A new development is planned for a 140-acre plot of land near the Dallas-Fort Worth airport between east Fort Worth and Grand Prairie.
The project, titled River Central, would see a variety of establishments, including:
- A 140-room hotel
- 120,000 square feet of office space
- A 56,000-square-foot concert hall
- 60,000 square feet of retail space
- 125 townhomes
- 1,200 apartments
- 50 acres of open space
River Central will be located near CentrePort Trinity Railway Express station, about five miles from the DFW airport. Part of the development’s draw is that residents and visitors are connected to multiple forms of transport: highways, the rail system, and the airport.
The project’s architecture firm is Gensler.
Because the development spans both Fort Worth and Grand Prairie, it needs to go through approval processes in both cities. The Fort Worth Zoning Commission recommended rezoning a 25-acre area from agricultural to high-intensity mixed use at 3500, 3508 and 3518 State Highway 360 at a meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 9, and could vote on the the initiative on Tuesday, Nov. 12.
One of the partners on the project and owner of Schaumburg Architects PC, Ken Schaumburg, said the development has cost about $5 million so far with about 80% of the engineering work complete. He anticipates River Central will break ground in 12-15 months, and said multiple grocers are already interested in the project, but no retailers have been confirmed.
A managing partner for River Central and principal at Hasen Design Build & Development, David Hasenzahl, categorized the project as a floodplain reclamation project collaborating with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Army Corps of Engineers.
Because zoning permissions have already been approved in Grapevine, Hasenzahl said the development will likely start with multifamily and retail construction in the Grapevine area.
No completion date for the project has been given so far.
