The first retail tenants have signed up at the Marine Central development at 1332 N. Main St., located at the intersection of Central Avenue and North Main in the Historic Marine neighborhood.
LanCarte Commercial says Wild Knox Hat Bar, Cultura Markets and Sol Dias Ice Cream & Paleteria will join the project. The transactions were facilitated by Brittany Doyle and Kristen Fegley of LanCarte Commercial, which represents the property on behalf of ownership.
Wild Knox Hat Bar will bring custom hat-fitting and -styling experience in a boutique retail environment, while Cultura Markets will offer a selection of specialty goods rooted in local culture. Sol Dias Ice Cream & Paleteria will add traditional paletas, ice cream, elote and other authentic Mexican specialties.
The redevelopment marks a significant milestone for Historic Northside’s commercial corridor, an area experiencing renewed investment, community-driven revitalization and increasing foot traffic. Marine Central is located between the Fort Worth Stockyards and the Panther Island districts.
“North Main continues to be one of Fort Worth’s most exciting growth corridors, and we’re thrilled to help bring businesses like these to the project,” Doyle said. “Each tenant adds something unique, and together they’re helping create a destination that serves both the surrounding neighborhood and visitors exploring the area.”
LanCarte Commercial is now marketing the remaining 9,592 square-feet of retail and restaurant space out of the project’s 33,000 total square feet.
Taking flight
A Mansfield-based aviation technology company and TechFW client has won $500,000 in a Defense Department competition in Dayton, Ohio, aimed at pushing the limits of how much weight drones can carry.
Portal Aircraft Inc. is an aerospace company developing gas turbine-powered, vertical take-off and lift, or VTOL, drone systems.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency LIFT Challenge is a program that tests novel drone designs that can carry payloads more than four times their weight.
Portal Aircraft’s powertrain design took the prize in a field of more than 80 competitors from around the country focused on new approaches to heavy-lift drone technology.
“We came to Dayton with a bold new approach to VTOL propulsion and left with DARPA’s Most Revolutionary Powertrain award,” the company said on LinkedIn. “We’re incredibly proud of what this team has accomplished and grateful for the opportunity to build alongside such a dedicated group of engineers and partners like Galaxy Unmanned Systems and Texas A&M University.”
Galaxy Unmanned Systems, also a TechFW client, is a Fort Worth-based company producing a line of lighter-than-air unmanned aircraft.
Portal Aircraft is led by founder James Thurman, a former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, aerospace engineering professor at the U.S. Naval Academy and systems engineering/architecture lead at Lockheed Martin.
Logistics acquisition
Stonepeak has acquired an 860,100-square-foot, rail-served warehouse logistics building in the AllianceTexas area.
Last year, the New York-based investment firm acquired two logistics buildings in AllianceTexas totaling 748,000 square feet.
According to a Stonepeak news release, the new building is served by two Class I rail lines, the BNSF Alliance intermodal terminal and the Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport, with direct access to Interstate 35.
Arlington BIRD
The Arlington Economic Development Corporation has added a program to support local small businesses. The Business Innovation and Research & Development (BIRD) Matching Funds program is designed to help Arlington-based technology and innovation companies grow and bring new products and technologies to market.
The program provides matching grants to companies that receive outside non-dilutive funding, such as federal Small Business Innovation Research, Small Business Technology Transfer and Fast Track awards, among others.
“This program is our investment in the businesses and innovators that will shape Arlington’s economic future,” said Kay Brown-Patrick, assistant executive director of the Arlington EDC, in a news release.
“By helping Arlington-based companies leverage competitive research and development awards, we’re strengthening our innovation ecosystem and reinforcing that Arlington is a place where big ideas become a reality,” she said.
Matching grants from BIRD are not to exceed $100,000 and may be used for eligible commercialization and research-related expenses, like product development technical research, product testing and business development. The funds may not be used for debt repayment, reimbursement of owner investment or relocation expenses.
For more information and to apply, visit the Business Resources page at ArlingtonTxEDC.com.
Hillwood goes north
Hillwood has acquired 618 acres in Pilot Point for a master-planned community.
Ben McCutchin, executive vice president of Younger Partners, brokered the sale of the property at the northwest quadrant of Friendship Road and FM 1385, north of U.S. 380, in Pilot Point. Hillwood plans to build approximately 2,000 homes there.
At full buildout the community, named Lantern by Hillwood, is expected to represent approximately $1.2 billion in investment.
“Hillwood has always believed great communities begin years before the first homes are built,” said Brian Carlock, executive vice president of acquisitions for Hillwood Communities. “Lantern gives us the opportunity to invest in an exceptional location today while thoughtfully planning the infrastructure, parks, schools and amenities that will define this community for generations.”
Lantern by Hillwood will be the developer’s sixth Denton County master-planned community, continuing Hillwood Communities’ strategic expansion. The community will join the company’s growing North Texas portfolio, including Landmark by Hillwood in Denton, Treeline by Hillwood in Justin and Ramble by Hillwood in Celina.
Water, water not everywhere
Fort Worth-based Ranchbot recently raised $15 million in financing that is part of a corporate “flip-up” that establishes Ranchbot Technology Holdings Inc., a Delaware corporation, as the group’s new global parent company.
The transaction marks a significant milestone in Ranchbot’s evolution from an Australian technology pioneer into a global ranch technology company based in Fort Worth, according to the company. Ranchbot’s main product line is a satellite water level monitor and trough monitor system for ranches.
“This raise is an important milestone for our company and our dedicated team, who have worked for more than a decade to deliver solutions for the ranching and farming communities of the United States and Australia,” said Andrew Coppin, co-founder and executive chairman of Ranchbot.
Ranchbot will deploy the new capital to expand its team across the United States and Australia, expand its existing products while building out new adjacent technologies, and pursue collaborations and partnerships.
Do you have news for Bob on Business? Email business editor Bob Francis at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org.
Disclosure: Hillwood is a contributor to the Fort Worth Report. News decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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