Another project that places Fort Worth front-and-center with the Trinity River has officially opened. Trademark Property Co. celebrated the official opening of the 63-acre Waterside development at Bryant Irvin Road and Arborlawn Drive in southwest Fort Worth on Tuesday.
Trademark calls the development the first ground-up Conscious Place development model.
“We created our Conscious Place initiative to assign a higher purpose to retail and mixed-use properties,” said Terry Montesi, CEO at Fort Worth-based Trademark Property. They aren’t just for shopping, working and living; they are part of the community, and ultimately part of people’s lives. We want to ensure that our properties are active, engaged, and contributing to the betterment of the community.”
A key component of the Conscious Place initiative at Waterside is The Grove, a public space designed around several heritage trees and loaded with amenities for any visitor, such as shaded outdoor seating venues with free Wi-Fi, play areas, a 6,600-gallon rainwater cistern used to irrigate drought-resistant landscaping, public art, a community pavilion, and a community promotion shed available for use by community and nonprofit organizations. The Grove also features Waterside’s micro-restaurants, which were created to support local entrepreneurs by offering smaller spaces, lower startup costs, shorter-term leases, and community seating.
Also included in The Grove is a public art program that celebrates the area’s history with work by Texas artist, Bob “Daddy-O” Wade, made from repurposed amusement rides, playground equipment and photography from the site’s original use as the Lockheed Martin Recreation Association, and before that General Dynamics. Additional work by local artisans includes benches and a chalkboard from Brother Sister Design; tables, Adirondacks, benches, cornhole, Jenga, and a giant Adirondack by Pallet Smart; and corten steel planters, bollard covers and live oak panels by Fife Metal Works. Other public art includes a playful “Sorry, no social media” neon sign hung above the children’s chalkboard area by Greek-born, New York-based artist Esmeralda Kosmatopoulos.
“By listening to the community and putting in the extra time, investment and effort into incorporating conscious principles into a property, like local, artisan, and sustainable elements, we believe that we are creating a better experience for all stakeholders: our employees can find a greater purpose in their jobs; our tenants can find new opportunities to connect and engage; and our customers can find more than just a place to shop,” said Montesi.
Waterside, as befits it name, includes 1.8 miles of Trinity River frontage accessible via an extension of the Trinity Trails network. Soon-to-come will be a bicycle repair and air station, solar-powered charging stations, an internal trail system, a bridge and kayak and canon lesson and trial areas.
Retail tenants in the project include REI, Whole Foods Market, Sur La Table, Taco Diner, Blaze Pizza, Tokyo Joe’s, CycleBar and Zoë’s Kitchen.
Openings will continue throughout the coming months with Piattello Italian Kitchen, the second restaurant by local, Culinary Institute of America-trained chef, Marcus Paslay, and Steel City Pops, as well as additional retailers and local, chef-driven restaurants. Phase I openings also include 383 multi-family units.
When fully developed, Waterside will have 200,000 square feet of retail space and restaurants, 800 multifamily residential units, hotels, office buildings and some single-family housing.
Trademark Property has a 16-property portfolio, including AllianceTown Center, Victory Park, Watters Creek and WestBend.
www.trademarkproperty.com