Fort Worth city staff is recommending that the City Council approve millions of dollars more in incentives to ensure construction of an $82 million, seven-story apartment complex on land adjacent to University Drive and the Trinity River.
The city would provide the Trademark Property Company with annual grants of $3 million over 10 years beginning in 2029.
The project is part of Trademark’s WestBend Phase II development and would include 4,500 square meters of commercial space.
The council is being asked to modify an existing economic development program with FW River Plaza LP, a Trademark company. The city has agreed to give Trademark more than $2 million to build the first phase. Those installment payments will end in 2026.
The agreement would be authorized by Chapter 380 of the Texas Local Government Code, which covers loans and grants from public funds to businesses and entities that the city council determines will promote the economic development of the state or region.
In addition to the property, which has a taxable value of at least $65.3 million, the developer has also committed to completing the project by July 31, 2028 and installing a “vehicular connection” from Collinsworth to River Run Drive.
Trademark must also use its “good faith” efforts to find a retail establishment or market for the first phase of development. The site was formerly home to a grocery store.
The developer will also be responsible for a trailhead connecting the complex to the Trinity Trails and the trail’s amenities, such as a bike repair station, public art and outdoor seating.
The council will vote on the matter on Tuesday.
WestBend South will be a 500,000-square-foot complex located at 1701 S. University Dr., according to a filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
The complex will consist of 300 units and include a two-story parking garage, two residential lounges and retail space.
The project’s design firm is Dallas-based Merriman Anderson Architects Inc. According to the building application, construction is scheduled to be completed by the end of December 2026.
The site of the future WestBend South was formerly home to the Residence Inn, which opened in 1983, and later the Hawthorn Suites.
The $53 million first phase is a 26,000-square-foot mixed-use building with 17,000 square feet of office space and 8,400 square feet of retail space. The first phase was completed in 2015.
Trademark will soon begin redeveloping Arlington’s Lincoln Square into a mixed-use development.
His other notable projects in Fort Worth include Alliance Town Center, developed in partnership with Hillwood, and Waterside along Bryant Irvin Road on the site of the former Lockheed Recreation Area.
