In January 2018, my wife and I purchased a four story townhome on the Northwest corner of downtown Fort Worth, Texas. Our new home came with unobstructed views of downtown that we assumed would be temporary. The block immediately to our south and the majority of the next block were listed for sale as a parcel ideal for redevelopment.
Plan A: Luxury Residential Tower
It didn’t take long for a developer to propose building a luxury residential high rise on the block immediately adjacent to our home (and to reserve the the second block for a future tower – presuming they could later purchase the portion of that block not in their original parcel). They advanced far enough to gain approval from the City of Fort Worth, and to begin taking deposits from those interested in reserving the opportunity to purchase a specific unit.
In the end, the Worth Residences never materialized. The only visual change we saw was the demolition and removal of an old house, which had been located on the block adjacent to our home.
Plan B: Church
Paradox Church was the next to attempt to secure the land for the development of their church campus after years of renting spaces. They held their first major event on the land in November 2020 to help kick off a fundraising campaign called The Desire Initiative.
Then, nearly a year later, in late October 2021 the congregation’s contractor began site work on the partial block with the demolition and removal of a small commercial building.
According to Paradox Church’s latest public updates, construction should be complete in time for the congregation to worship in the new space by December 2022.
The church will sit on the partial block, and the block between the church and my residence will be converted into a surface parking lot (notably the church will rely on a parking agreement with nearby Tarrant County College to handle the remainder of its parking needs on Sunday mornings).
Some day, in a future phase of construction the church plans to redevelop the surface lot into a structure containing a parking garage on the lowest floors and educational and multi-functional space on the highest floors.
So What?
In the simplest terms, the 30 (or so) story residential highrise would have blocked our view of downtown while the surface parking lot won’t impact our view at all.
Currently, we have a great view of a construction site. Both blocks are now enclosed in construction fencing. A construction trailer has been placed on the block closest to our home, and excavation work has begun on the next block.
I invite you to take a look. Look around the place you spend most of your time. Look. Really look. Try walking slowly. Take every path possible. Walk where you’d likely not step if not for this exercise.
- What do you see to the South? North? East? West?
- What do you notice that you had never noticed before or what that you knew about became more clear?
- How has the area immediately around you changed over time? How do you imagine it changing in the future?
- How engaged are you with everything happening right around you? How would you like to engage more deeply in the weeks and months ahead?