Responding to public interest in local entrepreneurial and artisan merchants, Trademark Property Co. has announced a micro-restaurant program aimed at attracting unique restaurant concepts to Waterside, its 63-acre, mixed-use development currently under construction at Bryant Irvin Road and Arborlawn Drive.
Fort Worth-based Trademark will lease three or four 600-1,000-square-foot micro-restaurant spaces exclusively planned for the property to local and regional businesses, it announced on Monday.
In an effort to provide local entrepreneurs with an opportunity to lease space they might not otherwise be able to invest in, Trademark said it will offer smaller spaces, lower startup costs, shorter term leases, free outdoor seating and generous tenant improvement packages, as well as other benefits.
“During community engagement sessions, we heard a resounding call for local and artisan merchants. We’re answering that call by committing to only lease these micro-restaurant spaces to the best local or regional concepts,” said CEO Terry Montesi in a news release.
The micro-restaurants will be located around The Grove, Waterside’s central public space. The area will serve as the heart of Waterside, featuring shaded outdoor seating for several restaurants, public art incorporating the site’s history and the re-use of existing playground and amusement ride equipment, a community pavilion, a community promotion shed, and activity areas for all ages.
The micro-restaurant program is a part of Trademark’s Conscious Place initiative, a stakeholder-driven development model that aims to ensure its properties are more than just places of commerce, but also places of community and meaning.
Waterside broke ground on its first phase of development in 2014 and announced a 45,000-square-foot Whole Foods Market, the first in Fort Worth. as its first anchor tenant. Most recently, REI was signed as the second anchor, also a first in Fort Worth.
Phase I construction is underway. It includes the retail project, expected to be mostly complete by spring 2016 when the retail and restaurants are projected to open. The development includes Whole Foods Market, REI, Taco Diner, Zoes Kitchen, Blaze Pizza, Sleep Train, Massage Heights, Envy Nails, Amazing Lash Studio plus many additional retail and restaurants.
At full buildout, Waterside will be a walkable, dynamic district including 200,000 square feet of retail space and riverside restaurants, 800 multifamily residential units, two to three hotels, office buildings, and potential for additional high density single family housing, much of which will be situated along the Trinity River.
More information is available at watersidefw.com or by following Waterside on Facebook and Twitter. For more information on micro-restaurant leasing, contact Daniel Goldware, dgoldware@trademarkproperty.com.