Twenty years have passed since the vision was launched: a bold, ambitious new development that would be transformative for the blighted, industrial area just north of downtown Fort Worth.
That gentrification plan, known variously as Panther Island, Trinity River Vision and the Central City Flood Control Project, has heaved along, through fits and starts, waiting for all the parts of the complex undertaking to align.
Unlike Dallas city leaders, who simultaneously were trying to create a downtown Trinity River project of their own near downtown and ultimately pulled the plug on the plan, Fort Worth’s fiercest advocates, led by U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, never gave up.
Patience finally paid off and Fort Worth’s project moved well beyond just a vision.
But with the latest estimated completion date of 2032, there is still plenty to be done.
The $1.1 billion project involves digging a 1.5-mile bypass channel north of the Tarrant County Courthouse and rerouting the Trinity River to improve flood control and carve out an 800-acre island for new development. It’s already two decades in the making and will be a 30-year endeavor if the completion date holds.
“We’re moving full-speed ahead,” said Panther Island spokesman Matt Oliver.
Over the years, the project has faced public criticism over skyrocketing costs, complexity and long delays; critics have derided it as a “boondoggle.” Three bridges built to span the bypass channel and provide access to the island were labeled “bridges to nowhere.”
Among the biggest obstacles to progress was the shortfall of federal funds that were expected to expected to pay for designing and digging the bypass channel.
In 2016, Congress authorized $526 million for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to spend on the flood control measures. But the total of federal money allocated to the project prior to 2022 amounted to only $62 million.
Among the reasons blamed for the funding lapses were perceptions of mismanagement and impropriety within the Tarrant Regional Water District, the agency charged with overall responsibility for the project, as well as nepotism involving the project’s leading patron, Kay Granger, and her son J.D. Granger, who was hired as the top executive overseeing the project.
But with significant changes within in the water district, including the departure of J.D. Granger, the project finally got a hefty commitment of federal money that had long been anticipated. A major infrastructure bill put forth by the Biden administration and approved by Congress in November 2021 included $403 million for Panther Island.
Like most Republicans, Granger voted against the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill but nonetheless praised the funding for Panther Island in a January 2022 announcement, saying “this is a great day for Fort Worth.”
Since then, the Panther Island project has been moving ahead on several key fronts, including flood control protection measures under the direction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; utility relocations and street modifications by the city of Fort Worth; and continuation of the water district’s role in land acquisition, demolition and environmental cleanup of the island property – undertakings that are nearly complete, according to Oliver.
Even before the $403 million was approved, design of the north and south sections of the bypass channel had begun, Oliver said. Officials say the channels will provide enhanced flood control protection to more than 2,400 acres of property in Fort Worth neighborhoods.
Besides the bypass channels, the planned flood control measures involve complex infrastructure improvements such as flood flow control gates, a storm-water pump station, flood water storage and a water control dam.
“We have been focused on awarding the engineering and design contracts for the bypass channel, isolation gates and pump station, which give us the detail we need to update the total project cost,” said Clay Church, spokesman for the Fort Worth District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “The project has received $518 million to date,” including local contributions.
Along with advancement of infrastructure improvements, plans are evolving for the future development across the island of more than 500 acres that was originally billed as a walkable lifestyle hub punctuated by a San Antonio-style riverwalk.
The city hired the consulting firm of HR&A Advisors to help define and frame the development aesthetic of the island. The national consulting firm issued a preliminary report and held a series of public meetings for Fort Worth residents to gather input for a final report.
The consultants will also consider the future of LaGrave Field and other notable and historic buildings in a former industrial area that will become part of Panther Island.
Meanwhile, plans for future private development are taking shape.
Austin-based Seco Ventures, a commercial real estate company, recently purchased a tract of approximately 26 acres from the private investment firm of Panther Acquisition Partners Ltd. Seco now owns the largest parcel of private land on the island.
“We view Panther Island as a legacy project for us,” Joshua Needham, a partner at Seco Ventures, told the Business Press. “It will take many years to fully develop but we are very excited to bring our work to Fort Worth and Panther Island.”
Separately, plans for a mixed-used project on Panther Island by Fort Worth-based Tillar Partners were recently announced.
