Skip to Main Content

Promise Of ‘Island Living’ In Fort Worth May Be Coming True

June 6,2018

CBS DFW article by Jason Allen 

Instead of a river that spends most days, slowly meandering in between its banks, a project has begun on the promise that sometime soon, water will run between buildings, near downtown Fort Worth.

“People are attracted to water, and we think that they’re really going to be attracted to this development as well,” said Charlie Keels, from Encore Enterprises. “It’s unique, and something different.”

Encore Panther Island will be a five-story, 300-unit apartment complex, with sky bridges above and a canal down below.

Construction has started on N. Main and 4th Street in Fort Worth. While there have been a couple business developments on the future island, this is the first residential work.

“We want to be that first person in that can kind of set the development standard, and along with Trinity River Vision input, how the development should look overall,” said Keels, who leads multi-family development projects for the Dallas company.

Questions about how the island would eventually look, have lingered, as the project cost has swelled to more than a billion dollars, and voters see bridge forms without any water underneath yet.

Last month, voters approved more bonds though, to finish the work. Those close to the project told CBS11 they expect multiple new development announcements within the next 12 months.