The Walsh development in west Fort Worth could be getting an office building to add to the skyline of the fast-growing area.
On Dec. 13, the Fort Worth Zoning Commission approved a request to rezone a 5-acre tract at the southwest intersection of Interstate 30 and Walsh Ranch Parkway to allow for the construction of an office building that could be 12 stories. However, the applicant indicated that the building was more likely to be eight stories. Officials with Walsh did not identify the potential developer of the site.
The Walsh development began in 2015, with the transformation of a portion of the 7,200-acre ranch at the intersection of interstate highways 20 and 30 into new neighborhoods. The land has been owned by the F. Howard Walsh family since the 1930s. The Walsh community currently has more than 1,035 homes and is expected to have as many as 4,000 homes when fully developed.
While the homes have been going up for several years, commercial and retail development has been slower to come along. Cook Children’s Hospital recently opened a location there, and a new fire station is on its way.
The area, which along with Walsh includes Veale Ranch, is seen as a potential megasite for a large corporate relocation. The area was under consideration for the Rivian electric vehicle plant a few years ago. That project went to an area outside of Atlanta.
The area will be important in attracting new companies to the city, said Fort Worth City Council member Michael Crain, who represents the area in District 3.
“This will be key to our growth going forward,” he said at the groundbreaking for the new fire station. “This is attractive to new residents and to new businesses that want to come here.”
Another hotel set for Fort Worth
A rendering of Le Méridien Fort Worth Downtown. (Courtesy image |Le Méridien Fort Worth Downtown)
Fort Worth has seen several new hotels open their doors recently with The Crescent Fort Worth and Bowie House prominent among them.
There will be another this spring when Le Méridien Fort Worth Downtown opens. The hotel comes from real estate investment and development company Blueprint Hospitality and will be operated by Remington Hospitality. The 14-story boutique hotel is set to open in spring of 2024.
The hotel is housed in the former Hotel Texas Annex building at 811 Commerce St. The hotel’s 188 guest rooms and suites showcase a midcentury, modernist design, floor-to-ceiling windows and scenic views of historic downtown Fort Worth.
The hotel’s full-service restaurant, Bouvier Brasserie, will combine traditional French bistro and Texas cuisines. The hotel’s rooftop bar, The Annex, will offer cocktails and light bites.
The hotel has about 5,000 square feet of meeting space, including a ballroom and breakout rooms.
Dallas-Fort Worth area a top 10 housing market for 2024
Austin and the Dallas-Fort Worth area are expected to be the two top housing markets in 2024 based on pent-up demand.
That’s the prediction of the National Association of Realtors. The organization predicts 4.71 million existing-home sales in 2024, up 13.5% from 4.1 million anticipated in 2023. And many of those home sales will be in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which ranks just below Austin as in the top 10 real estate markets with the most pent-up housing demand. The Houston area is ranked No. 5.
The Realtors association expects annual median home prices to remain largely unchanged at the national level in 2024, for the second straight year, modestly improving affordability from rising income.
The association’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun, predicts home sales will begin to rise next year — by 13.5% compared with 2023, and the median home price will reach $389,500 — an increase of 0.9% from this year.
“Metro markets in Southern states will likely outperform others due to faster job increases, while markets in the Midwest will experience gains from being in the most affordable region,” he said.
Yun expects rent prices to calm down further in 2024, which will hold down the consumer price index. He predicts foreclosure rates will stay at historically low levels in 2024, comprising less than 1% of all mortgages.
For those waiting for mortgage rates to drop, Yun has some good news. He predicts that, after increasing to more than 8% in late 2023, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate will average 6.3%. He also forecasts that the Fed will cut rates four times in response to slower economic activity that will calm inflationary pressures.
Yun also foresees 1.48 million housing starts in 2024, including 1.04 million single-family and 440,000 multifamily.
Sip a chip?
Sip a chip? Doritos is offering a spirits version of its product. (Courtesy photo | Frito-Lay)
If you’ve got a spirits fan/Doritos fan in your family, Plano-based Frito-Lay may have the perfect gift.
Frito-Lay’s Doritos has unveiled a collaboration with global flavor innovator Empirical to create Empirical x Doritos Nacho Cheese Spirit. Empirical is a company based in Copenhagen that has developed hybrid fermentation techniques to put a focus on flavor. This limited-release brings the iconic flavor of Doritos Nacho Cheese Chips into the spirits aisle.
“Doritos is all about disrupting culture and bringing our fans unexpected, bold experiences,” said Tina Mahal, senior vice president of marketing for Frito-Lay North America. “We’re always pushing our fans to try new things, so we figure it’s time we disrupt the spirits category by offering our iconic nacho cheese flavor in a bottle.”
From the press release announcing the collaboration: “To create the flavor, the many flavor layers of Doritos Nacho Cheese are extracted through Empirical’s innovative production process, using real Doritos chips and retaining their essence through vacuum distillation. Unlike traditional distillation methods, vacuum distillation operates at lower temperatures, preserving the full spectrum of flavors derived from Doritos.”
Limited-edition bottles of Empirical x Doritos Nacho Cheese Spirit will be available in January for a suggested retail price of $65 and in select New York and California markets. Pre-orders began Dec. 13 at doritos.x.empirical.co.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to clarify the location of the proposed office building.
Do you have something for the Bob on Business column? Email Bob Francis at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org.
Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org or follow him on Twitter @RobertF1414. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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