Although ESPN is broadcasting live from Sundance Square’s new plaza tomorrow as North Texas hosts the NCAA Final Four, the city is attracting attention beyond sports. (Yes, Virginia, there is a world beyond sports.) That’s why we’re hosting our Fort Worth State of the Market event on April 17. (Sign up here.)

Among our panelists: Downtown Fort Worth Inc prez Andy Taft (snapped with his wife and Lyle Lovett), who says the Metroplex was the third fastest-growing area in the country in the last decade, with Fort Worth accounting for about a third of the region’s growth (compared to Dallas, which contributed 5%).

Fort Worth’s growth spreads in all directions, he says (like a parachute, or a teenager's popularity). To the north, the Alliance Corridor is seeing new industrial construction like Amazon, new road infrastructure (I-35 improvements), and expanded retail and residential. The new Southwest Freeway—from downtown to Cleburne—will unlock development potential because of the great access into the CBD. To the west, the Joint Reserve Base (us old-timers still call it Carswell AFB) remains an anchor.

The city center thrives from the diversified economy, Andy says, with high tech, oil and energy, aerospace, and medical, among others. Sundance Square’s arrival in the late '80s was a catalyst for the city’s rebirth, but Andy credits the redevelopment of The Tower (pictured) into condos for spurring multifamily construction. That’s led to 4,000 new residents, with 1,000 units underway or in the pipeline in downtown and another 2,000 within a mile of the city’s center (including Lancaster Place, Hunter Plaza, and Lincoln’s new project). There’s also three hotels kicking the tires and other mid-rise residential and office projects sniffing around.