TIF funds approved for apartments on south end of downtown
July 3,2015
Cadillac Loftsâ¦at the former Frank Kent Cadillac site. Plans call for 200 apartment units at the corner of Lancaster and Main. | Hand-out
Reposted from Star-Telegram
BY SANDRA BAKER
sabaker@star-telegram.com
Two apartment projects planned for Lancaster Avenue in downtown Fort Worth — one at the west end and the other at the east end — received $7.2 million in tax increment financing funds Wednesday.
Conine Residential Group in Frisco and Odyssey Residential Holdings in Dallas, operating as TX Kent Apartments L.P., plan a $26.6 million, 200-unit project called Cadillac Lofts on the former Frank Kent Cadillac site at the southeast corner of Lancaster Avenue and Main Street.
The Lancaster TIF board approved $2.5 million for the project to help with site work, utility relocations, road repairs and streetscape costs. The first two floors of the building will have 320 parking spaces, and the top three will be for apartments. The project will also feature a fitness center, a business center and other common areas.
The group is scheduled to close its deal for the 2.4-acre site by the end of July, and construction could begin by the end of the year, said Bill Fisher, a consultant with Sonoma Housing Advisors. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2017.
The board also approved $4.7 million for a project at the northwest corner of Lancaster Avenue and Lamar Street planned by Catalyst Urban Development of Dallas.
Last year, Fort Worth chose Catalyst to serve as master developer of several city-owned parcels on the north side of Lancaster. The parcels, about 5 acres, remained after the Interstate 30 overpass was moved south several years ago.
Catalyst is partnering with Lennar Corp. to develop the multifamily portions of the project. The project, the first for the property, will stretch over two city blocks bounded by Lancaster Avenue on the south, Texas Street on the north, Cherry Street on the west and Lamar Street on the east.
The $38 million project will be a five-story building of 254 units built around a 601-space parking structure. About 6,000 square feet is being set aside on the east side of the building for a restaurant.
The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2018.
Both projects will be a mix of units leased at market rates and units offered at affordable rents tied to a percentage of the area’s median income.
At the Cadillac Lofts, the land has sat empty since a natural gas explosion destroyed the dealership in 1986. The land is owned by the Churchill family. In the past decade, the location has been sought by hotel developers as well as office and multifamily developers.
Sandra Baker, 817-390-7727
Twitter: @SandraBakerFWST