Kairoi Residential is rushing to break ground on a major project in a historic area before the city council approves a measure to limit such developments.
The San Antonio-based developer is reportedly trying to move up its groundbreaking for “Kairoi Stockyards,” a five-building apartment development in the historical Fort Worth Stockyards district.
New documents filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation have the $35 million project, located at 400 East Exchange Avenue, slated for groundbreaking early next year. The Dallas Business Journal reported the update on Wednesday, though Kairoi did not immediately respond to its request for comment.
Once a lively livestock market in the mid-1800’s, the area north of Fort Worth’s central business district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Fort Worth Stockyards Historic District in 1976. More recently, it’s been renovated for tourism with Western-themed bars, restaurants, and not to mention the weekly Stockyards Championship Rodeo.
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As of right now, single-use multifamily developments are only explicitly prohibited in the heart of the Stockyards, where the main attractions draw tourists. Concerned that multifamily developments aren’t compatible with the high levels of tourism or the ‘Old West’ vibe, community leaders in the area proposed a zoning change that would outright ban multifamily projects in the areas to the north and east of the district’s center. The Fort Worth city council discussed the measure in early October but have not yet set a date for a vote.
Should the city council approve the zoning change, the future of Kairoi’s 441,000-square-foot project could be in question.
To the South, in downtown Austin, Kairoi started construction of the so-called ‘tallest tower in Texas’ — a $520 million project it’s been working on since 2020 with co-developer Dallas-based Lincoln Property Company. The two developers have another Austin skyscraper on 400 West Sixth Street, which landed tech giant Meta as a tenant back in January.
— Maddy Sperling