Current market conditions have dampened development activity in Fort Worth.
Between residential and commercial projects, developers have taken out nearly 4,600 building permits so far this year. That’s down 19 percent compared to the first four months of 2022, the Dallas Business Journal reported, citing data from a City of Fort Worth development activity report.
The sharpest drop came from the multifamily sector, which saw an 82 percent decrease in issued permits since last year. Building permits for single-family projects were down 41 percent in the first four months of this year compared to the same period in 2022, the outlet reported.
New commercial building permits fell 33 percent from March to April, while dropping 49 percent year-over-year.
Fort Worth had $2 billion of developments in the pipeline as of September. But hiked interest rates, bank failures and soaring property tax assessments have caused developers to hit the pause button.
New multifamily developments in Fort Worth have tapered off since 2019, when 6,000 units were in the works. Developers started about 5,100 new units in 2020, 4,000 units in 2021 and 4,800 last year, the outlet said.
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A lack of available land also poses a problem. Tim Downey, CEO of Southern Land Company, spent 12 years finding a site for the company’s luxury apartment project called Deco 969. The scarcity of land has led to minimal residential projects in the downtown area, he said.
Meanwhile, permits were recently issued for Westport No. 25, a $52 million commercial project at 14800 Blue Mound Road, and Public Market Senior Living, a 199-unit senior living complex at 1400 Henderson Street.
—Quinn Donoghue