Crescent Real Estate broke ground Monday on a mixed-use development in Fort Worth’s Cultural District that will include a “premier” boutique hotel with chef-driven restaurant, luxury apartments, and Class A office building that will be home to Crescent’s headquarters, CEO John Goff’s Goff Capital, and the headquarters of Goff’s Canyon Ranch luxury resort and spa company.
Additionally, Goff announced Monday that Canyon Ranch will operate a 26,000-square-foot spa and fitness center in the development. Goff also announced the hotel’s rooftop bar will be named Ralph’s Bar, for the Fort Worth oilwoman, real estate investor and philanthropist Mary Ralph Lowe, who let Crescent take control of the hotel site after 35 minutes of negotiations, Goff said.
“The only condition was that somewhere in that hotel, there has to be a Ralph’s Bar,” Goff said of Lowe, known to her friends as "Mary Ralph." The indoor-outdoor bar will be open year-around. “It’s going to be spectacular, and we’re going to have the first drink there.”
Scott Nishimura/Fort Worth Inc./Fort Worth Magazine
Crescent Real Estate CEO John Goff, after the ground-breaking of his planned $250 million mixed-use development in Fort Worth's Cultural District.
The planned project – the Fort Worth-based Crescent’s first in the city - has the blessings of major surrounding neighbors including Fort Worth’s museums. At Camp Bowie Boulevard and Van Cliburn Way, the $250 million development is scheduled to be completed and opened in mid-2023.
“The development here will be the crown jewel of our city in so many ways,” Mayor Mattie Parker said in remarks before the ground-breaking. She cited the boost the luxury hotel will give the Cultural District, as well as the prestigious address the office project will provide for headquarters relocations. “What this area of Fort Worth needed was a marquee project,” Parker told reporters later.
The project will include:
• Hotel: 200-room luxury boutique Crescent Fort Worth hotel including a restaurant, rooftop lounge, and 8,000 square feet of ballroom/meeting space. It will also feature a landscaped courtyard that will host outdoor dining, events, and social activities. Chef Dean Fearing, of the premier restaurant of Crescent Real Estate’s namesake mixed-use development in Dallas, will advise on the menu of the new Fort Worth restaurant. The third-party operator who runs the Dallas hotel will also run the Fort Worth hotel, Goff said.
• Office: 170,000 square feet of Class A space. Headquarters for Crescent Real Estate, Goff Capital, Canyon Ranch, and other tenants. “We’re going to have many of our friends here,” Goff said.
• Apartments: 170 luxury residential units
“This is going to transform this part of town,” Goff said in his remarks.
Scott Nishimura
Goff, who worked for the Fort Worth financier Richard Rainwater, told the story of starting his own company by jotting down a list of the top real assets he could think of. “The No. 1 asset on that list was the Crescent in Dallas,” which his company purchased in 1986, Goff said.
Goff earned applause during his remarks when he said “it’s time to bring Crescent to Fort Worth.” The company, based in Fort Worth, has never done a development project in the city.
“Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve loved to build things,” Goff said. “I’ve loved the process of getting people together in a collective.”
Crescent Real Estate
Planned restaurant and bar in Crescent Fort Worth hotel
Crescent Real Estate LLC has more than $10 billion in assets under management, development, and investment capacity. Through the GP Invitation Fund I and the GP Invitation Fund II, the company acquires, develops, and operates all real estate asset classes alongside institutional investors and high net worth clients. Crescent’s premier real estate portfolio consists of Class A and creative office, multifamily, hospitality, and senior living assets located throughout the U.S.
The genesis of the Cultural District project for Crescent occurred after Lowe called Goff, he said. “She had the hotel site tied up” and needed advice for how to proceed, Goff recalled. “I said, come on over, let’s have a beer and talk about it.”
Little more than 30 minutes into the talk, and the two reached an agreement, on condition there would be a Ralph’s Bar.
Crescent Real Estate
Planned guest room in Crescent Fort Worth hotel