173 replies to this topic

[Wildcard]

I went by the T&P building today and noticed there is scaffolding being put up around the exterior. I spoke with the construction foreman and he confirmed that they are now beginning the renovation of the entire building. I don't know how long the project will take, but I am happy to see that the work has finally begun.

The upper floors will be luxury apartments and they are even renovating the restaurant on the ground floor that is off the east side of the fancy waiting room. This renovation is great news for the southern end of downtown!

[John T Roberts]

Last week, or the week before, I had noticed the construction fence around the area where they were going to build the new apartment building. I was going to post it, but didn't get around to it.

[Willy1]

I recently worked on a film that was shot at the T&P Building. During the shoot, I learned that the building is being divided up among owners. The Lobby area that has been renovated, the diner, the main tower, and the new hallway leading to the new TRE loading docks is owned by the T&P, the hallway behind the lobby area (between the tower/lobby and the loading docks) is owned by someone else. I'm not sure how this will imact the redevelopment, but I thought that was a really odd deal. Also, that hallway looks as if it was home to some sort of retail storefronts or offices of somesort back when the building was still in full opperation. Anyone know what used to be in those spaces?

Also, there is an old Nuclear Fallout Shelter in this building, outside the diner on the East end of the building. Does anyone know what the plans for the shelter are? Or, even more interesting - are the fallout shelters actually built to withstand a direct hit by a nuke? I know there are at least a couple more Nuke fallout shelters in downtown - I think some of the municipal buildings have them. Anyone know the condition of them, or what they're built to withstand? In light of recent terrorist activites I was just curious if Fallout Shelters might make a comeback someday.

[Urbndwlr]

RE: Nuclear Fallout Shelters

It seems that these nuclear (usually pronounced nucular by certain members of the Exec Branch of the Fed Govt) fallout shelters are making comebacks as wine cellars in residential conversions. Same goes for old bank vaults.

You want your wine collection to survive the apocalypse, don't you?

[renamerusk]

There is a thread buried somewhere in the Forum that asked, let me paraphrase, "What is Fort Worth's signature building? or something such as that.

I suggested that perhaps after the County Courthouse, it might be the Texas & Pacific Building. It stands alone, stately and beautifully; and is easily recognizable from many vantage points. It will be a jewel when it is restored and bathed in lights. This is a great moment for Fort Worth.

"Keep Fort Worth Folksy!"

[redhead]

The development is the upper floors of the building and the area to the east; which will include a new residential structure in addition to structured parking above-grade behind the current parking lot. (slammed against the rails.) Architecture on the new part is being handled by Womack+Hampton out of Dallas. The development group is Alta Renaissance Partners, which I think is a collaboration of a couple of development teams. One of the involved parties is Ed Casebier, who spearheaded the effort to turn this into a gracefully-restored structure to be used as a hotel for the convention center. I have heard that the developers spent a fortune and were ultimately shot down by the previous mayor---who firmly believed that the public would stand behind his efforts to build anew. So they went back to the drawing board and this is the result. However, I am somewhat confused as I have been told that it would be apartments, and recently, I have heard it is now planned as condos. Anyone really know for sure?

Either way, I am extremely glad to see that the renovation is finally underway!!

[renamerusk]

Wow!!!...its hard to keep up with everything that is going on in Fort Worth right now.

Coming into downtown west bound on the Belknap Street Bridge, I looked to the T&P Building on the southern horizon and could see through the building..the glass in the windows have been removed...Wow...The Baker Bldg., Montgomery Ward, the T&P..its absolutely fabulous

[Urbndwlr]

Last I heard it is slated to be apartments. There is a lot of for-sale condo inventory in the pipeline and we are looking at rising interest rates sometime in the near future. Both of those factors suggest that for-rent apartments are a good way to go.

I looked at the architect's web site. They have done a couple of projects I like (Hillside and the Plano Transit Village) but several that are very uninspired.


I would rather see a local firm get the commission.

[John T Roberts]

Personally, I would like to see more Fort Worth architects get Fort Worth commissions. However, that is not happening very often. I guess I can dream, can't I?

When we were going through downtown on the Tour de Architecture today, I noticed they had demolished most of the canopy east of the main building in order to start construction on the new apartment building. I was shocked to see so much of it demolished. I thought that they were only going to remove a couple of bays of it. From what I have been told, only part of the property had landmark status, and this portion did not. The developer then took advantage of the situation and demolished the canopy. This is a good example of how our preservation laws in this city are not working.

[AdamB]

The canopy was awful and deperately needed to be removed IMO.

[gcarey]

Can someone provide some recent photos for those of us on the eastern side of the metro please? thanks.

[John T Roberts]

Garrett, do you wish to have recent photographs of the work on the building itself or the demolition of the canopy?

AdamB, I disagree with you on the canopy. If it were restored like the remainder of the building, it would add to the overall ambiance of the entire project. I actually thought it had some very nice detailing and should have been preserved.

[JBB]

I'm assuming that this canopy was originally where passengers boarded trains. If so, it held a great deal of significance with regards to the original use of the building. It's a shame they couldn't complete the project with it still in place.

[John T Roberts]

I looked at some old photographs and the canopy was where passengers boarded trains. You can see a little bit of it on the left side of the first picture.

I do have some photographs to share with everyone. However, I haven't dug up anything on the canopy showing the detail of it. This is the building before the conversion to apartments


This is a more recent photo (2 weeks old) taken from the south and showing the building during the conversion:


The next two shots are of the restored lobby:

[gcarey]

Thanks for the pictures John. I had forgotten how beautiful this building was. Do you have any pictures of the "canopy" in question. I may have missed this (and apologize), but have they detailed the number of units, pricing, etc?

[John T Roberts]

Here's a link to a specific thread on this forum regarding apartment and condominium construction in downtown.
http://www.fortworth...5010

The plans call for 130 units inside the historic railway terminal and 90 more in a new apartment building constructed where they have demolished the canopy.

[gcarey]

thanks John.

[John T Roberts]

You are welcome. The architect that worked on the restoration of the lobby has some pictures that he will loan to me for scanning and posting here. His pictures of the canopy are similar to mine in that the canopy was not the subject of the photos, but exist on the side of the images.

[John T Roberts]

My friend supplied me with the pictures of the canopy and I took one from up close. I think my photo shows more detail, so I will post it here. This is a shot of the remaining section of the canopy. It is very similar in design to all of the WPA underpasses constructed where Henderson, Jennings, and Main cross beneath the tracks. Please pardon the poor quality of the photograph. I was shooting directly into the sun.

[tamtagon]

This is one of my fovorite buildings in the metroplex. What's rent like there?

[WTx]

Just curious, with all the development in Fort Worth right now I don't ever hear anything on the T&P Warehouse down the street. This is a very large building and could be a large project for someone.

[John T Roberts]

This week, it was placed on Historic Fort Worth's 2004 Community Assets Prioritized for Preservation List. For more information, go here: http://www.fortworth...p?showtopic=483

The owner has stated several times that she is in the process of redeveloping the property and an announcement was scheduled during the summer. Well, summer has passed, and no announcement has been made.

[Dokk]

Actually, Fallout Shelters are just that, designed to protect the occupants from nuclear (nuculer) or radioactive fallout, the radioactive dust and ash that "falls out" of the sky after a nuclear blast. A bomb shelter would be required to protect you from a direct hit from an exlosive device and, if I'm not mistaken, nuclear hardened bomb shelters are usually quite expensive and there are not that many around.

? Or, even more interesting - are the fallout shelters actually built to withstand a direct hit by a nuke? I know there are at least a couple more Nuke fallout shelters in downtown - I think some of the municipal buildings have them. Anyone know the condition of them, or what they're built to withstand? In light of recent terrorist activites I was just curious if Fallout Shelters might make a comeback someday.

[Dokk]

Interestingly enough, I happened to get a few pictures of the canopy are now being demolished. These were taken 10 December 2004.

[Dismuke]

Anyone know if the plans for the apartment conversion include work on cleaning up the exterior facade? The decades of soot and dirt buildup are quite noticable when driving down I-30.

[John T Roberts]

I have seen the plans, and I do think they are going to clean the exterior.

[TexasPacific52]

I had a chance to go inside the terminal today. The central waiting area that is not part of the main building is being worked on. There is a pedestrian tunnel from the front doors to the passenger platforms. The waiting area shows minimal work. Inside the waiting area are several office rooms on the south side that back up to the RR platforms. One of these offices has been opened up to the waiting area with the walls being knocked out. I dont know if the rest of the offices will have the same fate.

Important note....the passenger tunnel out to the tracks has some serious water leaks. There were several trash cans, buckets and anything else that could catch rain water set up in the tunnel. The water was coming in so much that it sounded like I was walking next to a waterfall. Hope they get around to fixing the leaks before it causes to much damage.

The awning on the platform is gone as well as the storage bays or whatever you want to call them that were in the parking lot on the east side of the building. I'm sure these bays were originally constructed to hold RR merchandise that was unloaded from freight/passenger cars that ran near the station. I thought they could have left the bays since they appeared to be the correct size for a car garage. The new residents could have had their own garages with little work needed other than putting doors and dividers in.

John

[cjyoung]

Are there any plans for the warehouse next door or will it forever be a place for paintball?

[John T Roberts]

For quite some time, the area under the canopy was used for parking. A car fit nicely inside the covered area. You would think they would have used this canopy for some purpose like that, but the architects and developers decided otherwise.

The warehouse hasn't been used for paintball for a couple of years. The owner of the warehouse has plans for the building that were supposed to have been announced over the summer.

[redhead]

Not to dash the hopes for those of you waiting for the T&P warehouse re-do, but the owner is so upside down in that property that just about any type of redevelopment is not feasible. Unless downtown prices skyrocket, I would not expect to see anything happen with that building for maybe a few years.

[Thurman52]

I see they are building a parking garage next to the TP building

[Sam Stone]

So that's the warehouse not the depot? That's big news then, a whole new project. My favorite derelict building, too.

300 units/5 floors = 60 units per floor, though probably more on lower floors and fewer on higher floors. 50k sf per floor / 60 units = 830 sf per unit. . . sounds about right--you'd have some at 500 sf and some about 1300. Federal money means that probably a good chunk of them will have income restrictions and the rest will be market rate.

I wonder if they've bought the lot behind them owned by Gandy and/or solved the significnat parking problem that building will have.

[njjeppson]

Is there any news or photos of the renovation work taking place? Someone should get some photos. When I was in Fort Worth in June I took my art friend to the restored lobby and we stared at the lights and ceiling for awhile. She thought the outside details of the building were just painted on and not real stone, and was impressed at the building. After the outside is cleaned I'm sure it will be even more impressive. On our way out we walked through the tunnel and could view through the little openings the unrestored side waiting rooms. Are these being restored along with the rest of the building? After the apartments are complete will this building be 100% restored? Are the old diner and other rooms being kept intact or removed in the construction?

When I was young we would drive on the old elevated highway when visiting Fort Worth and I was always fascinated with the building. If you know of a website for the leasing or construction let me know. I'd love to live there someday!

There are some really cool photos at the following link:
T&P Website

[safly]

GAG! Been the LATEST rumor since they started construction.

Any new pic's from any INSIDERS?

[John T Roberts]

No insider pictures, but I do have one of the low rise addition being built.

[hipolyte]

Will there be any attempt to match the detailing of the T&P building's exterior?

[Thurman52]

Drove by this morning. Looks like to me they are doing Stucco and Brick.

[njjeppson]

Does anyone know if these are now condos or still apartments? What is the estimated completion date and is there a leasing/purchasing website online? I've always been interested and after seeing it in construction mode I need to find out how I can live there

[walton91]

Does anyone know if these are now condos or still apartments? What is the estimated completion date and is there a leasing/purchasing website online? I've always been interested and after seeing it in construction mode I need to find out how I can live there

I got this number for the T&P Bldg off the Downtown Fort Worth Inc website, 713-439-7900. I called this past week and was told that these units would be for sale only, not for lease. Since I am a potential renter I did not go any further so I have no idea if they have a website or what the completion date will be. Good luck.

[John T Roberts]

Welcome to the forum! I have heard that the units are going to be offered for sale, but I have not been able to confirm.

[redhead]

Andy Taft confirmed the condo decision yesterday publicly in his President's report to DTFW, Inc...where John Goff also mistakenly referred to "it"---not once but TWICE as Downtown DALLAS-Fort Worth Inc. Shame on him---and he lives HERE!

[njjeppson]

Does anyone know if these are now condos or still apartments? What is the estimated completion date and is there a leasing/purchasing website online? I've always been interested and after seeing it in construction mode I need to find out how I can live there

I got this number for the T&P Bldg off the Downtown Fort Worth Inc website, 713-439-7900. I called this past week and was told that these units would be for sale only, not for lease. Since I am a potential renter I did not go any further so I have no idea if they have a website or what the completion date will be. Good luck.

Thanks, I called them also. I was told they will be 100% condos, and their sales office opens at the end of April/early May with first sales closing in June. They are currently working on their logo/website/marketing. Any recent photo updates?

[JBB]

A "Lofts For Sale" and phone number banner went up on the south side of the building this week.