Texas & Pacific Warehouse On “Most Endangered” List
by Kevin Buchanan
Preservation Texas has released their list of the Most Endangered Places for 2008, and the T&P Warehouse on Lancaster has made the list. Quoth the list:
The Texas & Pacific Warehouse is endangered due to neglect and lack of maintenance. Currently the basement is filled with several feet of water. Previous owners had started renovations to the building and left the building open to damage from water. If the building is not maintained, the integrity of the reinforced concrete structure will eventually be compromised by the infiltration of water.
The building was built in 1931 as part of the grand Texas & Pacific Terminal/Post Office/Warehouse facility on Lancaster Avenue. It uses simplified versions of the design and ornament on the T&P Terminal (now condos in the form of Texas & Pacific Lofts and a Trinity Railway Express station). All three buildings were designed by legendary Fort Worth architect Wyatt C. Hedrick, who also designed the Fort Worth Club Building, the Central Fire Station, the Will Rogers Memorial Center, the Electric Building and Hollywood Theater, the Lone Star Gas Company Building, the Public Safety & Courts Building, the Fair Building (now the Commerce Building), the Sanger Building, Amon Carter-Riverside High School, the downtown YWCA, the Petroleum Building, several campus buildings at TCU and Texas Wesleyan, the Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells, and some of Fort Worth’s most missed demolished buildings like the Medical Arts Building, the Aviation Building, and the Worth Hotel and Theater.
Back in July, word got out that the city had struck a deal with the building’s owners to redevelop it into 300 loft apartments and ground-floor retail. Not much has been said about that project since then, but I have gotten ahold of a couple of renderings of the project:
It remains to be seen if the project is getting off the ground. Regardless, there’s a real danger here for the building’s owners – since the T&P Warehouse is one of the few buildings downtown with real protection, they can be found guilty of “demolition by neglect.” A similar situation arose with the old Knights of Pythias building on the east side of downtown. After controversy erupted over the building’s neglect and the owner’s plans to tear it down, it was bought by the TownSite Company and is being redeveloped into loft condos.
All three of the structures on Lancaster are grand parts of our city’s history, and we need to make certain that the T&P Warehouse gets redeveloped and is around for a long time to come. If I can find out any more details about the rumored redevelopment, I’ll be sure to share.
For another blogger’s take, props to John Peter Smith for his post on the subject as well.
7 Comments, Comments or Pings
Jim Wilson
Kevin,
Thanks for this info. This is one of those buildings which add true character to Fort Worth. Those just passing by on the highway see this and better understand Fort Worth has, and appreciates, its heritage… we need to maintain these ties to Fort Worth’s past.
Props to John Peter Smith for his artcile too…
Kevin, you need to fix the link to the JPS artcile- remove the quote at the end of the link for it to function.
Thanks again.
Feb 11th, 2008
Pete Wann
Fixed. Thanks Jim.
Feb 11th, 2008
steph
I really hope this building gets the restoration it deserves. I don’t understand why the owner is just sitting there letting it go to waste. Not only is it just careless, it’s a huge liability for the owner. If they can’t afford to restore it, they should sell it to someone who can.
Feb 11th, 2008
Will
I recently toured a loft at the Terminal. It is a really great space (and a purchase comes with a free Vespa). There’s an old diner on the level where you board Trinity Railway and it is in the process of being renovated. And in the future the train may stop at DFW Airport. Can you imagine leaving your loft, going down the elevator to the lobby, grabbing coffee, boarding the train and being let out at the airport? And eventually Lancaster will be pedestrian-friendly enough where you could probably walk to Sundance Square. With the Omni going up, the former Hyatt being rehabbed, the old Care-A-Lot Inn turning into a major chain hotel – maybe someone could come in and build a combination hotel and residence in the endangered warehouse. Airport travelers/conventioneers could take the train to the Warehouse.
Feb 11th, 2008
Jim Wilson
Yes, you will be able to take the train to DFW Airport.
The “T” is putting in a commuter rail (not light rail) service. The service will use existing freight lines so they only need to build stations. A listing of the stations can be seen at http://www.sw2nerail.com/stations.asp
The plan (5 years) is to run from southern most station (Columbus and Granbury) to I-20 and Granbury, into Medical District, TCU, next to Montgomery Plaza, Grapevine, Richland Hills, and into the North Terminal of DFW Airport -with shared stops at current Fort Worth T&P and Intermodal stations in Fort Worth (you could transfer to the TRE).
While we need east-west rail too – this is a great first start. This can really link-up some areas, make downtown and NE or SW areas more attractive places to live/commute to.
Yes, stepping out from loft in Fort Worth to a coffee shop, then onto a train would be awesome.
Feb 12th, 2008
John Swanson
I am a current resident at the T&P lofts building, and i recently talked with the proprietor of the resteraunt (also a resident). I was informed that they hope to have the kiosk portion operational sometime in May ‘08! The kiosk will include coffees, beverages (alcoholic and non), and a variety of foods. They are restoring the restaraunt space to maintain the ambiance of a historic train depot, and hope to have a full service restaraunt running by the beginning of 2009. This will certainly add a unique touch to the historical district! Hope to see it soon!
Mar 1st, 2008
Reply to “Texas & Pacific Warehouse On “Most Endangered” List”
By posting your comment, you agree to abide by the terms of the West and Clear comment policy.