime in Fort Worth South is down 3% Jan to Sep ’01 vs. same period last year. Details available on request.

November’s Partners Breakfast will be held on Wednesday, November 7, at Clayton Child Care, 1604 Eighth Avenue at 8 AM. Members and prospective members of Fort Worth South, Inc. are invited to come by for one hour for a donut, cup of coffee, and conversations about developing new business opportunities between and among the participants.

Comprehensive Plan Workshop - On Saturday, November 10 from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM at Travis Avenue Baptist Church, 3041 Travis Avenue, three City Council members, three Plan Commission members, and the city staff will participate in a discussion of the Southside sector elements of the draft of the City’s 2002 Comprehensive Plan. Everyone is invited to attend.

New Member - William C. Roddy, D.D.S. has become the 205^th member of Fort Worth South, Inc. Dr. Roddy recently relocated his dental practice to a newly remodeled building at 1219 6^th Avenue. Welcome to the initiative, and thanks for the financial support.

 

Trimble Tech High School - Below is the eastern, or College Avenue, facade of the new 31,500 square foot Technology Wing addition and new cafeteria which is part of a $8.5 million expansion and improvement to the campus. Construction has begun. The campus plan also involves the closing of Terrell Street between Henderson and College and consolidation of property north of Dashwood to permit an expansion of the athletic facilities, including a new regulation size football field and track, baseball field, softball field, and tennis courts (shown on the right). It’s a Point of Pride...Pass It On!