|
Location: Plaza de Las Américas is a 21 acre shopping, cultural, and professional center on Hemphill Street with Bolt Street on the South, Dickson Street on North, and the Union Pacific Railroad on the East. Please refer to the Map of Fort Worth
click
here
and the Aerial Photograph
click
here.
Demographics: Within 3 miles there are 111,690 people with an average household income of $48,054. Please refer to Page 11 for the Demographic Snapshot of the area. From 1970 to 2000 the Hispanic population within 3 miles increased 444% from 9,640 to 42,846. Within a 5 mile radius the Hispanic population increased from 15,958 to 77,311 with a 91.9% increase from 1990 to 2000. Please refer to Page 12 for the Census Trends. Within the Hispanic population 85.5% are of Mexican origin. Please refer to the 2000 census Ethnicity Report
and
click
here.
History of Property: The property was originally developed in 1907 as a steel mill ideally being served on the east by the Union Pacific Railroad and on the west by Hemphill Street which was the main North/South highway artery between Fort Worth and Waco with trolley service in the center of Hemphill. The Texas Steel Company continued in operation until 2001 and played a major role in both World War I and World War II in providing steel for the war effort.
For
information
click
here.
Project Conception:
The developers of Plaza de Las Américas have
three
primary objectives for the center. The first objective is to provide the
south
Fort
Worth
community with retail stores that have quality merchandise at a reasonable price with a bilingual sales force that is both helpful and knowledgeable. The second objective is to provide a cultural and social center for family, community, and national events. "El Palacio" will have 18,000 square feet fronting the central plaza and will be specially designed to be a warm and regal home for the social and cultural events
for
the
community. The third objective is to provide professional services to the community in the form of Hispanic friendly job training programs, English and computer educational classes, medical facilities, legal services, real estate and mortgage companies, banking facilities, and Federal, state and local government extension offices.
Two Phases: The property will be developed in two phases. Phase One will consist of the southern portion of the property and include the corner of Hemphill and Bolt, the super market and adjacent stores, as well as El Palacio and the stories adjacent to it and adjacent to La Michoacana. Phase Two will be the northern portion of the property and will consist of additional retail stores and the major portion of the professional buildings. The present site plan shows a 100,000 square foot retail tenant, but we can better meet our third objective by having this space be for training, educational, legal, finance, and governmental extension offices.
Project Design:
The preliminary plans for the 21 acres are complete and are included with this information. However, these are preliminary plans and will evolve as it becomes clearer how we can best meet our four objectives.
Project Leasing: Leasing has begun for Phase One of Plaza de Las Américas.
Both
Sandy
Pofahl
and
Luis
Pina
are
actively
involved
in
the
leasing
of
the
property.
Construction: In March of 2005 a demolition contract was let for the dismantling of the steel mill with the site scheduled to be clear of buildings, equipment and debris in July of 2005. Construction of Phase One of Plaza de Las Américas is scheduled to begin in September of 2005 after concrete roadways and foundations have been removed and any environmental concerns have been remediated. Tenants will be able to occupy their space and El Palacio will be able to begin providing a home for family and community events the third quarter of 2006.
Incentives:
There are considerable incentives offered by local, state, and federal governments to encourage the dismantling of the present unsightly Texas Steel mill and the construction of a community friendly development. The property lies within the South Enterprise Zone as well as the Neighborhood Empowerment Zone. In Pages 14 to 17 of this brochure is a 4 page paper prepared by the City of Fort Worth outlining various incentives both for the developer as well as the retail and office tenants. Below is a summary of a few of these incentives:
1. Partial or full ad valorem tax abatement for 5 to 10 years
2. Reduced or waived fees, city surplus property, workforce assistance
3. State sales and use tax refunds, franchise tax refunds
4. Municipal tax abatements up to 10 years
5. Building, plat, adjustment, impact, demolition fee waiver
6. Possible loans and loan guarantees
Environmental: In 1996 the Texas Steel Company did a major remediation of the property cleaning up various areas of environmental concern. Last year there was both a Phase One and a partial Phase Two done on the property indicating there were areas of concern that needed to be addressed. HBC/Terracon conducted a Phase One for the present owner, PDLA Partners, LP. In March the owners entered into the Voluntary Cleanup Program with the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality with HBC/Terracon being the environmental consultant and coordinator. The Certificate of Completion will be received for phases as they are completed.
La Michoacana:
Two years ago the owners of La Michoacana purchased one acre on Hemphill in the middle of the property which had the 15,000 square foot Texas Steel main office building on it. Renovation is nearly complete and they will be opening their La Michoacana meat market in January. They are very popular Hispanic retailer and will bring considerable traffic to the site.
|
