27 replies to this topic

[jesse]

Article about the store closing
Customers say farewell to Stripling & Cox

Pictures of center

[apearson28]

bleh

[JOCOguy]

I guess it kept the Cox's name like Montgomery Plaza. I did not know that the new development would be the current building remodled. Great for nostalgia, I suppose. I was hoping for something new and taller.

[ramjet]

I remember as a tot breaking away from my mother, jumping on the down escalator, and then trying to run back up it after getting scared. My legs were too short, so I just kept going down. I screamed bloody murder. The store came to halt. The escalator was stopped. And I was rescued by the manager.

Ahh, memories.

I'm glad they're keeping the place. I kinda like the redesign. It's a bit retro...

[vjackson]

Two words... Ug Lee

[AdamB]

"Future home of FWISD"

[William Huber]

I hope they plan on keeping the parking garage.

[MetroCode]

Orange Development is the lead on this project it appears. I hope to have more info coming up soon.

[TexasPacific52]

Doesn't look that great. I think I read in the ST that the Cox bldg on the East side is going to be used by the city for a new crime lab for the police department. I wonder if with skyrocketing construction costs it's become more cost effective to renovate than tear down and build new.

[pmburk]

On my drive home last night, I saw some heavy equipment and activity happening toward the rear of the building, but couldn't really tell what was being done.

[Thurman52]

Storm Drain Improvements.

[Thurman52]

New for lease sign went up today, I am bettting the COX center is officially dead and new developer trying to get any money out of the building w/o much improvements

[Thurman52]

Yet another new sign went up last week. They have a new drawing and it looks like they plan on taking down the cox building and putting up a new strip center w/ classic camp bowie look. Hate to see it come down but the center looked like it would fit in...

[tjh1]

I saw that sign driving by today. I was unable to tell from the rendering if there was a parking lot in front or if the building was built close to the street with parking in the rear. I'm hoping for the latter.

[MetroCode]

I saw that sign driving by today. I was unable to tell from the rendering if there was a parking lot in front or if the building was built close to the street with parking in the rear. I'm hoping for the latter.

So the new team for this job is:

CBRE - leasing

Armstrong Development- construction/ownership

[Fort Worthology]

I saw that sign driving by today. I was unable to tell from the rendering if there was a parking lot in front or if the building was built close to the street with parking in the rear. I'm hoping for the latter.

That's what I would have hoped for, as well. Unfortunately, the site plan I've seen actually shows *more* surface parking than is already present at the site. The new structure looks to be quite a bit smaller than the old Stripling & Cox building, and there will be several rows of surface parking added between it and the gas station.

Color me underwhelmed.

[Urbndwlr]

I saw that rendering. It is very disappointing. I liked Orange Development's plan in that it generally respected the original building's mid century design and offered a more dense mix of uses than the cookie cutter generic suburban retail center shown on the sign by Armstrong Development. I looked up the company and found a site but no reference to this property. I assume this is the same firm. I hope Camp Bowie District Inc and the Planning Dept are able to influence the site plan and design to create a more pedestrian friendly project with the parking in the rear.

http://www.armstrong...om/underdev.asp

[tjh1]

I saw that rendering. It is very disappointing. I liked Orange Development's plan in that it generally respected the original building's mid century design and offered a more dense mix of uses than the cookie cutter generic suburban retail center shown on the sign by Armstrong Development. I looked up the company and found a site but no reference to this property. I assume this is the same firm. I hope Camp Bowie District Inc and the Planning Dept are able to influence the site plan and design to create a more pedestrian friendly project with the parking in the rear.

http://www.armstrong...om/underdev.asp

That is the right company. Here is a more specific link:

http://www.armstrong...m/CampBowie.asp

I just hope that they reconsider some aspects of this development and make it more pedestrian oriented. The current plan is a step backwards.

[John T Roberts]

It is a shame that the developers are going to demolish a perfectly good structure. Even though it is not the best design, it is a pretty good example of Mid-Century Modern and appears to me that it could be remodeled. The earlier design seemed like it fit more into the overall redevelopment of Camp Bowie than the new strip center site.

[Birdland in Handley]

It's a shame to not re-use a perfectly good building that represents well its place in local history. A reused buiding is a starting point to involve or bore (depends on who you're talking to) a young person on a topic like ". . . department stores like this were owned mostly locally and they were quite nice environments... ." Some kids would enjoy hearing tales of candy departments, tearooms with women in gloves, lavish Christmads season effects; all pretty exotic stuff now. Some would grow up knowing there needs to be a past/present/future balance in development.

[Thurman52]

Crews have been inside this week doing what appears to be demo. If I was a betting man the building will come down in the next month and construction will come shortly there after

[McHand]

Looks like a run-of-the-mill strip mall with parking in front. At least Stripling & Cox was right on the street. From the plans, it looks like there was enough space to move the building forward and put parking in the rear. Why do developers insist on the status quo?

[urbancowboy]

Looks like a run-of-the-mill strip mall with parking in front. At least Stripling & Cox was right on the street. From the plans, it looks like there was enough space to move the building forward and put parking in the rear. Why do developers insist on the status quo?

I was wondering the same thing. Camp Bowie should be a signature boulevards.

[Fort Worthology]

Looks like a run-of-the-mill strip mall with parking in front. At least Stripling & Cox was right on the street. From the plans, it looks like there was enough space to move the building forward and put parking in the rear. Why do developers insist on the status quo?

I was wondering the same thing. Camp Bowie should be a signature boulevards.

A lot of developers have no idea at all what to do beyond "built a single-story strip with parking out front." It's all they've known for years. It's a program. They think that's just the way things are done - they lack vision and believe that anything besides the status quo will fail from a business standpoint (hardly the reality). It also doesn't help that a lot of current zoning specifically forbids anything beyond single-story auto-oriented development and strict segregation of uses.

It's not difficult to just put the parking to the sides and back, move the building to the street and put friendly entrances along the sidewalk, but that's not how the suburban developer mindset works. It would lay the groundwork for a better built environment and better accessibility for all users, not just cars, but developer mindsets and the boneheaded legislating-away of good urbanism since WWII keep rearing their ugly heads. These last-gasp auto-oriented developments, going up even with the writing on the wall as far as cheap energy goes, will look incredibly short-sighted in ten or twenty years - moreso than they do now.

Another empty, soulless pad & box that will contribute to keeping so much of Camp Bowie just like any other random place - and thus a complete no-place, which is what most of the boulevard is these days.

[Keller Pirate]

A lot of developers have no idea at all what to do beyond "built a single-story strip with parking out front." It's all they've known for years. It's a program. They think that's just the way things are done - they lack vision and believe that anything besides the status quo will fail from a business standpoint (hardly the reality). It also doesn't help that a lot of current zoning specifically forbids anything beyond single-story auto-oriented development and strict segregation of uses.

I think lumping of developers into "no idea at all what to do" is a little harsh.

Way out in the sticks, here in Keller, we have approved a lot of new commercial/retail development in the last year and I would estimate at least 1/2 or more has parking in the back. The Arthouse, a mixed use development, is starting to fill up with small retail ventures and the first phase of apartments seem to be mostly rented. Residents say they enjoy taking their green bag and walking to the grocery store after a days work.

We have a new townhome/patio home component going into the Town Center that has home offices built as a separate unit in front of the home and special zoning allows owners to put up a shingle and run a business from their home. I suspect maybe lawyers, accountants, financial planners and maybe even an architect would enjoy this arrangement.

Everyone is not all right or all wrong all the time.

[Thurman52]

This article was found in Globest.com today. They note how close the development will be to the street and said a bank on one end and a 7500 restruant on the other end. Hopefully not fast food....

FORT WORTH-Pittsburgh-based Armstrong Development Properties Inc., making the close when others could not, has gotten its hands on a prized 3.7-acre piece in the densely retail-populated Camp Bowie corridor in southwest Fort Worth. The shuttered Stripling & Cox's flagship store will be razed and replaced with a 23,100-sf strip of high-end retail.
Interior abatement on the 110,743-sf two-story department store is now under way. Nathan Wood, first vice president for CB Richard Ellis in Dallas, tells GlobeSt.com the store, which is a rarity because it has a basement, and connected parking garage will come down at year's end or early 2009 to ready the land for the rebuild, the Shops at Camp Bowie. He's not discussing the all-in project cost, but the property as it now stands is assessed at $2.25 million and current construction prices for higher end retail have been topping $200 per sf in the region.

Wood and CBRE sales assistant Ryan Byrne will unveil the project at October's ICSC convention in San Antonio. Armstrong's local brokers, who also negotiated the acquisition, are in talks with a bank for a 37,820-sf ground-leased pad site at the Hilldale Road traffic signal. The other pad site, 21,000 sf, at the Ridglea Avenue signal is reserved for a 7,500-sf restaurant to anchor the project. If all goes as planned, the Shops at Camp Bowie will open in late summer or early fall 2009.


Wood says the preleasing pipeline would fill about 25% of the upcoming retail space. He estimates the 50% mark will be hit by year's end. The shop quote is $30 per sf, triple net, and ground-leased pads are $5.50 per sf, triple net.

Stripling & Cox Site
Armstrong took the deal across the finish line in 120 days after other would-be buyers failed in bids to win the site, which went on the market shortly after the Stripling & Cox store closed in midsummer 2007. RE Cox Realty Co. of Fort Worth was the only owner in the 46-year-old store's history.

"A couple groups ran at this unsuccessfully," Wood acknowledges. "The attractiveness of this is how close it sits to the road. Everyone will have a front door on Camp Bowie." The deal was sealed in mid-September.

Camp Bowie Boulevard's retail corridor is an eclectic mix of boutique shops and local restaurants surrounded by high-end residential, both single family and multifamily. The broker say it's been decades since any new retail has come on line although there have been major renovations of existing centers along the heavily traveled thoroughfare.

The Southwest Fort Worth submarket has 9.5 million sf of inventory and a 10% vacancy, which is 0.5% lower than the citywide rate and 0.75% higher than midyear 2007, according to Dallas-based Weitzman Group. Class A shop rates average $24 per sf versus $22.50 per sf for the Fort Worth market at large.

[Thurman52]

Bank of America has selected this as their back up site to the Ridglea Theater. The took down the construction fences a few weeks back and this past week the B of A sign went up. Not sure if others are joining but I am bracing for stanard suburban branch. I wonder what they will do with old location in the tower?

[Thurman52]

Looks like they are locking in leases and saw construction equipment arrived this week. Chipolote, AT&T and Jimmy Johns will join Bank of America at the site.

Link to the project