A. Lee Graham lgraham@bizpress.net
Berry Street redevelopment continues as land just east of Paschal High School awaits planned new office and retail space. “We think it’s a great spot and offers something in that part of town that hasn’t been tapped into yet,” said Trey Neville, vice president of Transwestern’s retail division in Fort Worth. The commercial real estate agency owns the property at 2000 W. Berry St. and is serving as lead contractor for the project, which is located where Ewell Fuel Co. once stood. VLK Architects is project architect. The project, also known as 2KWB for its street address, borders Berry Street to the south, extends almost to West Bowie Street to the north, borders Gordon Avenue to the east and is east of the former Blockbuster Video building along Berry.
Situated just west of the West Berry-Cleburne Road intersection, the 50,000-square-foot tract is set to house 3,600 square feet of retail and 3,600 square feet of office space. Just north of the building will be a green space for recreation, with both aspects making up phase one of what eventually could be three phases of development. At least one of those could feature residential housing, but that possibility – and the rest of a second or third phase – has not been confirmed. “We kind of wanted to avoid that [a residential component] in this first building, but are considering it as we move forward,” Neville said. The property is now zoned MU-2. Allowed uses are general commercial, mixed-use shop front, apartments-condominiums and single-family homes.
A handful of nearby residents attended a Dec. 15 public meeting on the project, the latest in several such forums where Transwestern explained development plans. No organized opposition has publicly opposed the project. Having won project approval from the city’s urban design committee and vocal support from some neighbors at the community meetings – including those living in Ryan Place, University West, Bluebonnet Hills and Berkeley Place – Transwestern’s the next step is to submit civil engineering plans to the city. “We feel like we’ve met all the city requirements for this project,” said Neville. He acknowledged that not all project funding has been confirmed. “We’re still talking to banks, [but] nothing [regarding total funding is] concrete right now,” Neville said. The first and only confirmed phase is expected to cost about $1.8 million, with a $3.6 million total budget possible if all three phases reach fruition. A second building also would front West Berry Street. If plans remain on schedule, Neville said, construction on the first phase could start in late January or February and end next summer. Only two tenants have been confirmed: a yoga studio and a Hawaiian shaved ice business, though Neville declined to identify the businesses by name.