Scott Nishimura snishimura@bizpress.net
Pinnacle Bank is paying $1.38 million for one third of the ground floor of the Lancaster Place mixed-use project on the south end of downtown, and will use the space for a retail branch and back office operations.
Pinnacle is acquiring 8,500 square feet, with plans to immediately use about 5,000 square feet of it, Jay Chapa, Fort Worth’s housing and economic development director, told Mayor Betsy Price and members of the City Council during their Fort Worth Local Development Corp. meeting Tuesday.
“The wanted the ability to grow,” Chapa said in an interview afterwards.
The Business Press was seeking comment from the bank Tuesday afternoon.
Pinnacle Bank has agreed to provide $16.5 million in financing for the project. Its purchase price of a third of the retail floor is $162.50 per square foot.
The bank also agreed to lease 30 parking spaces in a garage to be built as part of the project, and to prepay a 50-year lease for the parking.
The Local Development Corp., which owns the project, has agreed to rename the building Pinnacle Bank Place or Pinnacle Place, depending on whether the Downtown Design Review Board allows signage with the bank name, Chapa said.
The council, serving as the Local Development Board, approved the Pinnacle financing and terms Tuesday.
“We’re going with Pinnacle Bank Place unless we’re told the signage is not going to work,” Chapa said.
The project is at the 200 block of West Lancaster Avenue on the north side of the street between Jennings and Throckmorton streets.
Chapa said two other prospective tenants have expressed interest in taking space on the ground floor of the planned project, including one who he said is ready to sign a lease.
“We’re not sure it’s the best (tenant) for it,” Chapa said.
Construction on the project is expected to begin at the end of August, or early September, Chapa said.
The total project cost is estimated at $28 million. It will include 130 apartments over160,000 square feet, 24,000 square feet of commercial space, and the adjacent garage.
The project is part of the city’s efforts to redevelop the Lancaster Street frontage through downtown.
The city has solicited requests for proposal to redevelop several surplus publicly owned lots on the south end of downtown, fronting the north side of Lancaster Street and facing historic buildings like T&P Station and the U.S. Post Office.
Fort Worth is seeking a master developer for several lots between Jones Street and the Interstate 30 entrance ramp, with expectations for mixed-use buildings of three to eight stories that could include retail, residential, office and hotel.
Chapa said the city expects to interview two or three potential master developers at the end of May.