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[Fort Worthology]

An Open Letter to XTO Energy

Dear XTO,

Hi. You don’t know me, but I live in downtown Fort Worth. I’m familiar with you, not through my vast, encyclopedic, almost limitless knowledge of natural gas exploration and drilling, but from the work you’ve done to the buildings you own here in downtown.

I watched as you bought the W. T. Waggoner Building, spiffed it up, and restored that gorgeous lobby. Nice. I saw you pick up Executive Plaza and launch into a thorough renovation of that tower. Very good. Perhaps your greatest work thus far came from your purchase of The Building Formerly Known As The Baker Building, now going by the Bob R. Simpson moniker. I watched you remove the ghastly 1960s-era base that has long befouled an otherwise lovely building, and launch into a painstaking restoration of the original base, a view not seen since the LSD-addled minds of the ‘60s ruined the building. Believe me, the city is eternally grateful for your good taste. You’ve also done us a favor and removed Landmark Tower from the skyline. Once an impressive sight as it towered over all else in downtown, Landmark ended its life as a rusted eyesore, and it’s a good sign of progress that we’ve removed its aluminum shell from view. I must take issue with the plans you’ve announced for the site, however: a parking lot.

Come on, XTO, a parking lot? Surely you’re not losing your golden touch, are you? There’s no better use of a prime piece of downtown real estate, a key site in the makeup of our beloved 7th Street Canyon, than a parking lot? This is not the XTO we’ve grown fond of. The XTO I know loves downtown Fort Worth and its assortment of attractive structures. The XTO I know is also a large, quite successful corporation and is surely aware that downtown office vacancy rates are so small that they must be measured with an electron microscope - about 6.7% or so, last time I checked. This XTO probably also knows that downtown residential activity is at an all-time high, with more people moving to downtown than ever before.

Perhaps you’re starting to see where this is going.

Downtown Fort Worth’s skyline has been stagnant for 20 years, stuck at the 40-story glass ceiling that’s been in place ever since Burnett Plaza was built. Only recently has there been any activity taking place, with the renovation of The Tower and the construction of Pier 1 Place. As lovely as The Tower is, though, it was a reworking of an existing building, not something new. Pier 1 is a beautiful building with stunning night lighting, but it didn’t challenge the height record. With the demolition of what was once the city’s tallest building, the time has come for a new signature building to rise where Landmark Tower once stood. A new tower that will stab at the sky and break out above the rest to return the “city’s tallest” crown to the block bounded by 6th, 7th, Houston and Throckmorton.

Let’s start on the ground. Landmark Tower only took up a small sliver of the block; if you want to do this up big, you’ll want the new tower to take up the whole block, right up to the sidewalks. The base of the tower ought to have retail space, something lacking in this area of downtown. Restaurants, shops, a small grocery store, perhaps even the return of a downtown department store...the possibilities are endless. Moving up the tower, let’s add a built-in parking garage - say, eight floors? Make sure it blends with the tower, and don’t make it look like a parking garage. Fort Worth already has far too many ugly parking garages. Above that, you have the office space, with a nice amount of Class A square footage (of course, you’ll have plenty of room for yourselves, plus a significant amount of speculative space).

Moving past the offices, let’s add some condos. Any style would be appropriate. How does 60-100 units sound? More would be just peachy, if you’re so inclined. By this point, we’re pretty darned far above the ground, so you’d be able to steal some of The Tower’s thunder. It would also let you make a pretty penny on them; the views would be tremendous, for instance. Once we’ve got the condos, let’s add one last attraction: make space for a top-floor restaurant. You think Reata used to have it good? Try dining from a vantage point above all else in Tarrant County.

Architecturally, the tower should either be a beautiful present-day homage to the classic 1930s Art Deco buildings already present in downtown, or something striking and futuristic. Make sure it features dramatic night lighting, and cap the whole thing off with a spire, or a remarkable crown. All told, something in the 50-65 story range would be great.

Now, I realize that this is a lot to pull off. As a corporation, your first job should be to make money - nobody is more appreciative of that fact than me. We’re just overdue for a new tower, XTO, and you’re in a unique position to leave a lasting impression on our skyline. We’re a proud city, and it’s time Fort Worthians had a gorgeous new tower to invest that pride in. In a time when our unpleasant neighbor to the east seems to get new 40+ story towers every few minutes, I don’t think one striking new signature tower is too much to ask. The people who build the city’s tallest skyscrapers are the ones who get to be in the history books.

Just think about that, XTO. Thank you for considering the thoughts of a proud Fort Worth resident.

Very sincerely and respectfully,

Kevin Buchanan
Atomic Glee.com

[safly]

Dear Kev,

Downtown Fort Worth’s skyline has been stagnant for 20 years, suck at the 40-story glass ceiling that’s been in place ever since Burnett Plaza was built.

Perhaps that would explain FW's "impressive" vacancy rate? I certainly hope you keep supporting our energy exploration and endeavours. It is important to RE-note that we are an energy company first and foremost, and it would be against our company POLICY to create a more convenient and energy effecient atmosphere for retail savvy DTFWians to engage in (walk to shop). We can't wait for the ribbon cutting event of our brand new 35 space parking lot come this July. See you there.



- Stinkin Rich and LUVIN IT!

[bailey]

Those are noble thoughts Atomic Glee. Many hold out the hope that XTO will join the Bass Brother's and other visionaries and invest in the future of downtown Fort Worth with such a project. XTO's future you might say lies under the city and what better way to show it than a great investment in downtown. They are the right company and they have the premier location to pull off such a project. The ghost of the Landmark will loom over that parking lot until a new "landmark" rises above all others.

[Fort Worthology]

Dear Kevin,

<snippage>
- Stinkin Rich and LUVIN IT!

Hehehe, well, that's probably what will come of it, if anything. Can't hurt to speak up, though.

[safly]

All in good fun though, all in good fun.

[cjyoung]

An Open Letter to XTO Energy

Dear XTO,

Hi. You don’t know me, but I live in downtown Fort Worth. I’m familiar with you, not through my vast, encyclopedic, almost limitless knowledge of natural gas exploration and drilling, but from the work you’ve done to the buildings you own here in downtown.

I watched as you bought the W. T. Waggoner Building, spiffed it up, and restored that gorgeous lobby. Nice. I saw you pick up Executive Plaza and launch into a thorough renovation of that tower. Very good. Perhaps your greatest work thus far came from your purchase of The Building Formerly Known As The Baker Building, now going by the Bob R. Simpson moniker. I watched you remove the ghastly 1960s-era base that has long befouled an otherwise lovely building, and launch into a painstaking restoration of the original base, a view not seen since the LSD-addled minds of the ‘60s ruined the building. Believe me, the city is eternally grateful for your good taste. You’ve also done us a favor and removed Landmark Tower from the skyline. Once an impressive sight as it towered over all else in downtown, Landmark ended its life as a rusted eyesore, and it’s a good sign of progress that we’ve removed its aluminum shell from view. I must take issue with the plans you’ve announced for the site, however: a parking lot.

Come on, XTO, a parking lot? Surely you’re not losing your golden touch, are you? There’s no better use of a prime piece of downtown real estate, a key site in the makeup of our beloved 7th Street Canyon, than a parking lot? This is not the XTO we’ve grown fond of. The XTO I know loves downtown Fort Worth and its assortment of attractive structures. The XTO I know is also a large, quite successful corporation and is surely aware that downtown office vacancy rates are so small that they must be measured with an electron microscope - about 6.7% or so, last time I checked. This XTO probably also knows that downtown residential activity is at an all-time high, with more people moving to downtown than ever before.

Perhaps you’re starting to see where this is going.

Downtown Fort Worth’s skyline has been stagnant for 20 years, stuck at the 40-story glass ceiling that’s been in place ever since Burnett Plaza was built. Only recently has there been any activity taking place, with the renovation of The Tower and the construction of Pier 1 Place. As lovely as The Tower is, though, it was a reworking of an existing building, not something new. Pier 1 is a beautiful building with stunning night lighting, but it didn’t challenge the height record. With the demolition of what was once the city’s tallest building, the time has come for a new signature building to rise where Landmark Tower once stood. A new tower that will stab at the sky and break out above the rest to return the “city’s tallest” crown to the block bounded by 6th, 7th, Houston and Throckmorton.

Let’s start on the ground. Landmark Tower only took up a small sliver of the block; if you want to do this up big, you’ll want the new tower to take up the whole block, right up to the sidewalks. The base of the tower ought to have retail space, something lacking in this area of downtown. Restaurants, shops, a small grocery store, perhaps even the return of a downtown department store...the possibilities are endless. Moving up the tower, let’s add a built-in parking garage - say, eight floors? Make sure it blends with the tower, and don’t make it look like a parking garage. Fort Worth already has far too many ugly parking garages. Above that, you have the office space, with a nice amount of Class A square footage (of course, you’ll have plenty of room for yourselves, plus a significant amount of speculative space).

Moving past the offices, let’s add some condos. Any style would be appropriate. How does 60-100 units sound? More would be just peachy, if you’re so inclined. By this point, we’re pretty darned far above the ground, so you’d be able to steal some of The Tower’s thunder. It would also let you make a pretty penny on them; the views would be tremendous, for instance. Once we’ve got the condos, let’s add one last attraction: make space for a top-floor restaurant. You think Reata used to have it good? Try dining from a vantage point above all else in Tarrant County.

Architecturally, the tower should either be a beautiful present-day homage to the classic 1930s Art Deco buildings already present in downtown, or something striking and futuristic. Make sure it features dramatic night lighting, and cap the whole thing off with a spire, or a remarkable crown. All told, something in the 50-65 story range would be great.

Now, I realize that this is a lot to pull off. As a corporation, your first job should be to make money - nobody is more appreciative of that fact than me. We’re just overdue for a new tower, XTO, and you’re in a unique position to leave a lasting impression on our skyline. We’re a proud city, and it’s time Fort Worthians had a gorgeous new tower to invest that pride in. In a time when our unpleasant neighbor to the east seems to get new 40+ story towers every few minutes, I don’t think one striking new signature tower is too much to ask. The people who build the city’s tallest skyscrapers are the ones who get to be in the history books.

Just think about that, XTO. Thank you for considering the thoughts of a proud Fort Worth resident.

Very sincerely and respectfully,

Kevin Buchanan
Atomic Glee.com

...I couldn't have said any better myself.

[cberen1]

Interesting approach. I agree with you 100%. Let me know if they send you anything.

[Now in Denton]

I think what WILL go thier in about 5 or 8 years from now . Will be a 10 or 15 story building with brick and or stone. Kinda like the New Bank One.

[johnlp]

Build a really nice, tall structure that towers over the skyline (centering it up visually) and cap it off with a really cool modern clock with XTO on two sides and the time on the other two!

[WTx]

Actually since XTO's business in natural gas they should buy the old Lone Star Gas flame and reuse it one top of their signature structure. Maybe even mount that flame on top of a big X so it looks like its coming out of the X. See, killed two birds with one stone there!!

[bailey]

Maybe it might scare off the Grackles.

[safly]

Actually since XTO's business in natural gas they should buy the old Lone Star Gas flame and reuse it one top of their signature structure. Maybe even mount that flame on top of a big X so it looks like its coming out of the X. See, killed two birds with one stone there!!

How about having a big "X" and "T", then the "O" would be the flame. Righteous!

Better yet, how about a huge burning torch atop a 40 story building. A tower inferno of a blue flame. They've got enough to spare.
Kinda like what SC does at the Coliseum for the 4th quarter.

[WTx]

Nah, visitors from out of town would be calling 911 saying the building is on fire. Besides its not "historic" enough like the blue flame. Anybody want to photoshop the blue flame on top of the Landmark Tower?

[DrkLts]

Build a really nice, tall structure that towers over the skyline (centering it up visually) and cap it off with a really cool modern clock with XTO on two sides and the time on the other two!

Imagine if they would have restored the Landmark tower to it's original prime just like the other old buildings they own. The old clock could of been replicated with the neon green XTO on it instead of the green CNB of back in the day. Then again a taller structure with a more modern clock would be my choice too.

[John T Roberts]

I think XTO did explore the possiblity of restoring the Landmark Tower but what that meant was replacing all finishes and materials that contained asbestos over 34 floors plus repairing areas where asbestos was removed, installing new building systems (mechanical, electrical, plumbing, elevators), beefing up structural members throughout building, removing and installing a new aluminum facade, replacing all glass to meet new energy codes, bringing building up to code including adding sprinkler system (if it didn't have one), building accessible restrooms on every floor, meeting exiting requirements (includes addressing the fire escape), new roof, and rebuilding the clock on top (if variances were approved. What all of this equals is a brand new building with a small and inefficient floor plate. The economics just didn't work for this particular building. XTO now has 1 3/4 blocks of vacant downtown real estate, three historic skysrapers, a historic low rise retail building, and an 11 level parking garage to design a unified corporate campus.

[safly]

And they couldn't explore the possibility of a TELECOM Hotel/ Parking Garage for this ever bustling metropolis?

Well I guess like most Forumers, I was under the absolute impression that XTO had enough money to print their own.

Are Corp. Campuses a new form of urban development, or does it have some historical urban planning contributions?

Are they more prominent in medium sized markets or larger ones? Curious.

[Fort Worthology]

Well, nothing from XTO (not that I expected anything), but Fort Worth Weekly will be running my letter as a guest column in next week's edition.

[crazyloco]

hmmm..... As yall know I am a new member, so forgive me if tis is a dumb question, but is there anyone who has anything to do with the construction and progress downtown, a member or at least reads these forums?

[John T Roberts]

I think you should probably clarify your question.

I am an architect here in Fort Worth. My firm has been involved in several downtown projects, none of the very large. My firm does do interiors and space planning in two of the large high rises in downtown. There are probably others on this board who work for companies involved in downtown projects. One of the things that I try to pride this board regarding is anonymity of its members. Unless people sign up with their own names, they are friends, or we have met them through forum meets, no one knows who is on the board. That at least goes for the members. For the readers, who are not registered, there is no way of knowing who visits. I do indeed hope that influential businessmen and women along with public officials do visit this forum, but I do not know that as a fact.

As a final note, welcome to the forum!

Edited by John T Roberts, 25 March 2006 - 07:21 AM.

[Now in Denton]

I think you should probably clarify your question.

I do indeed hope that influential businessmen and women along with public officials do visit this forum, but I do not know that as a fact.

My gut feeling is that thier are powers that be do read this forum. I even bet this is one of thier favorite web site! Like Mr Roberts said. I do not know this as a fact.

[safly]

Come on.
You mean to tell me that the "powers that be" actually know how to access the internet. And type in a URL.

[youngalum]

Their not from San Antonio so they have the skils to access the internet.

[safly]

YoungA, perhaps you could fine tune those skills to differentiate between "Their" and "They're".

And todays word of the day is "SKILLS".

I feel an Electric Company moment coming on. Do you?

Hit it Morgan!

"SK."
"ILLS."

"SKILLS!"

"YEAH! YEAH!"

"SKILLS!"

[AndyN]

I know we have a few Fort Worth names you would know. I don't think they post, but with the anonymous names allowed, you never know. Phillip Poole was posting the other day and he is very involved with a lot of things going on in Fort Worth.

I think there are a lot of us lower level types on here who get involved with projects through our work or civic activities, but we can't always divulge what we are doing due to confidentiality agreements and respect for the privacy of the client.

[EricTCU]

Dear XTO,

Please increase your quarterly EPS to significantly beat estimates each quarter. Also, please do not allow Natural Gas prices to go down anymore. It would be great if all of your wells could tap a very unexpectedly large amount of gas which would propel your market share.

Finally, please dramatically cut costs and sell your company for an extravagant premium. If you could please accomplish all of this within in the next year I would appreciate it.

Sincerely,

Eric

P.S. A new skyscrapper would be cool.

[safly]

Finally, please dramatically cut costs and sell your company for an extravagant premium. If you could please accomplish all of this within in the next year I would appreciate it.

Is that a letter to XTO or Motorola?

MAJOR job cuts ahead?

[Fort Worthology]

Hey, I never said it was practical.

[edperc]

An XTO employee friend of mine told me that the word around the office is that the company is planning to use their vacant lot and other ground level building space to help create a "Sundance South" as part of the city's ongoing effort to expand downtown activities south toward Lancaster. Don't know if anyone else here has heard that as well?

[Fort Worthology]

An XTO employee friend of mine told me that the word around the office is that the company is planning to use their vacant lot and other ground level building space to help create a "Sundance South" as part of the city's ongoing effort to expand downtown activities south toward Lancaster. Don't know if anyone else here has heard that as well?

Actually, that sounds cool as well. I've always wanted downtown to be less Sundance-centric.

[bailey]

I think one Sundance is enough and a second area would be a negative. Landmark II would be much more appropriate for the site.

[Fort Worthology]

For the curious, the revised version of the above work is now on the newsstands in this week's issue of Fort Worth Weekly, going by its new title "A New Landmark, Please."

[cberen1]

I think one Sundance is enough and a second area would be a negative. Landmark II would be much more appropriate for the site.

I don't know. The only thing I don't like about Sundance Square is that it is too small. It doesn't take long to have done everything there is to do there. I sure would like there to be something more to draw people downtown at night and on the weekends. A nice mix of restaurants, shops, and something unique.

Besides, nothing says you can't have both a signature building and interesting ground level retail.

[bailey]

For the curious, the revised version of the above work is now on the newsstands in this week's issue of Fort Worth Weekly, going by its new title "A New Landmark, Please."

Congratulations on making the news. You'll be really famous if you can pull it off and get them to build it. Maybe you should now start a petition supporting the plan to show them a lot of people would love such a project. Wouldn't it be interesting if XTO actually contacted you.

Anyway, good article.

[safly]

Ditto on the CONGRATS! I'll have to pick up a copy.

NO! To yet ANOTHER SS. We need an El Centro vision for all of DTFW, and WE NEED DFW Inc. to SUPPORT THAT! More Mom and Pop businesses, and more retail sites built or bought for them to fill.

BTW, what percentage of SS businesses are Mom and Pop?

Now I haven't done EVERYTHING in SS, but there are some places that just don't hook me in.

[Yossarian]

An XTO employee friend of mine told me that the word around the office is that the company is planning to use their vacant lot and other ground level building space to help create a "Sundance South" as part of the city's ongoing effort to expand downtown activities south toward Lancaster. Don't know if anyone else here has heard that as well?

Probably only in the old mall space and perhaps new construction. I was in the old Baker Bldg. (I am having a hard time accomodating the Bob Simpson moniker) for a meeting with XTO a couple of weeks ago. We met on the ground floor and i will say that it is NOT being finished out to house lease space.

[Now in Denton]

For the curious, the revised version of the above work is now on the newsstands in this week's issue of Fort Worth Weekly, going by its new title "A New Landmark, Please."

Has thier been any reply to your artical from Non-Fort Worth forum members? I could write and say I agree with you and I do. But thats preaching to the chior.

Great work by the way if I hadnt said so. I agree with 100 percent what you said ! Even taking pot shots on my pet peev on thos ugly Parking garages!

[cjyoung]

YoungA, perhaps you could fine tune those skills to differentiate between "Their" and "They're".

And todays word of the day is "SKILLS".

I feel an Electric Company moment coming on. Do you?

Hit it Morgan!

"SK."
"ILLS."

"SKILLS!"

"YEAH! YEAH!"

"SKILLS!"

[LiveattheOasis]

I just sent this letter to a friend of mine who is pretty high within the XTO company, hopefully if they haven't all seen this yet they will see it now. It really is a great letter.

[Now in Denton]

I just sent this letter to a friend of mine who is pretty high within the XTO company, hopefully if they haven't all seen this yet they will see it now. It really is a great letter.

Please pass along to them that we all thank and love them for all the restoration that they have done. And we just want a small tower just 926 feet or higher.

[LiveattheOasis]

I talked with my friend and found out that there are quite a few projects being tossed around at the moment for the spot, and the parking lot is at the bottom of the list. What seems to be leading the pack is a park area, covered with trees of course, with parking underneath the ground. This would of course develop more open space and push toward the underdeveloped areas near the convention center. Anyhow, he expects that whatever happens, it will once again benefit the city in the long term development-wise, and with their track record I tend to believe him.

[ashivone]

I talked with my friend and found out that there are quite a few projects being tossed around at the moment for the spot, and the parking lot is at the bottom of the list. What seems to be leading the pack is a park area, covered with trees of course, with parking underneath the ground. This would of course develop more open space and push toward the underdeveloped areas near the convention center. Anyhow, he expects that whatever happens, it will once again benefit the city in the long term development-wise, and with their track record I tend to believe him.

Probably wouldn't be too difficult to build a parking lot underground there, given the size of the whole that is there right now.

[renamerusk]

An XTO employee friend of mine told me that the word around the office is that the company is planning to use their vacant lot and other ground level building space to help create a "Sundance South" as part of the city's ongoing effort to expand downtown activities south toward Lancaster. Don't know if anyone else here has heard that as well?

This past Wednesday, I had an opportunity to stand at the former site of the Landmark Tower in DtFW site; and while doing so began to realize the potential of this site to become a very beautiful square. Taking a panoramic view of the site, one can see an open space surrounded on three sides by three graceful existing buildings and two garages which must be given a new facade to compliment the grandeur surroundings. The on currently vacant side of the square, and I speculate, is a site large enough for XTO to build a tower that both reflects the existing architectural character surrounding the square and more importantly could incorporate the W.T. Waggoner into the design.

I empathize with all of you who desire that a super tower rise above the former site of the Landmark Building; I desire a super tower too, but believe that with some ingenuity, the design team, when assembled, will give Fort Worth both - a magnificent square and a significant tower. Someday, we may be also proud to not only call Fort Worth “Cowtown” but the “Venice of Texas”.

“Keep Fort Worth beautiful”

[Fort Worthology]

This past Wednesday, I had an opportunity to stand at the former site of the Landmark Tower in DtFW site; and while doing so began to realize the potential of this site to become a very beautiful square. Taking a panoramic view of the site, one can see an open space surrounded on three sides by three graceful existing buildings and two garages which must be given a new facade to compliment the grandeur surroundings. The on currently vacant side of the square, and I speculate, is a site large enough for XTO to build a tower that both reflects the existing architectural character surrounding the square and more importantly could incorporate the W.T. Waggoner into the design.

I empathize with all of you who desire that a super tower rise above the former site of the Landmark Building; I desire a super tower too, but believe that with some ingenuity, the design team, when assembled, will give Fort Worth both - a magnificent square and a significant tower. Someday, we may be also proud to not only call Fort Worth “Cowtown” but the “Venice of Texas”.

“Keep Fort Worth beautiful”

After much thought, and my own looking & imagining at the site, I'm starting to agree. Dress up those garages and build new buildings around the Waggoner - say, a tower and some smaller buildings - and make the Landmark site into a beautiful square. I think that's a great idea.

The idea of a "Sundance South" is very appealing. Sundance Square has been a massive success, of course - now, let's start spreading that success across downtown. With the "Landmark Square" and some sort of shop presence around it, it would be that much easier to then spread to Burnett Park/Neil P./Electric Building, Lancaster, etc. and existing tenants in those areas would surely appreciate some increased traffic.

[ghughes]

Underground parking is certainly a great idea. And greenspace above it is even better.

But don't think of it as Sundance South. After all, for all its plusses there is no public space in Sundance Square. Presumably the greenspace above the parking lot would be open to the public?

[Now in Denton]

Underground parking is certainly a great idea. And greenspace above it is even better.

But don't think of it as Sundance South. After all, for all its plusses there is no public space in Sundance Square. Presumably the greenspace above the parking lot would be open to the public?

I been saying that for a while now about it becoming greenspace. Its funny you really can't see things until its gone or built. I think bedrock seemd the problem with underground parking in DT. To much money I hear to do that.

But wonder if Bass Hall garage and other garages could of been partly underground? Thier so many other places for a super high towers in DT . So thats why I think some greenspace would be great here. Plus you see so much better the awsome building around the site. I have had a renewed love for the older building now that landmark is gone. And if you think about it DT don't really have a true greenspace.

[Fort Worthology]

Underground parking is certainly a great idea. And greenspace above it is even better.

But don't think of it as Sundance South. After all, for all its plusses there is no public space in Sundance Square. Presumably the greenspace above the parking lot would be open to the public?

There is *supposed* to be a public space at Sundance - it's just never been built: the plaza that's part of the original SS master plan, the one that can't be built because of the parking lot ownership squabble or whatever.

What I mean by "Sundance South" isn't to make a carbon copy - just to get some stuff there to draw people to that part of downtown. To make it more than just a part you walk through on the way to Sundance Square. A central green space would be a great centerpiece, and even better if there's some sort of shopping/dining attractions. I think that, if done right, a project like this would be a nice boost to the existing small shops that inhabit the area around the Flatiron/Waggoner area now, and would be one more step to maybe pushing some activity out to Lancaster, the Burnett Park area, and the like at some point in the future.

[Now in Denton]

Underground parking is certainly a great idea. And greenspace above it is even better.

But don't think of it as Sundance South. After all, for all its plusses there is no public space in Sundance Square. Presumably the greenspace above the parking lot would be open to the public?

There is *supposed* to be a public space at Sundance - it's just never been built: the plaza that's part of the original SS master plan, the one that can't be built because of the parking lot ownership squabble or whatever.

What I mean by "Sundance South" isn't to make a carbon copy - just to get some stuff there to draw people to that part of downtown. To make it more than just a part you walk through on the way to Sundance Square.

Your right Atomic Mr. Roberts web page talks about the plaza with its ongoing bickering. Everyweek conventioners head north to Sundance . Even with the Water Gardens (Said to reopen this fall) Thier nothing to do in southern DT Fort Worth. Only during Main street festival and Grand Fiesta (Thank God for the tall buildings for the shade) is thier people hanging out in the south.

But thiers hope with people living at T&P . And if I remember right the Omni will have a public lobby? And Mayor Moncrief was right the Rail Market was ten years too early. I hope around 2010 we have some mom and pop eateries and a Boarders Books store on Lancaster.

.............And no WALMART.........

[Fort Worthology]

Your right Atomic Mr. Roberts web page talks about the plaza with its ongoing bickering. Everyweek conventioners head north to Sundance . Even with the Water Gardens (Said to reopen this fall) Thier nothing to do in southern DT Fort Worth. Only during Main street festival and Grand Fiesta (Thank God for the tall buildings for the shade) is thier people hanging out in the south.

But thiers hope with people living at T&P . And if I remember right the Omni will have a public lobby? And Mayor Moncrief was right the Rail Market was ten years too early. I hope around 2010 we have some mom and pop eateries and a Boarders Books store on Lancaster.

.............And no WALMART.........

The Omni will have shops/restaurants that, if not open to the street, will at least open to a public lobby. At least that's my understanding. I gather that they will actually be accessible from outside the building, but I could be wrong on that. The T&P is the first step - soon enough, Lancaster will be rebuilt, and then the Omni. At some point in the future, if all goes well, Lancaster might well resemble the renderings - the T&P, Post Office, and warehouse on one side, shops & mixed-use buildings on the other right up against the street, with the Omni standing in the background. Believe me, I know it's going to take a while, and it's going to take some risk - but I'm confident that eventually, the Lancaster area will get back on its feet.

Another area I'd love to see become more active is the Burnett Park area (and not just because I live there). I like the 7th Street Grill, for example, but their hours are not all that great (the same story for a lot of stuff outside Sundance Square, actually). I would love to see a bit more going on around the park than there is now, but again, it'll take time.

Using the Landmark site and its surroundings to start to gradually expand the "stuff to do zone" from Sundance outward would be a great first step.

[Now in Denton]

Theres even more hope I forgot to mention. Thier is some (even now) clubs and eats between XTO and the Convention center. Thiers a club that has some sort of video wall that I found was interesting last night. So much is going on now that they have runners stationed outside to park your car. I see people and hear lound music at the Central hotel . It looks like south DT is about to take off big time. I just hope we don't forget to add some green. Its nice to have a kickback place and chill.