Construction crews in the Fort Worth, Texas, area will likely be busy over the next few months, as a massive project has kicked off to redevelop a downtown area.
Sundance Square is considered to be the heart of the city's entertainment district, which includes nearly 35 blocks of shops and restaurants. However, the square itself is outdated and often ignored. Developers are hoping to change that, reports the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
"We are in the midst of what has been for the past three decades the most actively programmed public space in all of Fort Worth," Ed Bass, principal partner of Sundance Square, told the news source. "This is our plaza at Sundance Square. Through these decades, however, there's been one overwhelmingly distinctive thing about this plaza. It's always had really lousy landscaping."
The design for the new plaza has yet to be revealed, but is reportedly based off Pioneer Square in Portland, Ore. The developers also have plans for three new office and commercial buildings surrounding the plaza. In total, the three new buildings will add 221,000 square feet of office space in the next two years, and about 41,500 square feet for shops and restaurants.
Chief among these is The Commerce Building, which will have the most space on the ground floor for retail outlets. The Westbrook, named after the old Westbrook Hotel that used to be on the property, is slightly taller than The Commerce Building but with less space on the bottom. Finally, The Cassidy will feature luxury penthouse apartments along with shops and restaurants, and the name ties into the "Sundance" moniker for the plaza, calling to mind Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid.
Developers believe the new project will add approximately 200 construction jobs to the city as the buildings are erected and retailers begin moving in.
Construction crews hoping to work on these types of projects will need the tools to get the job done. The online auction site IronPlanet offers a wide array of cranes, aerial work platforms, bulldozers and much more, often at a more affordable price than buying new.
