Fort Worth leadership dreams of someday having a riverwalk and waterfront development similar to San Antonio.
The question facing city leaders: Is it only a pipe dream?
The city plans to move ahead with a $1.16 billion flood control effort, another step forward in the high-profile project, according to the Fort Worth Report.
The Panther Island/Central City Flood Project is receiving $403 million in federal funds from a Biden administration infrastructure allocation.
“This gives me some relief that we did not build our bridges in vain,” North Central Texas Council of Governments Transportation Director Michael Morris told the FWR. “That decision appears to have paid off, and I think Panther Island is a game changer for the city.”
Fort Worth envisions the Trinity River blending into the community the way San Antonio has designed the River Walk and incorporated the San Antonio River. It has been a tougher path for Fort Worth because of the infrastructure work needed.
“There have always been people who said, ‘We could have just added four feet at the top of the levee, saved a whole bunch of money, and not done all this,’” said architect Michael Bennett, who is advising several groups on Panther Island development, per the FWR. “And there’s another group that has been really much more focused on saying, ‘But it could be more than that.’”
San Antonio’s 15-mile River Walk attracts more than 14 million visitors per year. It generates roughly $3.5 billion annually in economic activity, the FWR reported.
When Fort Worth leaders initially looked at options, they sold it as a possible river walk as much as flood control.
“No one cares about flood control,” J.D. Granger, executive director of the Trinity River Vision Authority, said, per the FWR. “It’s almost such a big concept they can’t wrap their heads around it. What [the public] loved was San Antonio. They absolutely loved it.”
The project fell out of favor during the Trump administration before coming back on the radar with Biden.
“When did development become a dirty word?” Granger said, according to the FWR. “I’ve talked to many people about this. I can’t figure out where that got lost. You can’t separate them unless you want to pay for it all yourself.”
At least for now, the city can move forward as it strives to create its own vision.
City Council Member Carlos Flores said Fort Worth is not trying to copy San Antonio exactly and will develop its own waterfront plan.
“Fort Worth is going to do something unique here,” Flores told the FWR. “It’s good to know what San Antonio did … but Fort Worth is going to have its own vision.”