The biggest questions for 2026

In 2025, Fort Worth remained one of the fastest-growing cities in America and surpassed the one million residents mark. Entering the new year, many questions remain as to the impact of that growth. What will be Fort Worth's biggest urban development stories in 2026, and which unknowns will get answers?

• Who will buy the TXU power plant?

Owned by Tarrant County Community College for years, the college announced that the historic structure, and a potential key piece of Panther Island, would be auctioned off. Who will buy it, and what will they do with it?

• What will come of the Panther Island RFQ?

In October, the Tarrant Regional Water District issued a request for qualifications, seeking developers who could build on twenty acres of land on the future island. 

• What will the Convention Center Phase II look like?

Renderings are expected to be unveiled in February of the replacement of the "flying saucer" arena on the north end of the convention center, which will be replaced with more meeting space. Construction is expected to start mid-year.

• What will happen to the Convention Center pad site?

Related to the Phase II question above, Phase I cleared nearly three acres of land for possible development east of the Center. City leaders want a 1,000-room hotel on the site. Could this be Downtown’s next skyline-changing tower?

• Will there be progress at T&P Warehouse?

2026 will mark 28 years since Dallas-based Cleopatra Investments purchased the hulking 1930 warehouse, highly visible from I-30 and Lancaster Ave. Even after all that time, the property remains vacant with no solid plans in place.

• What will Hillwood do with the block they purchased in Downtown? 

Few local developers are as well-respected as Hillwood, founded by Ross Perot. That's why the 2023 news that Hillwood had purchased an entire city block (bound by Calhoun, Jones, 6th and 7th) in Downtown caused such a stir. Nearly three years on, there hasn't been a peep about plans for the site.

• What happens with Downtown’s empty historic highrises?

Several large downtown highrises are empty or for sale. The Oncor Building has plans for a residential conversion, which are seemingly on hold. The Bob R. Simpson Building and STS Tower are both for sale. The Fair Building had plans for a residential conversion that fell through. The Oil and Gas Building's latest proposal is for a hotel. Sundance Square's Petroleum Building appears to be empty. Will these historic properties make a bounce back to activity?

• Who buys the City’s properties downtown?

After consolidating several departments into the new City Hall, the City has been marketing properties near the old City Hall for sale. Chief among these is a nearly full block just east of the old city hall, which includes the historic Lone Star Gas building on Monroe. And, what happens with the old City Hall? 

• Will Resia move forward with the Jones St project?

Florida-based developer Resia has not yet started construction on the planned 400+ unit, 12-story multifamily project situated just outside of Fort Worth Central Station. Resia's Fort Worth track record is 50/50, the North City towers are rising now at the 278/35W split, but another project downtown, near the new City Hall, seems to have fallen through. 

• Will the Texas A&M Fort Worth campus keep growing?

Work on the first new building at the TAMU campus, the Law and Education Building, is wrapping up. The next phase, the Research and Innovation Building, is in the planning stages, with construction possibly starting in 2026. 

• Old Cook Campus

The W.I. Cook Memorial Hospital, which would grow and become Cook Children’s Medical Center, was started in 1929 at 1212 Lancaster Ave. The building that housed the hospital has been vacant for several years now, with a few proposals, such as a hotel and senior living being floated, but none advancing. 

• What will happen with Butler Place?

Segregated away from the rest of the city by a ring of highway just east of Downtown, the former Butler Place Housing Community has been closed since 2020. City leaders have been seeking the highest and best use of the challenging, but large, plot of land. To date, no firm plans have come together. 

• Will Race Street get momentum?

The Race Street area had a moment, a new streetscape, new business, and tons of multifamily development. In recent years, that has slowed down. Could Race find a new green flag?

• Will plans for the Montgomery Street Antique Mall site be announced?

A March 2025 zoning change signaled the beginning of the end for the mall. The new zoning allows for much higher density, mixed-use and hotel options on the property. At this time, though, no timeline for the development and future of the mall has been unveiled. 

• What's next at Left Bank?

Left Bank is one of the largest projects in Fort Worth, already containing nearly 1,000 residential units, a grocery store and more retail. Two major sites remain undeveloped, one owned by apartment developer Lang Partners, who has long planned a 6-story building, and another property on the north end of the development zoned for high-rise residential. So far, no movement is ongoing with either of these.

• What will the impact of Westside Village be?

Larkspur and Keystone Capital have teamed up on what is potentially the largest mixed-use project ever in Fort Worth. Set to rise on the site of the former FWISD HQ and eventually replace the Autobahn Dealerships (which are moving to South FW along the Chisholm Trail), Westside Village could be a truly transformative project. The developers have even gone so far as to rename a section of White Settlement Blvd after the development itself. 

• Is the Montgomery Plaza redevelopment dead?

In December 2022, the Fort Worth City Council approved a zoning change to allow several hundred units of multifamily to be built on parts of Montgomery Plaza, which would replace a portion of big-box retail and parking. Since then, nothing has happened and the project appears dead in the water. 

• What happens with the Community Arts Center?

Formerly the home of the Modern Art Museum, the City took over the facility after the Modern moved to its current Tadao Ando-designed home in 2001. After years of use as a community-led facility for the arts, the city closed the property, citing a multi-million dollar repair bill. Now, the building lies vacant with no clear future, though community-led efforts to reopen the facility are underway.  

• Who will buy the Ridglea Theater?

The beloved theater was listed for sale in August 2025. Thus far, no rumors of a buyer have emerged. 

• What will be the impact of the World Cup?

How will the DFW region handle the crowds for the nine games to be hosted at AT&T Dallas Stadium?

• What will be included in the  $840 Million 2026 bond?

To be voted on in May, this year's bond is expected to allocate half a billion dollars to street and mobility infrastructure. Affordable housing, for the first time, is also being included, though to what extent remains unknown.  

• What will be Trinity Metro's next color-coded route?

Trinity Metro has so far unveiled two bus lines with special branding and color coding: the Orange Line to the Stockyards, and the Blue Line, which replaced Molly the Trolley as a downtown circulator. The agency has planned for additional lines connecting more urban neighborhoods, such as Near Southside and the Cultural District. 

• Will there be any progress on high-speed rail?

Probably no project on this list has been around for as long as High Speed Rail, and none seems further from actually being realized. With new meddling from Dallas developers, a potential one-seat HSR ride from Fort Worth to Houston is under another threat. 

• Will the Vision Zero plan be implemented with any success?

Fort Worth's Vision Zero plan has a simple goal: zero deaths on Fort Worth roadways. Will the plan have the teeth to make the vision a reality?

• Will anything come of the Mayor's Committee on Urban Rail?

The "Mayor’s Urban Rail Committee Supporting Economic Development and Tourism" final report came out in 2025, essentially an attempt at reviving the 2010 Streetcar study. Working on a 7-10 year timeline, the report called out the need to study bolstered transit connections between Fort Worth's core urban districts of Downtown, Panther Island, the Stockyards, West 7th and the Near Southside. 

• Will the Multifamily market heat back up?

Since the early 2010s, Fort Worth's urban districts have seen a significant increase in residential density. The past two years or so have been a bit slower, with only a few major projects wrapping up or breaking ground. 

• Karen Cramer Stadium at TWU

The field is done. Will the bleachers come next? 

•  How will Stop Six continue to transform?

The first few phases of the Fort Worth Housing Solutions-led Stop Six redevelopment have opened, including Hughes House and Cowan Place. More phases are planned, bringing hundreds of affordable and market-rate housing to East Fort Worth. 

• Will the National Juneteenth Museum break ground?

Renderings of the BIG-designed National Juneteenth Museum were unveiled in June 2022. Property conflicts have led to a slight shift in the museum's location, but hopefully closer to a groundbreaking. 

• Will the JPS New Hospital move forward?

The billion-dollar project will mark a fresh start for the county hospital, and one of the most important medical care facilities in the region. Already, a hulking new Pscchiatric Emergency Center has opened, a garage has risen on Magnolia Ave and a new MOB and Hospital towers expected to begin construction soon. 

• Will Harris be the next hospital to expand?

The Near Southside hospitals, JPS, Cook Children's, and Medical City are working on a combined $2.5 billion in new construction. So far, Harris is the only not to announce new plans, but they also just completed a major addition in Justin Tower just a few years ago. Justin Tower, notably, is capable of vertical expansion. 

• Will Near Southside's hotel boom continue?

On the heels of the Nobleman Hotel, several more hotels are in the proposal phase including The Canvas, Springhill Suites, Tempo by Hilton. And what about the prime site at Magnolia and Henderson, where a hotel was once proposed?

• Will Clearfork expand?

Clearfork's first attempt at a large expansion was a false start, as they attempted to consolidate the Autobahn dealerships there before they ultimately found their way further south on the Chisholm Trail. Other plans have shown development spreading south, towards the Trinity River. Will 2026 be the year more development kicks off?

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