Artur Szczybylo Artur - stock.adobe.com
Handwriting text Commercial Real Estate. Conceptual photo Income
Handwriting text Commercial Real Estate. Conceptual photo Income Property Building or Land for Business Purpose Businessman with pointing finger in front of him
If you have spoken with Fort Worth-based real estate agents since emerging from the pandemic, they likely share how busy they are. That comes as no surprise. After all, Fort Worth has a lot going for it.
Our population growth topped us out as the 12th largest city in America in the recent census; interest rates remain at generational lows; our housing inventory currently sits between one to two month’s supply that’s applying upward pressure on sales prices and rental rates; and businesses continue to relocate and emerge within our dynamic city.
As a commercial real estate broker and a member of the Fort Worth Zoning Commission, I can attest our commercial real estate market is also bustling, albeit with the somewhat limited inventory of what is available depending upon the sector. It has been fascinating to watch our multifamily and industrial cash-flowing investment sale opportunities, unique urban infill sites, and vacant buildings awaiting a pioneering “redeveloper” to reposition a diamond in the rough within our historic districts.
The development community is in full-tilt, as the need for more housing reaches alarming rates with housing stock shortages and distribution/logistics facilities providing for online orders, production, and storage needs of modern-day life. As developers continue to press the envelope, several trends have emerged from our commercial market.
First is detached multifamily. 2021 has seen almost a dozen Fort Worth zoning requests for dense apartment complexes in our less populated areas. These are not the four-to-five story in-fill projects on a postage stamp that we are used to seeing in the central city. Rather, zoning cases are containing one- to two-story properties stretched out around 30 to 40 acres.
In contrast to a subdivision with individual parcels of land for each house, these developments are built on a single-platted lot, allowing the developer to fit more units on the land. It’s a unique solution for those tenants or owners wanting the independence of a free-standing home without the maintenance of a full yard.
Second is somewhat of a trend in preservation that I have identified. This is not what we know as historic preservation — which is a topic near and dear to my heart and for discussion another day. We are moving to preserve commercially zoned properties. I will not soon forget a news headline questioning if Fort Worth was becoming a suburb of Dallas as our residential tax base exceeds our commercial one.
Fort Worth’s 2017 Strategic Plan makes note that we must be mindful of preserving our commercially zoned property as our demand for residential housing grows. For Fort Worth to afford our aging infrastructure and service demands, by preserving our commercial and industrial tracts that fill our city’s coffers many more times over than residentially zoned property, the tax burden on homeowners should level out.
All in all, we continue to be blessed by living in Cowtown. It’s changing at a rapid clip, and I’m excited about what the future holds.