Abandoned Fort Worth Power Plant Draws 50 Potential Buyers

A hulking industrial relic on the north bank of the Trinity River in Fort Worth attracted at least 47 potential buyers after decades of vacancy.

Owner Tarrant County College extended its Nov. 20 bid deadline, giving suitors more time to pursue a site poised to become a marquee piece of the future Panther Island project, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.

Almost 50 lookers have downloaded bid materials for the property, a 1912-built former Fort Worth Power & Light station at 411 North Main Street. It once supplied electricity to nearby neighborhoods, downtown buildings and the Stockyards’ meatpacking lines. The plant’s twin 265-foot smokestacks have long made it one of the city’s most recognizable — if increasingly dilapidated — landmarks.

The building fronts the Trinity River Trails, a 100-mile-plus hike-and-bike system.

Interest is strong despite an appraisal pegging the riverfront site at just $9.42 million, according to the Texas Bid Network.

TCC bought the plant in 2004 as part of a plan to build a downtown campus. After the financial crisis derailed those ambitions, the community college system bought the former RadioShack headquarters, now home to its Trinity River and Connect Campus, across the West Fork of the Trinity River from the old power plant.

TCC leaders have pitched the TXU building as a redevelopment play, citing the surge of attention around Panther Island and the possibility of historic tax incentives to help remake the structure.

Chancellor Elva LeBlanc said in October that Panther Island sits “at the center of Fort Worth’s rapid growth and redevelopment,” arguing the property is well-positioned along North Main Street for a buyer willing to tackle its challenges.

Those challenges are real. The plant’s structural deterioration has made it an expensive liability for the college and a dangerous draw for trespassers. In April, 27-year-old Estafania Sosa died after falling 50 feet through internal shafts near the hydroelectric portion of the facility — an incident that amplified pressure on the school to offload the site.

As for the value of the real estate, location does the heavy lifting. Roughly 21 people joined a recent walkthrough, though TCC couldn’t confirm how many firms they represented. The turnout was enough for officials to push the bid opening date to Dec. 18 to give investors more time to model the site’s potential.

— Eric Weilbacher