Gentrification..... What?

I have never heard of this term gentrification. After I read up about it really was interesting. Downtown Fort Worth and specifically Sundance Square are perfect examples of this process. The Fort Worth Stockyards were the original lure that brought the foot traffic to the area. Tourist would wander around the corrals or the general stores for a souvenir or two. But, that was about it for entertainment. Downtown was not considered the safest place to hang out. Boy how that has changed.

I think it started for me when the Tandy Center opened an outlet mall and an ice skating rink. We now had a reason as a family to go downtown. The down side to that was that it was located just blocks from the “projects”. Not very appealing to tourist or locals for that matter.
That all change when the Bass brothers and years later Radio Shack came to town. When the Bass brothers built their towering buildings it was a statement in the skyline of Fort Worth. Not only did they bring jobs to the area but they also put their money into the Sundance Square area. Soon Bass Hall opened and brought in a diverse culture. The streets were lined with coffee shops and ornate landscaping. A place you could stroll through the streets with your family to eat ice cream and feel safe.

Radio Shack decided to move their headquarters to Fort Worth and specifically wanted to build where the projects were located. They did just that. Moving the projects helped people feel a little safer when downtown. Not to mention the cops on bicycles and horse back.
People soon took notice of the change and decided they wanted to live among it. Apartments and lofts are popping up everywhere. The first was the Fire Stone Tire Store. It was built in 1920 and revived into upper scale condos and apartments in 1999. They kept the retro look and it is cool. The newest and most impressive is the Texas & Pacific train station built in 1931. It is massive and very architecturally appealing. Especially to any young yuppie wanting the downtown life.

Sundance Square is a great place to go to do many different things. It is a case of gentrification gone good.