Southern Land Co. announced it’s begun infrastructure work for its planned 27-story luxury high-rise apartment tower at 969 Commerce St. in downtown Fort Worth, the city’s first downtown high-rise of rental units.
Southern Land said it expected to break ground this fall on the 302-unit building at 969 Commerce St. and Ninth Street, a site it bought in 2017 from XTO Energy, which sold its downtown portfolio of properties after it announced its sale to ExxonMobil.
The 300,000-square-foot building will include 302 efficiency, one, two, and three bedroom apartments and penthouses, eight floors of above-grade parking, and “resort-inspired amenities,” Southern Land said. It will include retail and restaurant space on the first floor.
“These will be the first luxury high-rise rental residences in downtown Fort Worth, and we could not be more excited to have the off-site work underway,” Tim Downey, founder and CEO of Southern Land, based in Nashville, Tenn., said in a release, referring to the infrastructure work.
“We believe this project will attract residents who seek a refined living experience in the heart of the city,” he said. “Additionally, we expect it to help pull in more transformative projects that will only add to Fort Worth’s vibrant culture and economy. We are proud to build a community here and look forward to seeing it come to life.”
The site is near the Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth Central Station transit hub, and Texas A&M School of Law, which is looking into redeveloping surrounding land it owns for a new law school.
“We recognized a prime opportunity to make high-rise rental living possible in Fort Worth’s central business district, where it wasn’t previously available,” Downey said. “We are passionate about providing distinctly beautiful living options in places that boast great character, notable destinations, and access to plentiful businesses and services.”
The building is expected to have up to 8,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space on its ground level. Amenities are expected to include a rooftop pool, fireplace lounge, and kitchen; and a fitness center.
"Not only does this project fill a growing gap in the market, but it is evidence that Downtown Fort Worth is ready to enter a new chapter in its development that will play an important role in attracting more investment and young professionals to our city," Michael Hennig, interim manager and tax increment finance administrator at the city’s Economic Development Department, said in the release.
Andy Taft, president of the Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. economic development organization, said “Southern Land Company is building exactly the kind of new residential product that Downtown Fort Worth needs. It’s high-density, transit-adjacent, and offers a variety of unit sizes and top-shelf amenities. This is the future of downtown residential, and it is coming at a perfect time.”
Design and engineering partners on the project include GDA Architects of Dallas, Kimley-Horn, Thornton Tomasetti, Faulkner Design Group of Dallas, Rone Engineering of Dallas, and Basharkhah Engineering of Dallas. Southern Land’s in-house commercial construction team is general contractor. Southern Land is the landscape architect.
The project is Southern Land’s first multifamily project in Fort Worth and sixth in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Southern Land opened Morada Plano in 2019 and Nové at Knox in Dallas in 2020. Southern Land previously developed, owned and sold Arthouse in Keller, Junction 15 in Plano, and The Lofts at Watters Creek in Allen. Southern Land developed and operates a single-family community, Tucker Hill, in McKinney.