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Tarrant County College is looking for buyers for the abandoned TXU power plant property along the Trinity River near downtown Fort Worth, on what will be the future Panther Island development.<\/p>\n
TCC bought the plant in 2004 with the idea of a 35-acre campus downtown, and eventually amassed about 47 acres on both sides of the river. But the 2008 financial crisis and other factors put a hold on any plans<\/a>, and the college instead spent $238 million to buy RadioShack\u2019s corporate campus.<\/p>\n The college said now is the time to gauge interest in the property. The dilapidated plant sits on two parcels totalling about 8 acres adjacent to the North Main Street bridge. The location will be a prime spot when the $1 billion-plus Panther Island development comes to fruition years from now.<\/p>\n \u201cProceeds from the sale can be reinvested in TCC\u2019s core educational priorities \u2014 upgrading teaching and learning equipment, to better serve our students, our future workforce for the region,\u201d TCC Chancellor Elva LeBlanc said in a statement.<\/p>\n The Panther Island project \u2014 technically a flood mitigation initiative reliant on federal funding \u2014 involves digging another channel for the Trinity River. The plan is to develop the newly formed island into a residential and commercial riverfront district that connects downtown, the Stockyards and West 7th Street corridor.<\/p>\n The vision for Fort Worth\u2019s Panther Island is changing. Here\u2019s what a new report says.<\/a><\/p>\n In 2022, a Fort Worth Star-Telegram analysis of property records showed that TCC owned a total of 21.6 acres of the Panther Island area, valued around $9.4 million.<\/p>\n Some development work has already begun. In 2023, Fort Worth-based Tillar Partners began exploring potential for $120 million mixed-use project<\/a> on nearly 12 acres of the west side of the island. In 2024, the abanonded LaGrave Field baseball stadium was demolished.<\/a> Encore Panther Island Apartments, at the foot of the North Main Street Bridge, opened about four years ago with 300 units.<\/p>\n In all, the public-private Panther Island project will open up more than 5 miles of shoreline and several hundred acres for development. As originally conceived, Panther Island\u2019s development would be focused on dense residential buildings with some commercial. Consultants HR&A Advisors recommended<\/a> in 2023 a district with both residential and a vibrant entertainment hub, outdoor recreation and the potential to attract companies and talent to the city.<\/p>\n Matt Oliver, a spokesman for the Tarrant Regional Water District, said construction on a stormwater canal system is expected to begin in 2026.<\/p>\n \u201c \u201dI think there\u2019s a lot of exciting momentum around Panther Island right now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The TXU plant was built in 1912 for the Fort Worth Power & Light company by the Cleveland Construction Co. of Ohio. The steam-driven plant, with 265-foot smokestacks, used water from the river to generate electricity for homes, downtown buildings and the Stockyards meatpacking plants.<\/p>\n The Fort Worth Record and Register newspaper reported in 1912 that the structure under construction would be \u201cone of the greatest industrial plants\u201d in the Southwest with a promise of attracting new industry to the city \u2014 not to mention putting an end to \u201cpetty inconveniences\u201d suffered by residents of household lights often \u201cflickering and at times going entirely out.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2014, TCC trustees issued a request for qualifications from developers and other real estate professionals for help with the building, but nothing came of those. Over the years, the roof disintegrated and many of the windows are broken.<\/p>\nAn aerial view of the north edge of downtown Fort Worth in May 1939, showing the North Main Street bridge and the former Fort Worth Power & Light plant along the river. Ritchey Flying Service\/Fort Worth Star Telegram Collection\/UT Arlington Libraries\u2019 Special Collections <\/p>\n
The old TXU power plant along the North Main Street bridge on Aug. 26, 2005. The smokestacks have since been demolished. RODGER MALLISON\/FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM <\/p>\n