FORT WORTH (WBAP/KLIF)- The Historic Fort Worth Stockyards is undergoing a new development plan in an effort to bring weekly rodeo events and more visitors to the area.
Ethan Cartwright with the ‘Stockyards Heritage Development Company’ calls it a “Rustic Renaissance.”
“We took a lot of the old buildings and completely renovated and restored them to their original set but infused that with new restaurants, more night life, great shopping and then we topped it off with a brand new luxury hotel called Hotel Drover,” said Cartwright.
Cartwright said the goal is to preserve and restore the Stockyards’ legacy and the project has been broken into three phases.
The first phase was to renovate the over 100 year old mule barns that have been vacated for decades.
“We came up with the plan to restore the structures and turned them into 180,00 square feet of creative spaces with retail and dining and office space, kind of like an entertainment promenade,” he said.
The next phase will consist of a more retail and dining but adding multifamily residential space.
He said they are also adding a trio of rodeo arenas at the historic Cowtown Coliseum located in the current empty lot east of Billy Bob’s.
The complex would bring thousands of contestants and spectators to the area and requires an estimated minimum private investment of $52.5 million, though the developer and the city anticipate the price tag hitting $100 million.
The overall investment of the project was around $175 million. The project was awarded a 25 year Economic Development Incentive that consists of the Developer receiving up to 40 percent of the taxes on the incremental real and business personal property on the new investment and up to 80 percent of the City’s $0.01 sales tax revenue with an overall cap based on the level/phase of investment achieved.
If the Developer constructs all three phases of the development it will generate $245,500,000 in tax benefit to all taxing entities includes the CFW Crime District and The T on the new property taxes and sales taxes generated.
The goal of the renovations are to attract more tourism and visitors to the area that will lead to more revenue to local businesses that will lead to more employment opportunities for local residents.
