Fort Worth Inc.
From left, Robert Allen, CEO of the Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership; Crescent executives Andrew Lombardi and Conrad Suszynski; Mayor Mattie Parker; Elaine Agather; Fort Worth City Councilmember Macy Hill, and Christopher Goff.
Officials at Crescent Real Estate, including chairman John Goff, were joined by civic leaders Wednesday morning in formally breaking ground on Crescent Offices West, while also announcing that JPMorgan Chase will leave the central business district downtown and serve as anchor tenant of the eight-floor, 170,000-square-foot premium office building.
JPMorgan Chase will double the size of its Fort Worth office with the move into Crescent Offices West, which is slated to open in December 2027.
“A Fort Worth financial district is forming on downtown’s west side, and JPMorgan Chase is proud to be a major part of this signature development,” said Elaine Agather, chair of the Dallas Region and Global Vice Chair at J.P. Morgan Private Bank.
JPMorgan will occupy three floors — 70,000 square feet — of the new building. The bank, based in New York, expects 300 or so to work at the new office.
"John Goff has a vision,” Agather said. “He had a vision in Dallas, he has a vision here. He's one smart businessman and he knew this space could attract not only a tenant like JP Morgan, but other businesses."
The Crescent Offices West development is the latest phase of the larger master plan of the The Crescent development, which has already seen the opening of The Crescent Hotel, Canyon Ranch Wellness Club, Crescent Offices East, and 170 luxury residential units.
The Crescent Hotel features 200 luxury hotel rooms, Emelia’s and Blue Room restaurants, the Circle Bar, and 8,000 square feet of ballroom and meeting space.
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Northeast view.
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Northwest view.
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Ground level view with one of two planned restaurants.
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The lobby.
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Street view.
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Level 2 amenity interior.
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Level 2 amenity pavilion.
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South view.
The Crescent Offices East is 100% leased, said Christopher Goff, senior managing director of Crescent Real Estate.
The ceremonial groundbreaking for the new building was literally a formality. It took place in the courtyard of the hotel, with a ribbon of ceremonial earth a symbolic stand-in for the actual dirt that has already been moved. Construction is well under way on the site.
Dignitaries shoveled dirt from an event-grade soil box.
The eight-floor, 170,000-square-foot Crescent Offices West will arise from a 1.4-acre site Crescent Real Estate used to stage the first phase of construction on the hotel development.
The building, estimated to cost $70 million according to paperwork filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, will be located along West Seventh Street between Van Cliburn Way and Boland Street.
The architect of record is Dallas-based GFF, whose Fort Worth office is located in Trademark’s WestBend development along University Drive and the Trinity River. The Beck Group is the general contractor.
The Crescent West development is expected to further expand and enhance the Cultural District, making it an even more vibrant and innovative business hub.
“I think back on how many years living on the West Side, I made the trek into downtown and would drive by this site every day, and I always wondered, ‘Why can't this incredible site adjacent to a world-class cultural district, be developed into a world-class destination for businesses, visitors, and citizens of Fort Worth? And here we are.
“It was a bit pioneering. I will readily admit there were a lot of people who said lease rates in Fort Worth won't justify new construction of an office building, but here we are. We had demand quickly to fill up the building we're in and beyond that now for this new building and this wonderful groundbreaking. This is very exciting.”
The project is seen as a key part of Fort Worth's continued economic growth and transformation into a major business destination in Texas.
“Someone asked me, ‘Why are you leaving downtown?’” Agather said. “It's not leaving downtown. It's going to a space that's new and that we can help design our space. Bankers love to entertain. We love to have our clients in our home. We think of our office as our home. And we’re growing.”
The new space is an opportunity to “do everything we want, that’s fun and functional,” Agather said.
While demand for office space has remained steady, Goff said of Fort Worth, “We need more.”
“The challenge with Fort Worth honestly is that in Dallas, developers get ahead of the interest,” Goff said. “And, so, there are places available you can immediately move into. We don't really have that here in the way of new product. They move into old product and downtown. But companies now, it's all about attracting and retaining talent. And to do that, you got to have properties like this that have all the energy and the restaurants and the clubs and the workout facility, a place to live, and have it walkable.”
Agather noted that JP Morgan Chase now has more employees in Texas than New York, home, of course, to arguably the economic capital of the world.
“This is proof positive that the Fort Worth business community is quite literally expanding and growing,” said Robert Allen, CEO of the Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership.
Said Mayor Mattie Parker: “To have John and the Crescent team investing in Fort Worth is a big deal. They can and do invest anywhere in the world. And for them to be so bullish on our city, I think says a lot.”