North Fort Worth senior housing project on hold, pending council vote

A senior living development planned for north Fort Worth will be delayed a week as the city works out citizen concerns regarding the design of the building.

The Fort Worth City Council was supposed to vote Aug. 23 to annex land and designate the property with multifamily residential zoning. While the council approved the annexation of about nine acres of vacant land located west of Interstate 35W at Harmon Road and Golden Heights Road, the zoning case was moved to Aug. 30 as nearby residents expressed several concerns, such as the building’s three-story height allowing those inside the apartment to see into the backyards of the surrounding neighborhood.

Property owner Whitehead-Smith Investments, Ltd., is working on the apartment project with California-based developer Amtex Housing. The plan is to build a 160-unit apartment, named the “Harmon Senior Villas,” at 12801 Harmon Road. Construction is expected to begin in early 2017.

However, after some nearby residents expressed concerns about the building’s height, the city council voted to move the zoning case to the following week. Councilman Dennis Shingleton, whose district includes the development, said the city will work with the developer to create a buffer between the apartment and neighborhood to help mitigate the issue.

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The property currently produces about $1,730 in tax revenue each year, according to a city staff report. Once the project is built, the city estimates an increase in property tax revenue by about $1.8 million over the next 10 years.