More apartments are headed to Downtown Fort Worth as a Chicago-based firm prepares to break ground on the area’s latest office-to-residential conversion.
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3L Real Estate filed plans with the state to begin converting the former home of Fort Worth National Bank and Oncor Electric to more than 300 apartments. The 330K SF project at 115 W. Seventh St. is set to kick off in August and take just longer than a year to complete.
The estimated cost of construction is $30M, according to the permit filing. Ground-level retail will remain intact.
3L is among a growing group of developers looking to breathe new life into obsolete office buildings. Just steps away from the Fort Worth National Bank building, Icon Lodging plans to spend $33M converting the former XTO Energy Building into a Residence Inn.
The Sandman Signature Hotel and The Sinclair in Downtown Fort Worth are also former office properties.
More than 3,000 apartments in Dallas are earmarked for conversion to apartments, making it the No. 3 market in the nation for these types of projects.
The impetus for conversions varies based on the side of the Metroplex. The pandemic accelerated an existing office vacancy problem in Dallas’ Central Business District, prompting the need to transform underutilized space.
Downtown Fort Worth's office occupancy is nearly 90%, but the submarket is short on housing to serve the thousands of new residents moving into the city each year.
