New hotel, mixed-use development could replace Fort Worth’s Montgomery Street Antique Mall
Cowtown could be saying goodbye to the popular Montgomery Street Antique Mall as a mixed-use development — featuring an iconic 12-story hotel, retail space and multiple residential units — is planned for the site.
The project is proposed on a 7.4-acre tract, located at the bustling corner of Interstate 30 and Montgomery Street, south of Dickies Arena in the Cultural District. The site is a former industrial facility.
Developers received rezoning approval for the property — addressed as 2501 and 2601 Montgomery St. — from the Fort Worth Zoning Commission during a Feb. 12 meeting. The proposed project, described as attractive and functional in a city staff report, would include a stand-alone multifamily residential building.
The panel approved rezoning the site from “J” medium industrial to “PD/G” planned development for all uses in “G” intensive commercial that would include commercial, multifamily, distillery/brewery and hotel uses. The development would include the mall site in addition to a vacant lot next door. A brewery is listed among the uses for the site, but the developer has no plans for such an enterprise.
The proposal, which commissioners said requires a site plan, will still need approval from Fort Worth City Council members before it can move forward.
A staff report said the project is compatible with the surrounding area, just west of the Fort Worth Botanic Garden. The property would be designated as a Cultural District Mixed-Use Growth Center.
Arlington Heights resident Jenifer Reiner told the panel she was concerned about traffic in the area, especially from vehicles using the I-30 frontage road.
Phoenix Property Co., which is developing the property, is talking with the Texas Department of Transportation about intersection improvements, a company representative told the zoning commission.
“For us to have a successful development, people need to get in there as well,” the representative said.
The designation request from owner Montgomery Corner LLC comes the day after the City Council approved a resolution to rezone 83.7 acres of land mostly on the west side of Montgomery from industrial to intensive commercial use. The strip includes churches, midcentury industrial buildings and retail shops. Special permits could be granted to some existing businesses, such as nut distributor Vending Nut and bar Ye Olde Bull and Bush, to adhere to the new guidelines. Automotive shops would be banned.
The rezoning change would also affect the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, which would be designated as parkland.
Council member Macy Hill, who initiated the rezoning, met with property owners between Sept. 12, 2024, and Jan. 9 to discuss the proposed changes. A public hearing on the changes will be held by the zoning commission before it comes back to council, according to the resolution.
In addition to zoning changes, the hotel and mixed-use project would promote “attractive freeway and mixed commercial uses” along Montgomery Street as well as “appropriate infill development of vacant lots,” the staff report said.
The mall did not mention the Montgomery Street development proposal on its website. Management did not immediately return a call from the Fort Worth Report.
Eric E. Garcia is a senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org.
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