Downtown living, office space remain in high demand

Downtown 2017

Downtown Fort Worth continues to be a place where people want to not just work and play, but live.

Downtown Fort Worth Inc. has released its 2017 State of Downtown, an annual publication that offers analysis of Downtown’s primary real estate performance indicators and economic, social and education data.

The report shows that apartment occupancy remained above 97 percent for the year. Investment in Downtown housing is expanding. In 2017, 1,516 residential units were under construction or completed – a 35.8 percent increase in Downtown housing inventory.

Shorter term occupancy is also increasing. According to data from the report, Downtown hotel occupancy averaged 74.4 percent – well above the national average of 65.9 percent. Strong occupancy and revenue led to growth in the hospitality market with 359 rooms added in 2017 and another 752 either under construction or planned.

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Retail continues to strengthen with a 97.1 percent occupancy rate.

The office market continues to rebound from the Oil and Gas collapse, with nearly 100,000 square feet of positive absorption in 2017 and a net 677,000 square feet absorbed over the past three years. Class A office occupancy rates in downtown were 87 percent in 20 17, up slightly from 86.4 percent in 2016. Opening in 2018 in downtown is the Frost Tower Fort Worth, which is adding 259,000 square feet of office space Downtown.

“All the growth we are seeing will have a substantial effect on the Downtown economy. With a 35.8 percent increase in housing units and 27.8 percent increase in hotel rooms, the economic impact on Downtown from just hotel revenue and resident spending should exceed $33 million.” said DFWI Researcher, Arrie Mitchell.

“This Downtown growth benefits the entire city and county,” said Rick Baumeister, Fort Worth Managing Principal at CliftonLarsonAllen and DFWI Chairman. “The construction boom in Downtown will add about $290 million in property value, and that translates to an $8 million annual annuity to our taxing jurisdictions – without the need for new roads, fire stations or other costly infrastructure.”

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The State of Downtown is produced by Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. (DFWI) and Fort Worth Public Improvement District #1 (PID).

To download the 2017 State of Downtown report, visit http://www.dfwi.org/research.

About

2017 State of Downtown at a glance:

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Population and Housing:

• Downtown’s residential population has increased by 116.4% since 2000.

• Average apartment rent increased 17.8% since 2010.

• Number of condominiums sold in 2017 – 110, median price $258,000.

• Number of residential units planned or under construction – 2,543, which represents a 58.8% increase in the Downtown apartment inventory.

Office & Employment:

• Downtown has over 45,285 employees with a total payroll of more than $3 billion.

• Downtown has over 5,807,000 SF of Class A office space.

Retail:

• Average retail occupancy of 95.9% since 2013.

• Downtown residents spend $58 million annually in Downtown.

Hospitality:

• 690,000+ room nights sold in 2017.

• $116+ million in Downtown hotel revenue in 2017.

• 359 Hotel Rooms added in Downtown in 2017, an increase of 14.2%.

• 752 Hotel Rooms planned or under construction, an increase of 26.1%.

Transportation:

• Bus use in Downtown has increased by 51.2% since 2006.

Tax Collection:

• Over $17,500,000 in hotel taxes paid in Downtown in 2017.

• Over $60,000,000 in property taxes paid in Downtown in 2017.