FORT WORTH, TX - BOKA Powell will join the Fort Worth Housing Authority in a “wall-breaking” event celebrating the start of construction at Hunter Plaza in downtown Fort Worth. The $29 million redevelopment project will transform the historic 11-story property into a mixed-use, mixed income residential building, comprised of market rate and affordable units. The new Hunter Plaza will have 164 one and two-bedroom loft-style units ranging in size from 550 to 850 square feet, and 10,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.
“The redevelopment of Hunter Plaza will add and restore additional quality affordable workforce housing to the Central Business District in Fort Worth,” said Brian Dennison, vice president of development and asset management, Fort Worth Housing Authority. “BOKA Powell has been a great architectural collaborator on this transformation project and we are excited to see the project becoming a reality.”
The renovation and restoration process will preserve the existing façade of the classic 1950s apartment hotel, and interior elements including the main lobby, corridors and the original unique door frames. The renovated apartment units will feature exposed concrete columns and ceilings, and large operable windows.
“The nature of this historic property creates unique unit configurations,” said Robby Reid, project manager with BOKA Powell. “Shallow floor-to-floor heights in this historic building required creativity to make the spaces feel open and inviting. These loft-like environments feature lots of windows and light, including floor-to-ceiling glass walls in certain units to facilitate natural light infiltration.”
Building amenities will include a media room, community activity room, library, business center, and fitness room, as well as retail on the ground floor. A four-story parking garage with 182 spaces, screened with a coated fabric to soften the exterior, will be constructed on the existing surface parking lot at the back of the site.
In keeping with the city of Fort Worth’s plans to create walkable corridors downtown, an enhanced, well-lit pedestrian streetscape will connect Hunter Plaza with Sundance Square. The project is scheduled for completion in December 2015, with pre-leasing opportunities opening in October 2015.
BOKA Powell is providing architectural design and interior design services for the project, working closely with the Fort Worth Housing Authority, the building’s owner, as well as developer Carleton Development LTD, general contractor SEDALCO Construction and historic preservation consultant Quimby McCoy Preservation Architecture, LLP.
The Hunter Plaza redevelopment project includes public partners such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, the City of Fort Worth and Downtown TIF #3. The project’s private partners include funding and support from PNC Bank, Stonehenge Capital, Community Bank of Texas NA, and Bank of Texas.