Jump to content


Photo
- - - - -

St Joseph's to be redeveloped

Medical District Fort Worth South Old Hospital Demolition Photographs Demolition

  • Please log in to reply
83 replies to this topic

#1 Thurman52

Thurman52

    Skyscraper Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 1,181 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Edwards Ranch

Posted 25 August 2005 - 07:33 AM

From GlobeSt.Com

FORT WORTH-Armed with an innovative plan, Diversified Capital Inc. has plucked the 598,000-sf St. Joseph's Hospital in the Medical District from foreclosure for less than $2 million. The value-add plan calls for converting the long-dark facility into a mixed-use development for residential, retail and office space.


Bruce Stern, vice president of business development for the Lakewood, NJ-based Diversified, tells GlobeSt.com that he's in talks with executives at two neighboring hospitals about an adaptive reuse with high-end residential units for students and staff, which if successful will be trailed by some retail. The 1401 S. Main St. facility was shuttered in 1995 and sold the following year to Heritage Geriatric Housing Development Inc., which renovated about 100,000 sf into an Alzheimer's assisted living facility that opened in July 1998 and closed two years later.


Stern says the redevelopment tab is still being calculated, but estimates it will take $2 million just to bring the physical plant on line. He also is facing asbestos remediation, the extent of which is being evaluated. "Definitely there are issues. This is not a walk in the park. By far, this is the riskiest thing that Diversified Capital has ever done," he stresses. "At the end of two years, we'll either look like idiots or we'll have hit a homerun."


Stern says the value-add proposition was brought to him a year ago by a friend. The Bank of New York, which acquired a $20-million tax-exempt bond note in a trustee buyout, had Herbert K. Horowitz, principal of Shattuck, Hammond & Partners LLC in New York City marketing the property.


"It was very highly leveraged," Horowitz explains, adding Heritage's debt had included working capital. "It was never going to go for the bonds that were outstanding. There were a lot of non-asset bonds in there."


The foreclosure, held two weeks ago, culminated years of marketing, including a fallen-out contract and dismantled talks with its neighbor, John Peter Smith Hospital. Diversified Capital was the only bidder at the foreclosure. "It's an attractive site if you can deal with it," he says. "Bruce is able to deal with it. He has the vision to do something with it."


Diversified Capital's first buy in Fort Worth consists of a 598,000-sf hospital with a 12-story patient tower, helipad and 550-space parking garage. The eight-acre foothold abuts John Peter Smith's expansion site. The county hospital's execs are seeking a zoning change to demolish a nuns' residence hall and education building--part of the St. Joseph's site that it bought in the past year--and replace them with a $48-million, 221,000-sf hospital; $15-million, 100,000-sf medical office building; and $12.5-million parking garage with 1,000 spaces.


With $190 million of construction under way in Fort Worth, the 1,400-acre South Side has struggled to get its fair share of the pie. "The Medical District has been far behind. We had this white elephant sitting over there on Main Street," says Don Scott, executive director for Fort Worth South Inc. "St. Joe's has really been a dead zone. Bruce's work on trying to bring it back will serve to generate collateral all around it."


St. Joseph's Hospital spawned the medical district, built in the late 1800s as a railroad infirmary by the Sisters of the Incarnate Word from San Antonio and expanded into a Catholic-owned hospital and one of six acute-care facilities in South Fort Worth. "Lots of news about St. Joe's hasn't been particularly positive since Heritage," Scott says. "I think this has a high chance of success."


Stern hopes to get commitments within six months from hospital neighbors for the residential units, with an eye on rolling out the red carpet to residents in 18 months on a design being crafted by Dallas-based HDR Architecture Inc. "If I can pull up 200 units of residential and hook it up to JPS," Stern says, "then this building's alive again and maybe we can add retail."

#2 ghughes

ghughes
  • Guests

Posted 25 August 2005 - 09:51 AM

That's great news!

But it will take more than what they do there to get any retail working... it will take a revamp of the neighborhood, especially to the south. But it is certainly good for the area. I'm pulling for the home run scenario.

#3 mosteijn

mosteijn

    Skyscraper Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 1,908 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:FW/Cincy
  • Interests:Architecture, Photography, Swimming, Soccer, Spanish

Posted 25 August 2005 - 08:08 PM

Mmmm, more goodies for the SouthSide. This sounds very promising. Have you all seen JPS's renderings for the expansion across from St. Joe's? They look exquisite. This is just proof that there is a ton of interest in the SS, as there very well should be. Tons of historic buildings and vacant land so close to downtown...if we just threw in light-rail, I think the SS's potential would be limitless. I think Don Scott is cutting his own area short, I'd consider the Medical District one of the leading areas of TRUE urban redevelopment in Fort Worth, if not the leading area (outside of downtown). Sure the NEW developments here might not be as great as other areas, but that's ignoring where the neighborhood came from, and a ton of the older houses and commercial buildings have been redeveloped already, which doesn't count for new construction. I love Magnolia Green especially because it constantly seems to be ahead of schedule, a rarity it seems in Fort Worth...

Anyways, that was my I-heart-the-SouthSide mini-rant, now back to regularly scheduled cynicism. :D

#4 TexasPacific52

TexasPacific52

    Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 111 posts
  • Location:Southwest Fort Worth
  • Interests:Railroad fan, Boyscouts, Photography and some backyard birdwatching

Posted 28 August 2005 - 03:14 AM

I work right next door to St. Jo's and think it's great. I'm tired of calling code compliance to get the weeds cut down. One of the best features I like is the green glass atrium along the backside of the building. The article touches on how much it's going to cost to renovate it but from what I've heard I wouldn't be surprised if it's more of a problem than they think.

Since I've worked right next door for several years, I would be willing to bet that high end condos wont work. You've got to remember that JPS is the "county" hospital and we get all types around here. There's the endless stream of homeless, MHMR patients, escaping prisoners and medical helicopters to worry about. Since reading this thread there have been two chopers land on JPS. I dont think that would sit well with high end condo owners. Plus, I dont think that many local workers, even from JPS, would want to live next door to the hospital.

Good luck to them but I think I'll wait and see if they can even get this project off of the ground. St. Jo's already has the skyway over to the professional buildings. They may be able to increase their potential if they were to put a skyway across the street to JPS. Then they could put private doctor offices on the lower floors of St. Jo's to help pay the bills.

John Briggs

#5 DrkLts

DrkLts

    Skyscraper Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 1,098 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:S. Fort Worth

Posted 28 August 2005 - 12:50 PM

to the above, when i 1st read the article in the paper about the potenial redevelopment, i thought about it too and think it's not the ideal residential enviornment. it's slightly out of place :cheez:

#6 ghughes

ghughes
  • Guests

Posted 02 September 2005 - 06:02 AM

You may have seen it here first, but now the Star-Telegram has picked up the story:

Posted on Fri, Sep. 02, 2005

Developer purchases hospital site

By SANDRA BAKER

STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER

FORT WORTH - The former St. Joseph's Hospital, a vacant, redbrick structure that rises 12 stories in the heart of the city's Medical District, will be getting a new lease on life from a New Jersey-based developer.

Diversified Capital bought the building with plans to convert it to high-end apartments and offices. Marketing and leasing efforts will target the medical community and others who want to live on the near south side, the new owners say.


Full story is at: http://www.dfw.com/m...ss/12543220.htm

#7 vjackson

vjackson

    Skyscraper Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 1,324 posts
  • Location:Dallas

Posted 02 September 2005 - 04:26 PM

That's great news if it happens. But once again, I'm frustrated at the snail's pace of FW developments. Five years to complete??? You've got to to be #$!! kidding. Five years to convert a 12 story building??!!!! This is another reason why other cities are passing FW in urban development. Why is this that developers tend to take thier time in FW, I just don't get it. I moved to Dallas from FW in 2000, do you know how much has been built in Uptown since then? They built Addison Circle and the Legacy Development in Plano quicker. How long did it take to build West Village and Mockingbird Station??? When did they announce the Transport Life Building??? It's still sitting there untouched. The Uptown FW development ....how long is that supposed to take to build out??? I can't remember but I know it's way to long. I know I'm ranting, but this just puzzles me. If someone has an answer please let me know why developers are in no rush to finish anything in FW. Fort Worth's downtown was the envy of the country, but it seems the pace has definitely slowed, other cities are leaving Fort Worth in the dust.

#8 mosteijn

mosteijn

    Skyscraper Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 1,908 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:FW/Cincy
  • Interests:Architecture, Photography, Swimming, Soccer, Spanish

Posted 02 September 2005 - 07:16 PM

That's great news if it happens.  But once again, I'm frustrated at the snail's pace  of FW developments.  Five years to complete??? You've got to to be #$!! kidding.  Five years to convert a 12 story building??!!!!  This is another reason why other cities are passing FW in urban development.  Why is this that developers tend to take thier time in FW, I just don't get it.  I moved to Dallas from FW in 2000, do you know how much has been built in Uptown since then? They built Addison Circle and the Legacy Development in Plano quicker.  How long did it take to build West Village and Mockingbird Station???  When did they announce the Transport Life Building??? It's still sitting there untouched.  The Uptown FW development ....how long is that supposed to take to build out??? I can't remember but I know it's way to long.

View Post

I bet he meant five years for build out. Not only does the developer want to renovate the building for residential, but retail as well, and from the other article it sounds like they want a bit more critical mass on the Southside before adding retail. Five years sounds reasonable enough for all of that to happen.

As to those Dallas&friends developments, most of them are still under construction. The West Village's main building was built around 1998 or something and a ton of the land in the project is still undeveloped. Mockingbird station isn't really that big, from what I understand, so it's rapidity isn't really relevent. The AAC was built in 2000 or 2001 (right?) and there was nothing else in Victory for 4 years. These big, mixed-use developments take time to max out, even in Dallas, but at least Dallas has a lot of them.

Were you referring to Trinity Uptown (the TRV) or Trinity Bluffs/Uptown (Struhs' project)? Trinity Bluffs has a timeline of 6 years for 2000+ residential units, some in highrises, so that project is quite impressive, even by Dallas standards. Trinity Uptown is HUGE, and the 50 year timetable is for all development to be built, which includes more than 12,000 residential units, about a million sf of retail and commercial space, lots of parks and public space, and that's not even considering construction of the actual river diversion/lake. 50 years sounds like a pretty liberal estimate though, I wouldn't be surprised to see it finished in 40.

#9 vjackson

vjackson

    Skyscraper Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 1,324 posts
  • Location:Dallas

Posted 03 September 2005 - 06:53 AM

^^^^
You're right they are expanding West Village, but the bulk of the project is complete, and Mockingbird Station is considering expanding into one of its parking lots, but the bulk of the development is certainly up and running. And I don't know if you've been to West Village but there is definitely no ton of land available in Uptown. A recent article discussing the planned development of that driving range said that Uptown pretty much is built out. It was just announced one of the old apartment complexes in the area is being torn down to make way for a new development. And regardless of its size the point I was making was it got done. When I left FW 5 years ago, there was talk of these mixed used developments coming, I have yet to see anything like WV and MS in FW yet. And to wait 5 years for more retail on the southside is just typical of FW's wait and see attitude. Someone has to start the critical mass with some good speculative retail spaces. When I moved to FW, the Berry St. Initiative was already formed and almost 8 years later, one building is being built to kickstart development... and the street still looks very much the same as when I left. So if that company is waiting for an explosion of retail on the SS they could help by starting some, not waiting for someone else to do it. I will give you that the UptownFW project is huge, but I would love to know how many residences have been built in Uptown Dallas since I've been here. This is not a Dallas v. FW thing, I've seen it in other cities as well, many smaller than FW. FW is not keeping up and I don't know why. I don't want to change direction of the topic, so I'll stop my rant. I would love to see SJH redeveloped, a thriving southside, a trendy W7th, and a few new skyscrapers built downtown, but I'm 31 now, and at FW's development rate combined with the gross lack of risk taking , I don't think I have the time left.

#10 mosteijn

mosteijn

    Skyscraper Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 1,908 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:FW/Cincy
  • Interests:Architecture, Photography, Swimming, Soccer, Spanish

Posted 03 September 2005 - 08:50 AM

^^^^
You're right they are expanding West Village, but the bulk of the project is complete, and Mockingbird Station is considering expanding into one of its parking lots, but the bulk of the development is certainly up and running. And I don't know if you've been to West Village but there is definitely no ton of land available in Uptown.  A recent article discussing the planned development of that driving range said that Uptown pretty much is built out.  It was just announced one of the old apartment complexes in the area is being torn down to make way for a new development.  And regardless of its size the point I was making was it got done.  When I left FW 5 years ago, there was talk of these mixed used developments coming, I have yet to see anything like WV and MS in FW yet. And to wait 5 years for more retail on the southside is just typical of FW's wait and see attitude.  Someone has to start the critical mass with some good speculative retail spaces...So if that company is waiting for an explosion of retail on the SS they could help by starting some, not waiting for someone else to do it.

View Post

The bulk of it is complete? I'm not sure this rendering and this recent aerial picture would agree with you. I didn't say Uptown itself had a lot of land, but the West Village does, especially compared to the land shortages elsewhere in Uptown. 5 years ago is when all of these projects were just getting off the ground and I'm sure there was a lot of talk about the first ones (like WV, MS, Victory, etc.) before actual construction began.

By critical mass I was talking about customers, not competition. Currently there are very few people living near this redevelopment, which is why they would wait to build the retail portion. You've seen how the rail market has failed without a solid customer base, I doubt a big developer like this would be willing to jeopardize its project by putting retail before there are even shoppers. 5 years to go from a population of 0 to a population large enough to support retail actually sounds pretty ambitious to me.

Fort Worth is 5 years behind Dallas, at least, in terms of big mixed-use developments, so expecting them to all be finished faster than projects in Dallas would be asking too much of ANY city. Yes, I'll be the first to admit that Fort Worth hasn't been as proactive in the urban development department as many other similarly sized cities, but all these Dallas comparisons are getting on my nerves. Does anyone expect Baltimore to be rivaling Washington's urbanity? Philadelphia to New York's cosmopolitan-ness? Milwaukee to Chicago's high-rise activity? Just because two cities are close to each other doesn't mean their real estate markets should be anything alike, especially if one is obviously bigger than the other.

#11 safly

safly

    Skyscraper Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 4,069 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:ALAMO!
  • Interests:Restaurants. Golf. Garlic. FIESTA. Beer ME.

Posted 03 September 2005 - 11:49 AM

Great point there Johnny. Their are just 2 very distinctively different cultures at city hall for both areas. We are years away, but we get ours.
COWTOWN! Get your TIP ON!
www.iheartfw.com

#12 hooked

hooked

    Elite Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 541 posts

Posted 03 September 2005 - 02:27 PM

That's great news if it happens.  But once again, I'm frustrated at the snail's pace  of FW developments.  Five years to complete??? You've got to to be #$!! kidding.  Five years to convert a 12 story building??!!!!  This is another reason why other cities are passing FW in urban development.  Why is this that developers tend to take thier time in FW, I just don't get it.  I moved to Dallas from FW in 2000, do you know how much has been built in Uptown since then? They built Addison Circle and the Legacy Development in Plano quicker.  How long did it take to build West Village and Mockingbird Station???  When did they announce the Transport Life Building??? It's still sitting there untouched.  The Uptown FW development ....how long is that supposed to take to build out??? I can't remember but I know it's way to long.  I know I'm ranting, but this just puzzles me.  If someone has an answer please let me know why developers are in no rush to finish anything in FW.  Fort Worth's downtown was the envy of the country, but it seems the pace has definitely slowed, other cities are leaving Fort Worth in the dust.

View Post



As many have mentioned on other threads, part of the problem lies with all the red tape at City Hall. It looks like at least some of our elected officials are trying to improve the situation. Below is an exerpt from an article in yesterday's FWST:


. . . Another priority item for council members was adding $144,477 to the budget to boost central city redevelopment. The money will fund three new positions -- an assistant building official, a building code plans examiner and a building inspector -- to help speed up the city's development process. Council members have long complained about how tedious and difficult it can be to process permits and other paperwork through the city's development department.

"This is an awful problem for Fort Worth," Councilwoman Becky Haskin said. "The private sector is bringing us great projects and we're not getting them done." Assistant City Manager Dale Fisseler said the new team would focus on efforts to redevelop older buildings to meet current building standards -- one of the more difficult undertakings. He said requests for permits have increased in recent years, and that the new positions should help speed up the process . . .

#13 John T Roberts

John T Roberts

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 16,367 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:South Fort Worth
  • Interests:Architecture, Photography, Bicycling, Historic Preservation

Posted 04 September 2005 - 10:37 AM

The only problem is that every City Council has said they wanted to work on speeding up the development process. However, the process is now slower than it has ever been. I have a small project starting in downtown. It is the addition of an electrical unit placed in a parking lot and a masonry screen to hide it from view. I have inquired on how long it will take to get a building permit for this type of project. The answer was 8 to 10 weeks if the owner/contractor takes it in and 4 weeks minimum if the third party process is used. That time frame is way too slow for something that isn't even a building!

#14 vjackson

vjackson

    Skyscraper Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 1,324 posts
  • Location:Dallas

Posted 06 September 2005 - 05:29 PM

Five years behind???? Are you kidding me??? That's a very conservative estimate. I don't like the FW v. Dallas comparison either..and I wasn't comparing the cities, just the speed of development. I could have used Austin, Charlotte, Atlanta, Seattle, etc. People will probally always compare the two simply because they're thirty miles apart. But also, after visiting Dallas I think people are just suprised that FW is supposed to be half the size of Dallas. Face it, FW looks much smaller. Someone on another topic posted cities that you would think were bigger than FW, many of which I have visited, and the do seem to be much bigger. It's a shame that a city of 600,000 is still called laid back, small town, quaint, cute, etc. And if FW does not get some innovative, risky developers it will always be considered much, much smaller than it acutally is. That's why I find it hard to believe you think FW is find years behind... most people I know put the estimate at 30 or 40 years. Drive I-30 to Dallas, go N. to Woodall Rogers to I35 S., back to I-30. Now take a similar loop around DTFW, FW look 5 times smaller, not half. I'm sorry if I feel FW should be much further than it is. How long are you guys going to discuss the Tower? The Montgomery Plaza development was FW's chance to really get a real urban development going and they blew it. And not only did it turn into a strip mall, but aren't they going to let the MW building sit empty until someone else develops the lofts??? What kind of s@#! is that??? After announcing the redevelopment of the Tandy Center, the developers are now only going to do one tower and wait to do the other one?? What!? And St. Joseph..5 years!!!
Is SO7 still being built??? No one ever talks about it? How much will it be scaled back?? With half-as#! developments like this FW can grow by a million people and still be an unknown suburb. 5 years behind...right!

#15 DrkLts

DrkLts

    Skyscraper Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 1,098 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:S. Fort Worth

Posted 15 December 2005 - 12:50 PM

Any updates on this project anyone?

I noticed the article earlier in this thread and it called for high-end apartments.
The whole building would have to change dramatically!!! I mean how can it be high-end when it looks like the project buildings from the opening credits on the 70's show GOOD TIMES. Not so DY-NO-MITE! Actually you might need dynomite to blow it up and start from scratch! laugh.gif

#16 tjh1

tjh1

    Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 122 posts
  • Gender:Male

Posted 08 April 2008 - 12:05 AM

Is this project dead? If so why? If not, what is the hold up? I've seen wood petrify faster.

#17 John T Roberts

John T Roberts

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 16,367 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:South Fort Worth
  • Interests:Architecture, Photography, Bicycling, Historic Preservation

Posted 30 July 2008 - 09:59 PM

The project is dead and the property is going to be purchased by JPS. They plan to demolish the hospital, but keep the parking garage. This looks like it might be a good candidate for implosion. Below is a link to the Star-Telegram article by Sandra Baker:

http://www.star-tele...ory/793810.html

#18 John T Roberts

John T Roberts

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 16,367 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:South Fort Worth
  • Interests:Architecture, Photography, Bicycling, Historic Preservation

Posted 16 May 2012 - 04:28 PM

I learned today that demolition of the old hospital is scheduled to start in about one month. From what I have been told, they do not plan to implode the building.

#19 Joshw

Joshw

    Senior Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPip
  • 213 posts
  • Location:North Fort Worth

Posted 17 May 2012 - 09:03 AM

Any news if they are keeping the oldest part of the building or the chapel? I'd heard that was a possibility.

#20 bburton

bburton

    Senior Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPip
  • 311 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Fort Worth

Posted 18 May 2012 - 04:33 PM

One more look at Fort Worth's first hospital before the wrecking ball descends. :cry:

Posted Image

Bruce Burton
 


#21 ramjet

ramjet

    Skyscraper Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 1,075 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Downtown Fort Worth

Posted 18 May 2012 - 06:04 PM

Not a bad looking structure. Too bad it couldn't be repurposed. But thanks for the pic and the memory.

#22 John T Roberts

John T Roberts

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 16,367 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:South Fort Worth
  • Interests:Architecture, Photography, Bicycling, Historic Preservation

Posted 18 May 2012 - 08:45 PM

As with many hospitals, this building has been expanded several times. The oldest part of the building is a 5 story portion in the middle left of Bruce's photograph. I believe that part was constructed in 1927. The wing facing Main Street was completed in 1949 and that's what actually shows in the photograph. The 12 story tower was originally constructed at 5 stories in 1954 and was expanded upward to 12 full levels plus a 3 story penthouse in 1966. The 5 story wing on the right was built in the late 1970's, and the infill in the foreground was built in the 1980's. Here is a postcard from the Jack White Collection showing the building(s). The two on the left were demolished. The oldest structure in Bruce's photo is in the upper right. In the middle is the 12 story tower when it was only 5 stories, and the lower right is the completed tower.

Posted Image

#23 bburton

bburton

    Senior Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPip
  • 311 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Fort Worth

Posted 19 May 2012 - 08:56 AM

For those interested, here's a thread from a few years back including a more panoramic view of the Hospital and the different phases of constrction:

http://www.fortworth...?showtopic=1646

Posted Image

I worked there in Administration from 1992 until they closed the doors in 1995. The layout internally of the facility was a nightmare for maintenance, air conditioning and heating: many non-compatible, inefficient systems. Overall repurposing of the facility was just never going to be economically feasible. Once acquired by Columbia-HCA, they quickly abandoned the buildings and switched as many referring doctors and direct patient care personnel as they could to what is now Plaza Medical Center.

Bruce Burton
 


#24 John T Roberts

John T Roberts

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 16,367 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:South Fort Worth
  • Interests:Architecture, Photography, Bicycling, Historic Preservation

Posted 11 September 2012 - 10:52 AM

I was by there this weekend and I noticed that they are removing windows from the north side of the 1954/1966 tower.

#25 Joshw

Joshw

    Senior Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPip
  • 213 posts
  • Location:North Fort Worth

Posted 12 September 2012 - 03:35 PM

I was by there this weekend and I noticed that they are removing windows from the north side of the 1954/1966 tower.


I'm still sad about this. I think at least the chapel should be saved.

#26 John T Roberts

John T Roberts

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 16,367 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:South Fort Worth
  • Interests:Architecture, Photography, Bicycling, Historic Preservation

Posted 12 October 2012 - 07:40 PM

In another thread, someone mentioned they saw progress in the demolition of the hospital. I went by there this evening and they have nearly demolished the 6 story wing built in the late 1970's. It also appears that some demolition has been done in the 3 story addition north of the chapel, but I couldn't tell how much by driving by.



#27 John T Roberts

John T Roberts

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 16,367 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:South Fort Worth
  • Interests:Architecture, Photography, Bicycling, Historic Preservation

Posted 27 October 2012 - 10:30 PM

Here are my demolition progress photos. The one below was taken on October 12, 2012. You can see that most of the newest patient wing on the left had been demolished when I took this picture.
Posted Image


This one was taken on October 27th. I'm now shooting on the south side of the building to show the work. All of the 1980's addition between the 1927 building and the chapel has been removed. Only one story of the west wall remains of the 1949 building remains. This leaves the south facade of the 1927 building temporarily exposed. The demo work is interesting in that the chapel is still standing at this time. When I was down there today, I noticed that they are still doing asbestos abatement inside the 12 story addition.
Posted Image

#28 John T Roberts

John T Roberts

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 16,367 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:South Fort Worth
  • Interests:Architecture, Photography, Bicycling, Historic Preservation

Posted 30 October 2012 - 06:44 AM

According to the Star-Telegram, they started demolition on the 12 story tower on Monday, October 29th. The paper also stated that until they decide what to do with the property, it will become green space.

#29 John T Roberts

John T Roberts

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 16,367 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:South Fort Worth
  • Interests:Architecture, Photography, Bicycling, Historic Preservation

Posted 30 October 2012 - 09:18 AM

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has some excellent demolition photos from yesterday posted on their website.

#30 John T Roberts

John T Roberts

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 16,367 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:South Fort Worth
  • Interests:Architecture, Photography, Bicycling, Historic Preservation

Posted 30 October 2012 - 08:28 PM

Demolition is proceeding fast. Here is a shot that I took with my cell phone this afternoon.
Posted Image

#31 John T Roberts

John T Roberts

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 16,367 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:South Fort Worth
  • Interests:Architecture, Photography, Bicycling, Historic Preservation

Posted 03 November 2012 - 10:00 PM

Not a lot has changed on the north side of the building except that more of the 1979 patient tower has been removed on the left and they have started to tear into the stairwell on the northernmost part of the building. These pictures were taken on November 3, 2012.

Posted Image

On the south side of the building, they have now started removing the brick from the exterior of the oldest surviving building on the site, constructed in 1927. The 12 story tower sits behind that part of the building. I now know what the structural systems of all of the additions were. The 1979 buildings were a mix of reinforced concrete and steel. The 1927 and 1949 buildings were reinforced concrete. The lower five stories of the tower, built in 1954 was reinforced concrete. The addition of the top 7 stories of the tower was framed in steel.
Posted Image

#32 John T Roberts

John T Roberts

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 16,367 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:South Fort Worth
  • Interests:Architecture, Photography, Bicycling, Historic Preservation

Posted 14 November 2012 - 06:40 PM

The entire north/south portion of the 12 story tower has been demolished as of today. All of the wings of the 1927 building have been demolished. The chapel has now also been torn down. I did not have my camera with me.

#33 dangr.dave

dangr.dave

    Elite Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 655 posts
  • Location:Fort Worth

Posted 14 November 2012 - 07:35 PM

I saw that, John. I took a photo from the rear of the building today. Here it is:

http://www.flickr.co.../in/photostream

#34 John T Roberts

John T Roberts

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 16,367 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:South Fort Worth
  • Interests:Architecture, Photography, Bicycling, Historic Preservation

Posted 14 November 2012 - 09:45 PM

Nice shot. Your vantage point was probably the best for overall progress photos.

#35 Joshw

Joshw

    Senior Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPip
  • 213 posts
  • Location:North Fort Worth

Posted 15 November 2012 - 10:01 AM

I'm sad to hear the Chapel is torn down. It sounds like nothing is safe at this point. Sad.

#36 ron4Life

ron4Life

    Senior Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPip
  • 306 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:East Tarrant County

Posted 15 November 2012 - 11:52 AM

I'm sad to hear the Chapel is torn down. It sounds like nothing is safe at this point. Sad.

Yes but look at it like this, a new chapter of interest will emerge from the rubble :)

#37 John T Roberts

John T Roberts

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 16,367 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:South Fort Worth
  • Interests:Architecture, Photography, Bicycling, Historic Preservation

Posted 15 November 2012 - 01:23 PM

The green space in the area will be nice. I'm also anxious to see what JPS eventually has planned for the site.

#38 John T Roberts

John T Roberts

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 16,367 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:South Fort Worth
  • Interests:Architecture, Photography, Bicycling, Historic Preservation

Posted 17 November 2012 - 11:12 PM

Here are two shots taken today. The first one of the north side of the building shows the entire north wing gone and they are now up to the elevator shafts in the center of the tower. The other photo is taken directly from the south. The east/west portion of the earliest building is still standing.
Posted Image

Posted Image

#39 John T Roberts

John T Roberts

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 16,367 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:South Fort Worth
  • Interests:Architecture, Photography, Bicycling, Historic Preservation

Posted 19 November 2012 - 03:54 PM

The portion of the 1927 building that was still standing over the weekend was knocked down today.

#40 John T Roberts

John T Roberts

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 16,367 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:South Fort Worth
  • Interests:Architecture, Photography, Bicycling, Historic Preservation

Posted 19 November 2012 - 09:09 PM

Quite a bit of progress was made today. The penthouse above the elevator shaft is now partially demolished and they are digging deeper into the center of the tower. You can see in the photograph below that the first 7 floors of the penthouse from 1954 was framed in concrete.
Posted Image

At the back of the building, almost all of the 1927 building has now been demolished. They have also started tearing off the façade of the 12 story tower from this site. It's at the same point on the opposite part of the building that one bay has already been demolished. I may be wrong, but it almost looks like they are going to split the tower into two separate parts before they take each one down.
Posted Image

#41 Austin55

Austin55

    Skyscraper Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 9,657 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Near Southside

Posted 19 November 2012 - 10:17 PM

Its really quite fascinating to see this process and how the building looks on the inside. Thanks for documenting this and sharing with us.

Edit-woo 100 posts!

#42 John T Roberts

John T Roberts

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 16,367 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:South Fort Worth
  • Interests:Architecture, Photography, Bicycling, Historic Preservation

Posted 19 November 2012 - 10:34 PM

They actually left a lot inside the hospital. In the 12 story tower, you could see paper towel dispensers left on the room walls. Also, in the same part of the building, ceiling grids were left in place, and in some rooms, the light fixtures were still there. You can actually still see them in the last demo shot from the front of the building. In the 1927 building, they left the lockers in place inside the doctor's locker rooms. If you are interested, I have high resolution photos of everything posted here, plus a bunch more. I can e-mail them to anyone, if you wish to have the high resolution versions.

#43 John T Roberts

John T Roberts

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 16,367 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:South Fort Worth
  • Interests:Architecture, Photography, Bicycling, Historic Preservation

Posted 26 November 2012 - 09:03 PM

Here are my last shots of the demolition. These were taken on November 22nd, which was Thanksgiving. They did not work over the holidays, but they were at it today. I did go by there after I worked late and it was after dark. They had lights on the building so they could work.

Posted Image

Posted Image

As you can see on the shots taken on Thursday, they were already to the south wall of the tower. As of today, the tower is now in two sections and the elevator core in the middle has been completely demolished. It would be great if someone could get pictures tomorrow. I will try at lunch.

#44 John T Roberts

John T Roberts

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 16,367 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:South Fort Worth
  • Interests:Architecture, Photography, Bicycling, Historic Preservation

Posted 27 November 2012 - 11:05 PM

The demolition progress has now chopped the tower into two pieces. The first shot is from the north and the second is from the south. These were taken on November 27, 2012.
Posted Image

Posted Image

#45 John T Roberts

John T Roberts

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 16,367 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:South Fort Worth
  • Interests:Architecture, Photography, Bicycling, Historic Preservation

Posted 02 December 2012 - 11:02 PM

This photo of the demolition was taken on November 28, 2012
Posted Image

Two days later, on November 30th, this is how the demolition had progressed.
Posted Image

This is a close-up taken of the building's core on December 1, 2012.
Posted Image

This is the rear of the building from December 1st.
Posted Image

Here is an overall shot from the north (front of building) taken on Sunday, December 2, 2012. Since they have been demolishing the building the maximum height has always been as it was before it was demolished. That changed today.
Posted Image

The claw kept pulling out the columns on the north side of the elevator/stair core that was three stories taller then the main part of the tower. Most of the space in that part of the building were in shafts. The corner columns were removed first leaving one at the edge of the elevator shaft in the center. When that column was removed, the upper two floors of the elevator penthouse and stair came down. Here is an overall view taken December 2, 2012 after the top came down from the north side.
Posted Image

I didn't think that pulling out the column would take the top of the building down, so I wasn't shooting at time it fell. I walked around to the back of the building at took this picture from the south side.
Posted Image

#46 RD Milhollin

RD Milhollin

    Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 2,945 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:Las Vegas, NV

Posted 03 December 2012 - 01:02 AM

I guess they're pretty serious about this redevelopment thing...

#47 John T Roberts

John T Roberts

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 16,367 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:South Fort Worth
  • Interests:Architecture, Photography, Bicycling, Historic Preservation

Posted 03 December 2012 - 01:39 PM

Well, they are certainly serious about demolition. When it is all down, they will have taken out 775,000 square feet of medical space. The site is about 8.5 acres. The temporary green space will be a plus for the area, and there is great potential for medical office expansion, or even more hospital beds at this location.

#48 John T Roberts

John T Roberts

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 16,367 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:South Fort Worth
  • Interests:Architecture, Photography, Bicycling, Historic Preservation

Posted 04 December 2012 - 10:04 PM

Since the top of the elevator/stair core has come down, the demolition contractor has been steadily working on the eastern portion of the building. On Sunday night, they left the roof dangling over the edge of the building. I thought by the time that I arrived after work on Monday, it would have been removed. I was wrong. They had to bang away on the roof until it was pulled apart. This photo was taken on Monday, December 3, 2012.
Posted Image

Today, they really made progress on taking out that core. Below is an overall shot of the site from the north.
Posted Image

This is the shot that I found the most interesting. This is a view of the elevator core from the west. Note the steel dangling down the side of the building.
Posted Image

Here is the overall view from the south side of the building. This was taken on December 4, 2012.
Posted Image

I visited with a JPS employee who used to office in the basement of the old hospital. The demolition time frame is to have all of the east side of the building down by Friday afternoon. The reason this will happen so quickly is that the remaining portion of the east side is a newer elevator core that served the main building and the last hospital bed addition completed either in 1979 or 1980. (First part of building demolished.) On Saturday, the will start the last remaining portion of the building on the west side.

By the way, I have an exterminator coming to my home to do his quarterly service and I'm going by the Sundance Open House after work, so I may not be able to get any photographs tomorrow. I will go by on the way home, but it will be dark. I'm not sure how late they work, but they do work past sundown and have light on at those times.

#49 John T Roberts

John T Roberts

    Administrator

  • Admin
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 16,367 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:South Fort Worth
  • Interests:Architecture, Photography, Bicycling, Historic Preservation

Posted 06 December 2012 - 10:27 PM

I did make it back over to the hospital yesterday afternoon. By that time, the only portion of the eastern piece of the building still standing was the newest elevator core on the far east end of the building. I was going to drive by there after the Sundance Plaza Open House, but I had a dinner waiting for me when I got home. I decided to save time and not go by. However, I noticed they were doing a lot of demolition last night from over on 8th Avenue. I made it by there after work today, and the only part of the east side of the building that is left is the far brick section to the east side. The elevator lobby with the windows facing north has already been taken out. As I was told on Tuesday, the east side of the building will be gone by tomorrow. Once they started taking out those elevator cores, it went very fast. That makes sense because those areas of the building are mostly shafts with small floor areas at the lobbies and four exterior walls of brick.

#50 johnfwd

johnfwd

    Skyscraper Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 3,288 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Location:southwest
  • Interests:Running, bicycling, bowling, nightclub life, science, technology.

Posted 07 December 2012 - 08:37 AM

Having perused all the previous posts here, I noted the decision not to implode. Anyone know, or have a guess, as to why a quick implosion was passed over for this months' process of demolition?

Also, I recall reading a news article awhile back that JPS does not have grandiose high-rise strutural plans for the replacement of the 12-story St. Josephs. Anyone have any knowledge of specific redevelopment plans of late?





Also tagged with one or more of these keywords: Medical District, Fort Worth South, Old Hospital, Demolition Photographs, Demolition

1 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 1 guests, 0 anonymous users