147 replies to this topic

[Austin55]

 

 

EGADS! XTO Energy is leaving Fort Worth, mostly. Will sell six of seven buildings. Details to come.

 

 

Just posted by Star Telegram senior writer and associate editor on Twitter. 

[Austin55]

Moving 1,600 employees to Houston The Woodlands

 

http://www.star-tele...e156670054.html

[JBB]

Oh man. I've worried since the Exxon sale that this might happen someday.

[Austin55]

Only 350 employees will remain in Fort Worth past 2020.

 

Edit -  Here's the campus XTO is moving into.

 

http://www.chron.com...ity-7965772.php

[Austin55]

A flurry of thoughts here. 

 

-Which building are they keeping?

 

-Who will move into the Stockyards location?

 

-Did the Landmark garage have anything to do with this sale?

 

-What happens to the buildings being sold? Could some go residential or hotel?

 

-How will the lessened security force in the middle section of downtown effect crime/homeless population?

 

-Could some of the surface lots owned by XTO on the East side be sold to developers?

 

-How does this effect Frost Tower and the office market in general?

 

-Could Sundance/Bass family be interested in southward expansion?

[renamerusk]

 

Moving 1,600 employees to Houston....

 

 

 

Oh man. I've worried since the Exxon sale that this might happen someday.

 

 

Only 350 employees will remain in Fort Worth past 2020.

 

Why did anyone of you believe for a minute that the XTO garage was a perk for its employees?  I did not for an instant find that explanation believable. And, oh yes, XTO would have told this to their Fort Worth employees as I suspected that they wanted to not let the cat out of the bag.  Corporations are becoming suburban!

 

Fort Worth, your future is clearly now Tourism -  Time to put on your best tourists are welcome face.

[renamerusk]

A flurry of thoughts here. 

 

-Which building are they keeping?

 

-Who will move into the Stockyards location?

 

-( 3) Did the Landmark garage have anything to do with this sale?

 

-(4) What happens to the buildings being sold? Could some go residential or hotel?

 

-How will the lessened security force in the middle section of downtown effect crime/homeless population?

 

-(6) Could some of the surface lots owned by XTO on the East side be sold to developers?

 

-How does this effect Frost Tower and the office market in general?

 

(3)  Yes. As soon as XTO had a buyer; it sold it.  Now the hospitality projects will have a ready made parking structure to meet their needs.

 

(4)  Yes, the building, WT Waggoner especially, can become a nice residential building; and the other buildings can be used by small business firms.

 

(6)  CBD to become CTB; and for all the reasons expressed elsewhere, this is actually going to turn out to be okay.  Of course the lots can and will be developed.  What is possible is multiple plazas and miniature Sundance Squares complete with housing, shops and dining options in a Downtown/CTB that is less business and more lifestyle.

[JBB]

The 7 buildings they own?  Binyon-O'Keefe, Petroleum Building, Simpson (formerly Baker), Waggoner, Transport Life?  I'm drawing a blank on the other 2.

 

The quick sale of the garage should have been a sign of things to come.  

 

I would think they keep the Simpson Building, but that's pure speculation.

 

It's not good when that many employees get moved out or when that many office buildings go on the market, but I wouldn't call it the end of the world.  More than one of these buildings should be ripe for hotel or residential conversion.

[Austin55]

I believe they own, atleast partially, one of the warehouses near Grove. 

 

Here's a list via TAD - http://www.tad.org/s...l&DepartmentCd=

[renamerusk]

 

Moving 1,600 employees to Houston The Woodlands

 

Exactly;  to be clear, Houston's CBD didn't gain anything either even though Houston's CBD has a glut of office space.

 

Downtowns are taking a drumming.   State Farm (Plano) Toyota (Frisco)  American Airlines (Far East Fort Worth/Euless), BNSF (Saginaw/Blue Mound) DR Horton (Arlington)

[Austin55]

I was downtown when the news broke and walked over and talked to a security gaurd outside Bob Simpson. Did not seem to be in the mood to talk and said "I haven't heard anything, man".

[Now in Denton]

 

[Jeriat]

Well...

Time to focus on attracting other companies, I guess.

[Big Frog II]

That just stinks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

[renamerusk]

That just stinks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

 

Now my wondering seems to have an answer.  Rex Tillerson, current Secretary of State and "former" CEO of ExxonMobil was interviewed 7-8 days ago from an office in Fort Worth, presumably XTO. 

 

Do you think that he was here on official U.S. diplomatic business or here for something else [ to shutter XTO]?

 

What is more, the local employees will probably be force to sell their homes and uproot their family if they want to stay with XOM.  XOM is probably hoping that the local employees will opt for a buyout, an corporate expense that will be written off.

[Austin55]

Rex has been in downtown a few times since the election, I've heard. 

[renamerusk]

Rex has been in downtown a few times since the election, I've heard. 

 

 Exactly the point.  This cuts deep into a loyal and longstanding workforce created locally.  With natural gas still on the rise, hopefully the talented workforce will be absorbed by local energy companies.

[John T Roberts]

It's really a shame that this is happening; however, the city should look at this as an opportunity.  XTO put a lot of money into restoring and protecting those downtown buildings.  I think some of them are designated as City of Fort Worth Landmarks.  Selling them in a phased approach, as the Star-Telegram indicates might be a very prudent move on everyone's part.  That way, the market won't be flooded at once with vacant buildings.  This could lead to more residential conversions or hotel conversions.  This also might halt the two new hotel projects on Houston that have older buildings currently on their sites.  Marriott might decide that it would be more economically feasible to convert one of XTO's properties into their Residence Inn.  Hilton may decided to also convert a building for their Canopy concept.  Another positive might be that ground floor retail will be introduced back into the ground floors of these buildings.

 

Here are the buildings that XTO owns, their addresses, and their historic designations:

 

W.T. Waggoner Building, 810 Houston St. - Demolition Delay, National Register

Bob R. Simpson Building, 711 Houston St. - Demolition Delay, National Register

Petroleum Building, 210 W. 6th St. - Demolition Delay, National Register

714 Main/Transport Life - Highly Significant Endangered, National Register

Montgomery Ward/Tindall Storage Building, 810 Grove St. - Highly Significant Endangered, National Register

Bennie G. Kniffen Bldg./Binyon-O'Keefe Storage Co., 210 E. 7th St. - Historic & Cultural Landmark

Former Swift & Co. Office Building, 600 E. Exchange - Highly Significant Endangered, Local Historic District, Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, National Register Historic District

600 Houston Place (Parking garage)

 

Four of the seven buildings are legally protected against demolition.  The Demolition Delay with the City of Fort Worth can only protect the building for 180 days.  A National Register or Recorded Texas Historic Landmark designation does not protect against demolition.

[Austin55]

I just put together a map of current XTO ownership

 

 

Hopefully all the surface lot are sold off as well. 

[Jeriat]

It's really a shame that this is happening; however, the city should look at this as an opportunity...

I feel like that's mostly been more of a problem for this city, but I do have some hope. That could create a new district... speaking of which, that old post I made with the mock districts from last year needs to be changed.

[renamerusk]

....(1) This could lead to more residential conversions or hotel conversions.  (2) This also might halt the two new hotel projects on Houston that have older buildings currently on their sites.  Marriott might decide that it would be more economically feasible to convert one of XTO's properties into their Residence Inn.  Hilton may decided to also convert a building for their Canopy concept.  Another positive might be that ground floor retail will be introduced back into the ground floor levels of these building.

 

 

It's really a shame that this is happening; however, the city should look at this as an opportunity...

(3) I feel like that's mostly been more of a problem for this city, but I do have some hope. That could create a new district... speaking of which, that old post I made with the mock districts from last year needs to be changed.

 

 

(1) Agree that one of the buildings will make a nice boutique hotel; others can be converted into residential.

 

(2)  I certainly believe that a consider expense of purchasing land and constructing a garage has been taking of by this turn of events; and that now Residence Inn can build its hotel.  I surmised that RI had already been approached by Woodbridge Management about parking which explains the absence of a garage rendering to support the hotel.

 

(3) What are you suggesting is more of a problem?

[Austin55]

I believe they own, atleast partially, one of the warehouses near Grove. 

 

Here's a list via TAD - http://www.tad.org/s...l&DepartmentCd=

 

total TAD market value for all downtown WTW properties is a hair below $70 million.

[Doohickie]

What is more, the local employees will probably be force to sell their homes and uproot their family if they want to stay with XOM.  XOM is probably hoping that the local employees will opt for a buyout, an corporate expense that will be written off.

Yep. Someone I know who works for XTO said they'll be moving to Houston. Sucks for him; he's about 5 or so years from retirement.

[Jeriat]

....(1) This could lead to more residential conversions or hotel conversions.  (2) This also might halt the two new hotel projects on Houston that have older buildings currently on their sites.  Marriott might decide that it would be more economically feasible to convert one of XTO's properties into their Residence Inn.  Hilton may decided to also convert a building for their Canopy concept.  Another positive might be that ground floor retail will be introduced back into the ground floor levels of these building.

 

It's really a shame that this is happening; however, the city should look at this as an opportunity...

(3) I feel like that's mostly been more of a problem for this city, but I do have some hope. That could create a new district... speaking of which, that old post I made with the mock districts from last year needs to be changed.

 
(1) Agree that one of the buildings will make a nice boutique hotel; others can be converted into residential.
 
 
(3) What are you suggesting is more of a problem?

Exactly what I have in bold.

[Dylan]

Horrible news for Fort Worth and downtown.

 

As for employees moving to The Woodlands, their offices are moving from a vibrant downtown to sprawling suburbia.

[renamerusk]

 

It's really a shame that this is happening; however, the city should look at this as an opportunity...

I feel like that's mostly been more of a problem for this city,.......

 

 

Here are the two phrases together. While I am able to clearly understand who is being identified and what is being suggested; no joking, it is unclear to me what problem is being identified and who is the subject of the problem?

 

If you can provide more details, it or they would receive a reply.

[Jeriat]

It's really a shame that this is happening; however, the city should look at this as an opportunity...

I feel like that's mostly been more of a problem for this city,.......

 
Here are the two phrases together. While I am able to clearly understand who is being identified and what is being suggested; no joking, it is unclear to me what problem is being identified and who is the subject of the problem?
 
If you can provide more details, it or they would receive a reply.

I'm saying that Ft. Worth isn't exactly as progressive in jumping on opportunities compared to other major cities.

[Big Frog II]

Good thing they built that parking garage. 

[renamerusk]

Good thing they built that parking garage. 

 

 Yes.  The garage will be a tremendous asset to the central core.  Nearby businesses and future businesses will now be able to have immediate parking availability and should be able to expand their business.   This is a gift of infrastructure that makes doing business in the central core more attractive.

 

For example, an 800 spaces garage might be expected to provide

 

  380 space for hotels -    Residence Inn, 200 rooms (1:1rm): 200 slots

                                        Canopy Hotel, 180 rooms (1:1 rm): 180 slots

 

 10 restaurants @ 30 spaces = 300 slots

 

 General use/short term  = 120 slots

 

All in all, that makes 2 hotels possible, 10 new or existing restaurants; and additional customer parking. 

 

A great opportunity for further development!

[JBB]

What would be even better is for the new tenants of the buildings that XTO sells to use space in that garage and not retreat back to surface lots.

[RD Milhollin]

Well...

Time to focus on attracting other companies, I guess.

 

The number of professional and managerial jobs leaving is something that is going to be hard to deal with. Other posters on this forum have identified before that many of the jobs in Fort Worth are manufacturing or service based, and that we need more professional "white collar "jobs to round out the mix. I seem to remember that the city recently began an initiative (well, at least a study) to try to attract other businesses to town, but are the successful catches going to bring in managerial and higher-paid professionals to fill the gap that is going to develop when XTO departs? Are the companies lured here going to want to locate in the downtown area? I wonder how much of a heads-up the city leadership had about this move... Departing employees will most likely put their houses on the market which will probably depress upper-middle and higher range residential property prices. Even a staged withdrawal from the large and medium office buildings downtown is going to lower lease rates there since the knowledge of many vacancies in the very near future is now widely known. Focusing attention on attracting service jobs to downtown is not going to counter these effects; Fort Worth needs company offices and the related services that support them. Two possible strategies for addressing this need come to mind:

 

There are other, smaller companies that are in the same industry as XTO/Exxon-Mobil; perhaps the city could help support an effort to match those professionals who don't want to leave town to hire on with local Exxon competitors or even better, start-up their own competing firms here. I don't have a lot of experience in this area but I am sure there are people in the city or the Chamber or DTFW Inc, etc. who do, and if not perhaps a consultant could be brought in to help set up something along the lines of a "job fair" or a referral service to help those employees/contractors match up with growing local companies looking for experienced personnel. Maybe Bob Simpson could be asked by the mayor to have a "sit-down" to discuss how best to retain key industry people in the city...

 

The other idea is to begin a concerted effort to attract the "other" energy industry to the city; The companies that provide clean and sustainable power in contrast to burning fossil fuels. If there is going to be ANY sort of financial incentive offered as part of the city initiative to attract companies to move here, the same breaks offered to old-school energy companies should be offered to new-wave firms. One way to compete with other cities that are already onboard with this trend would be for the school districts to offer more STEM opportunities and even STEM with an energy focus as a graduation track. As part of this effort UTA, Tarleton, TCU, UNT etc. should be brought onboard with guaranteed scholarships in their engineering and business programs and even collaborate support for company start-up incubators.

[Austin55]

XTO is also closing thier Denver office and moving 110 jobs from there.

http://www.bizjourna..._medium=twitter

[Jeriat]

Well...
Time to focus on attracting other companies, I guess.

 
The number of professional and managerial jobs leaving is something that is going to be hard to deal with. Other posters on this forum have identified before that many of the jobs in Fort Worth are manufacturing or service based, and that we need more professional "white collar "jobs to round out the mix. I seem to remember that the city recently began an initiative (well, at least a study) to try to attract other businesses to town, but are the successful catches going to bring in managerial and higher-paid professionals to fill the gap that is going to develop when XTO departs? Are the companies lured here going to want to locate in the downtown area? I wonder how much of a heads-up the city leadership had about this move... Departing employees will most likely put their houses on the market which will probably depress upper-middle and higher range residential property prices. Even a staged withdrawal from the large and medium office buildings downtown is going to lower lease rates there since the knowledge of many vacancies in the very near future is now widely known. Focusing attention on attracting service jobs to downtown is not going to counter these effects; Fort Worth needs company offices and the related services that support them. Two possible strategies for addressing this need come to mind:
 
There are other, smaller companies that are in the same industry as XTO/Exxon-Mobil; perhaps the city could help support an effort to match those professionals who don't want to leave town to hire on with local Exxon competitors or even better, start-up their own competing firms here. I don't have a lot of experience in this area but I am sure there are people in the city or the Chamber or DTFW Inc, etc. who do, and if not perhaps a consultant could be brought in to help set up something along the lines of a "job fair" or a referral service to help those employees/contractors match up with growing local companies looking for experienced personnel. Maybe Bob Simpson could be asked by the mayor to have a "sit-down" to discuss how best to retain key industry people in the city...
 
The other idea is to begin a concerted effort to attract the "other" energy industry to the city; The companies that provide clean and sustainable power in contrast to burning fossil fuels. If there is going to be ANY sort of financial incentive offered as part of the city initiative to attract companies to move here, the same breaks offered to old-school energy companies should be offered to new-wave firms. One way to compete with other cities that are already onboard with this trend would be for the school districts to offer more STEM opportunities and even STEM with an energy focus as a graduation track. As part of this effort UTA, Tarleton, TCU, UNT etc. should be brought onboard with guaranteed scholarships in their engineering and business programs and even collaborate support for company start-up incubators.

I've been saying weverything need to have more white collar jobs and more diverse industries for the longest, now.

[David Love]

The energy sector is a good base for any city to have, that base has helped Fort Worth through some rough times. If you had to pick a time to lose a rather large industrial sized benefactor, now would be it. 

 

Change is good, and in the general scheme of things, inevitable. 

 

Downtown Fort Worth will do just fine. 

[David Love]

Wondering if the the California sized real estate tax increases of late had anything to do with it?

[Jeriat]

Wondering if the the California sized real estate tax increases of late had anything to do with it?

Hmm?

[JBB]

I don't think that's a problem they would get away from by moving to The Woodlands.

[John T Roberts]

I was downtown this afternoon taking pictures of the new Frost Tower construction and I walked into the central core of downtown where XTO has most of their buildings.  With the company leaving us, except for occupying one building, I can see a lot of potential in having these properties sold to different owners.  It could help to diversify downtown and it might even bring more business into downtown.  With this turn of events, I don't look to see any new office buildings constructed in the near future because we will have to fill up the space vacated by XTO before any new projects are considered.  It also might open up more work for some of the architects in town.  New owners of these buildings might hire architects that had not previously done XTO's work.  However, those companies may want to stay with the same architects who renovated XTO's buildings because they would be familiar with them. As I had mentioned earlier, I also look at this as an opportunity to add more hotel space.  Some of these buildings might be converted to other boutique hotels that were not being considered previously.  I also walked by 600 Houston Place Mall, which prior to XTO's ownership, was retail.  They converted the two retail levels into office space, and this might be a great opportunity for a new owner to return those spaces back to storefronts.

[Now in Denton]

Still reeling from the news. If I recall. After the 2000 tornado many companies went to Dallas for office space ? So this news however bad it is. Is not as bad a situation. However I hope the Mayors office and City Hall will look into what can be done for Fort Worth to compete and keep large companies.

 

Yes some companies want a campus HQ and not skyscrapers HQ. But If annexation is something Fort Worth is doing. I hope they will use annexation as something they can offer companies like a Exxon Toyota to build in Fort Worth. I know many do not like Fort Worth to annex any more. I disagree. But that is for another topic. I think Fort Worth is in a unique position to offer a fortune 500 in a downtown location or a campus HQ in a annex location. Just look at Alliance. When Fort Worth annex that far north ? All in all it was a smart move for Fort Worth. 

[johnfwd]

What puzzles me is XTO's motive for divesting a considerable real estate stake in downtown Fort Worth in order to move to a suburban campus in the Woodlands.

 

It does seem that XTO was more interested in speculative real estate investment than in loyalty to Fort Worth.  Why else move to the Houston area?  They could have built a suburban campus in Fort Worth.  Applies, to a lesser extent, to DR Horton.

[Doohickie]

What puzzles me is XTO's motive for divesting a considerable real estate stake in downtown Fort Worth in order to move to a suburban campus in the Woodlands.

 

It does seem that XTO was more interested in speculative real estate investment than in loyalty to Fort Worth.  Why else move to the Houston area?  They could have built a suburban campus in Fort Worth.  Applies, to a lesser extent, to DR Horton.

 

Well, because they're owned by Exxon Mobil and the rest of their business is centered in their Woodlands complex.

[JBB]

Yeah, this wasn't about divesting real estate.  It was about consolidating operations.  The rumors that they would do this started almost as soon as the sale happened 7 years ago.

[renamerusk]

 

What puzzles me is XTO's motive for divesting a considerable real estate stake in downtown Fort Worth in order to move to a suburban campus in the Woodlands.

 

It does seem that XTO was more interested in speculative real estate investment than in loyalty to Fort Worth.  Why else move to the Houston area?  They could have built a suburban campus in Fort Worth.  Applies, to a lesser extent, to DR Horton.

 

Well, because they're owned by Exxon Mobil and the rest of their business is centered in their Woodlands complex.

 

 

 

Yeah, this wasn't about divesting real estate.  It was about consolidating operations.  The rumors that they would do this started almost as soon as the sale happened 7 years ago.

 

 Except that ExxonMobil is headquartered in Las Colinas (Irving). 

 

 This may just be the first shoe to drop; the second being consolidating/relocating its headquarters to Woodlands, Texas.

[tamtagon]

I'd like to see municipal efforts to ease this transition by 'recruiting' the cleaner wind and solar energy industry segment to downtown Fort Worth, replacing lost job from the cancerous fracking and old world fossil fuel segment.

 

The oil, farming and ranching industries have created long term, firmly established business relationships between North Texas consumers and suppliers from the Panhandle, South Plains, Permian and Trans-Pecos regions; Fort Worth is an ideal homebase for extending these particularly strong relationship channels across a new segment of the existing energy industries. A majority of the state's blue ribbon renewable energy potential comes from points west of Fort Worth.... 

 

https://www.dallasne...-markets-enough

[renamerusk]

I'd like to see municipal efforts to ease this transition by 'recruiting' the cleaner wind and solar energy industry segment to downtown Fort Worth, replacing lost job from the cancerous fracking and old world fossil fuel segment......

 

Recruiting renewable energy industries will be very difficult.  Where ever the "wind blows" and the "sun shines" is and can be a center for these industries. Nearly all fifty states can argue that theirs is an energy state.  This also applies globally.

 

Every city must find its niche for its future economy.  Fort Worth's niche is its historical tie to the Western/Agricultural Industry (WAI).  The City can and does benefit from WAI in at least two ways: Servicing WAI and Tourism that is driven by a large interest, both national and global, in the Western Culture.  

 

I suppose that this is overlapping with the CTB thread, but it clear that the way to carve out a niche segment of commerce for Downtown/Fort Worth is to recruit more WAI service businesses and events and to increase accommodations for more tourists.

[tamtagon]

^I just hope the regional entities have the data (and chutzpah) necessary to hold fracking extraction companies accountable for the scope-to-be-determined environmental remediation. Exxon (and many others...) is responsible for the master-brew that got lots of petroleum product out of the ground, and Exxon (and many others...) should be responsible for cleaning up the mess. 

[RD Milhollin]

Yes, but sustainable energy companies, like any other, have needs for centralized supply, transportation, and servicing operations. Some of these are best met internally, others by specialized contracting firms. I believe, like tamtagon, that Fort Worth is in a fairly unique position to take advantage of trends already in place in the wind turbine field, and could expand that capability to be a leader in solar technology design, fabrication, and distribution. Fort Worth has an large manufacturing/industrial base with a trained workforce and surplus manufacturing/warehousing facilities, well at least locations if not buildings. Fort Worth is a rail transportation and highway hub with plenty of logistical capacity. Look at the Northside along the major trunk lines and the Alliance Corridor as examples of opportunity for a future-energy supply hub. There are major universities with major engineering and business schools here and nearby that could supply the future leaders and innovators for this sort of thing. Downtown has individuals and firms who could be a source of financing for innovative new ventures. As far as your "WAI", many homes out in the country rely on grid electricity and trucked-in propane to provide power and heat. Economical solar and wind on a personal scale would free those folks from dependence on outside energy sources brought in a great expense. Ranchers unfortunate enough to not have oil or gas below their grass have gained a new grip on the family farm by leasing to wind generator operators. Those turbines require periodic service, and Fort Worth is a short drive, and will be soon a short train ride, to one of the largest airports around with many non-stop destinations close to other wind farm centers. And on and on...

[JBB]

http://www.star-tele...e156960979.html

The Swift building is under contract with an undisclosed buyer and the Grove St. building is under contract with The T. The T is planning to move their headquarters to that building.

[Austin55]

Good move for the T. They own the neighboring building as well, I believe, as well as a few surface lots in the area.

[renamerusk]

Government purchasing these properties is not the most productive use.  Why does the T need new headquarters?

 

Sounds like we may find ourselves in the same problematic situation that DART found itself in when it maintained offices and perks in pricey headquarters in Downtown Dallas.

 

But more to the subject, it does seem that this, XTO dumping its large amount of office space may have been more widely known than the bombshell coming from this turn of event.