FORT WORTH, Texas — This article was originally published by our content partners at the Dallas Business Journal. You can read the original article here.
A grocery store would be just the start of the "significant retail" planned for more than 100 acres in southwest Fort Worth.
Cassco Development Co. Inc. wants to create a shopping hub centered around 6600 Oakmont Blvd. The company earlier this year asked Fort Worth to annex 145 acres for the development and the application alluded to a "convenient grocery store at a major intersection." The company would develop on about 101 of those acres.
Those plans appear to be advancing. The Fort Worth Zoning Commission earlier this month recommended rezoning the land from agricultural to intensive commercial use. Fort Worth City Council could vote on the case on Jan. 14.
At the Nov. 13 commission meeting, Travis Clegg with the project's engineering firm said part of the land would be used for a grocery store and "significant retail." Clegg, director at Westwood Professional Services, said he couldn't reveal the name of the grocer yet, although Zoning Commission Chair Rafael McDonnell asked him if the company was known for its tortillas — alluding to H-E-B.
District 6 Commissioner Kelicia Stevenson expressed excitement about the development.
"I've watched this land for a long time now and I'm excited ... that there's going to be some development there," Stevenson said.
The exact timing of the project is not clear. Paxton Motheral, Cassco vice president, did not respond to requests for comment.
But this would be a significant project for a growing part of Fort Worth. Clegg told Dallas Business Journal after the commission meeting that Cassco owns much more land on both sides of the highway.
"If you look at an aerial you can see a big, huge square on both sides of Chisholm Trail Parkway," he said. "And they own all that property."
Cassco is the development arm of the Edwards family, owners of the 7,000-acre Edwards Ranch. While the family used to run a cattle ranch dating back to 1848, their primary business pivoted to real estate in 1956, according to the Cassco website. The company is known for developing the Clearfork mixed-use project, which is about 5 mile away from the Oakmont Boulevard site.
The 270-acre Clearfork is home to luxury retail, apartments and restaurants. The first phase of that development cost around $300 million. Fort Worth City Council last year approved incentives for a $400 million second phase. An Autobahn car dealership was initially suggest to be the anchor tenant of the expansion but those plans were later dropped.
