$12M Townhouse Project Starts in CBD Heart

FORT WORTH-Closing out two years of project preparations, a local developer and architect has started construction on a one-block site at the edge of Sundance Square. The $12-million townhouse development is being sized up by investors and private buyers alike.

"It's a great location," Ken Schaumburg of Schaumburg Architects tells GlobeSt.com. "It will be the only townhouses you'll find abutting Sundance Square. We got a good buy on the property a few years back so it's made it viable to build." The CBD site is bounded by Sixth, Seventh, Jones and Grove streets--a parking lot that's now being scraped by Dallas-based Turner Construction Co. to make way for vertical construction on the 14-unit Le Bijou.

Schaumburg, who has three other projects under way in the city, is still tweaking the final design, but has laid out an ell-shaped development of three-story townhouses with rooftop terrace gardens. The units range from 3,300 sf to 4,800 sf, with sale tags from $800,000 to $1.2 million. Amenities include elevators in each townhouse and two-car garages. The site, wrapping around US Congresswoman Kay Granger's office, has been laid out with an interior courtyard and 10 guest parking spaces.

Dana Seals, Schaumburg's marketing director, says reservations have been placed by investors and private buyers. "We anticipate to be completely sold out before the completion," she says. "We've sold out our other projects before completion and we don't anticipate this will be any different. People really want to live here. It's the only thing like it in the city."

The 20-block Sundance Square is the city's leading draw for tourists and locals. Its 375,819 sf of street-level retail, historically 100% occupied, is anchored by Bass Performance Hall.

Schaumburg, who estimates construction will take 10 months, says he's forging ahead with financing from Omni American Bank in Fort Worth. "It's nice to see it happening," he says.