Fort Worth Texas Real Estate
June 28, 2008
When you think about cowboy country, Fort Worth comes to mind immediately. Known as the “city where the west begins,” Fort Worth is home to the famous Stockyards as well as many other truly western traditions.
In recent years, Fort Worth has grown in popularity as a great place to live and work, and is consistently named in Fortune, Newsweek, and Money magazines as one of the most livable cities in the United States. The growth of the city has resulted in the expansion of Fort Worth Real Estate options, including many new upscale and modern condominiums that offer comfortable and elegant downtown living.
Museum Place
This new mixed-use community combines office spaces, retail, restaurants, and even a small cinema with apartments and condominiums. Living spaces are located above local businesses, all with balconies or terraces, so the residents can be engaged in the local activities and night life. The area has been designed with wide, pedestrian friendly sidewalks lined with trees and plenty of open spaces to add to the enjoyment of the residents. A parking garage and plenty of street side parking ensure ease of access for residents and visitors alike.
Le Bijou
Fourteen new luxury townhomes are available in this French inspired yet modern complex. Conveniently located near Sundance Square and The Fort Worth Club, each of these expertly appointed units comes with private front entrances and garages, re-circulating hot water heaters, Viking appliances, and private elevators that include rooftop service. Each private rooftop terrace includes gas, water, and television hookups and the roofs have been engineered to support optional hot tubs.
These are just a couple of examples of the new face of downtown Fort Worth Real Estate, which honors its cowboy country heritage but now offers chic urban living as well.
Eco-Friendly Development Comes to Arlington
June 13, 2008
Arlington real estate is getting a mixed-use development called Viridian. Right now it is going through the planning and approval stages prior to the beginning of construction. More than 2,000 acres will be needed for this eco-friendly project that will include over 1,100 acres of wetlands, 20 miles of hiking trails, 500,000 square feet of office space, 400,000 square feet for various shops, and two schools. A variety of homes including 900 condominiums and 4,100 single family homes will finish out this unique development.
Designed to be “green,” it will become the first and only Audubon International Gold Certified Community in the state of Texas. The mixed-use aspect of the project’s design combined with commuter-friendly options and vast open spaces make Viridian friendly to the environment.
Viridian Strives for Ease of Access
In the future, there is a chance that Viridian could be the site of a passenger rail station, since the Trinity Railway Express already runs along the northern edge of the building site. In the meantime, the development is designed in such a way as to encourage pedestrian traffic, with easy access to Viridian’s many shopping venues or to town.
This one-of-a-kind project will become one of the largest infill developments in the United States, and will certainly be the largest of its kind within the state of Texas. In total, this development of Arlington real estate will encompass 1.2 million square feet of space north of Green Oaks Boulevard, around the lakes at Bird’s Fort.
Weatherford’s Comanche Heritage
June 12, 2008
Weatherford is the county seat of Parker County, Texas. Weatherford real estate sits squarely within a territory steeped in Comanche history.
The county was founded and named for pioneer Isaac Parker, the uncle of a woman who became one of the most important people in the history of the Comanche tribe.
As a young girl, Cynthia Ann Parker and her family settled in Texas, near the Clear Fork of the Trinity River. Her family’s fort was one of the most remote white settlements at the time. When she was nine years old, Cynthia and her brother were kidnapped by Comanche warriors during a raid on the family’s homestead. Many of her family members were killed, and Cynthia and her brother were adopted and raised by Comanche families.
A Healer and a Warrior
Cynthia Ann Parker became the adopted granddaughter of one of the great Comanche healers. After learning at her knee, Cynthia also became a renowned medicine woman among her adoptive people. She married one of the great warriors, Nocona – the very one who had kidnapped her as a child. Her oldest son, Quanah Parker, became the Comanche chief who finally negotiated peace between his tribe and the white settlers.
Cynthia Ann was known among the Comanche as Naduah. She rode out on raids with the men, and was eventually recaptured by the white settlers. Her uncle, Isaac, recognized her and brought her home to live among her blood family. She tried to escape many times so she could return to her Comanche family, and finally died, supposedly of a broken heart, at the age of 35.
The entirety of Weatherford real estate sits in the heart of a territory that was once loved and explored by the Comanche tribe, and by a white woman who became Comanche at heart. She raised a son who honored her by taking her last name, and who finally led his people onto the reservation after realizing their way of life on the plains had finally run its course.
Fort Worth Texas Real Estate
April 10, 2008
As the revitalization of West Seventh Street rolls along, developers have begun to set their sights on redeveloping the east and southeast portions of Fort Worth. Development in these areas, specifically the Evans-Rosedale and Sierra Vista communities, has been non-existent in recent years. Crime that once plagued the area has dissipated, and opportunities can be found for tax incentives and inexpensive land purchases.
Mixed-Use Project Could Boost Evans-Rosedale
The Evans-Rosedale neighborhood could be the site of a new mixed-use development that would combine residential housing, restaurants, and retail. The project would give Fort Worth Real Estate a big boost in this area between East Terrell Avenue and East Rosedale Street along Evans Avenue. No official word has been released yet on when or if the project will move forward, but Cypress Equities is currently under contract to purchase this land from the city of Fort Worth.
Tax Breaks Boost Southern Neighborhoods
South of Evans-Rosedale, construction is underway in an historic neighborhood close to Downtown Fort Worth and the Medical District. Designated as a Neighborhood Empowerment Zone, a five-year tax abatement has made this community desirable to developers.
Terrell Heights, which is located just north of Evans-Rosedale, is also seeing revitalization. New single family homes reminiscent of the early 20th century are being built, with more construction planned for next year.
As job growth in Fort Worth continues, the redevelopment of Downtown is reaching out into surrounding neighborhoods, bringing much needed upgrades and revitalization to parts of the city that had been all but forgotten in recent years. This is good news for the entire city, as it will only serve to ensure the values of Fort Worth Real Estate remain stable in the coming years.
Fort Worth Real Estate
April 7, 2008
Fort Worth is a city that believes in planning ahead, and they have had a growth plan in place for over a century. As time passes, the plan is updated to meet the needs of the city, and now they enter their newest phase – a five year plan with some very specific goals in terms of growth and development.
Key Goals for Fort Worth
Fort Worth Real Estate goals entering 2008 include the increase of supply and quality of affordable housing, to expand home ownership opportunities, to revitalize existing Fort Worth neighborhoods, and to create mixed income communities where a certain percentage of housing is available to low or median income families.
The Berry/University neighborhood is a prime example of such a mixed income neighborhood, where 10 percent of the units will be available to families whose incomes are at or below 80 percent of the median income.
Housing Affordability
The affordability of Fort Worth Real Estate is affected by several factors: construction costs, land values, interest rates, and market demand. In recent years, lower mortgage interest rates have made home ownership in Fort Worth a reality for low income and low middle income families.
In general, Fort Worth homes are more affordable than homes in the neighboring city of Dallas or in the nearby community of Arlington. In the first half of 2007, one third of the homes sold in Fort Worth cost $140,000 and up.
There is a limited supply of high-end housing in Fort Worth to serve upper income households, and only a limited number of very high-income buyers.
The City of Fort Worth anticipates a large amount of growth in the coming years, and wants to do everything it can to keep housing affordable and neighborhoods intact in those years of expansion and development.
