The special taxing district would fund upgrades to city amenities while work on the channel and canal system gets underway.
Christopher Torres
ctorres@star-telegram.com
A handful of property owners on Panther Island are asking the city of Fort Worth to let them pitch in for added amenities.
They’re asking the city to impose a special taxing district to pay for upgrades like better streetlights, park maintenance, litter pickup and extra police patrols.
The tax would apply to properties on the island south of the Fort Worth and Western Railroad tracks and a section of the West 7th District that will straddle the southern portion of the 1.5 mile bypass channel, according to city documents.
The petition is being led by Austin-based Seco Ventures — the largest private landowner on the island.
It is joined by Fort Worth restaurateur Tim Love’s company, Love Style Corporation, electric transmission utility company Oncor, and EMF Panther Island, LLC, which owns the Encore Apartment building.
The Tarrant Regional Water District, the island’s largest public landowner, has signed on to pay the tax despite being a tax-exempt government entity.
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Tarrant County College, another large public landowner on the island, would still be exempt unless its board votes to chip in.
The petitioners own about 58% of the land in the proposed taxing district, however, if approved, all private landowners would have to pay.
The tax will initially be capped at 2 cents per $100 valuation, but that cap will go up to 5 cents per $100 valuation when the TRWD hires a canal construction contractor, according to city documents.
The district expects to hire a contractor and begin canal construction by the middle of this year, according to water district documents.
After there has been at least $50 million in new investment on the island, the cap will top out at 16.5 cents per $100 valuation, according to city documents.
The city expects the tax will generate just under $2.4 million over its first five years in operation, according to a service plan included with the petition.
The U.S. The Army Corps of Engineers is expected to begin working on the first section of a bypass channel connecting two sections of the Trinity River just north of downtown.
The channel is meant to boost flood control and replace aging levees built in the wake of the 1949 flood.
Once the channel is complete, the channel will form a man-made island, which the city hopes will create a walkable business and entertainment district.
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Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Harrison Mantas has covered Fort Worth city government, agencies and people since September 2021. He likes to live tweet city hall meetings, and help his fellow Fort Worthians figure out what’s going on.