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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ bypass channel will cut through that area near downtown Fort Worth as seen on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2026.<\/p>\n
Amanda McCoy<\/p>\n
FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM<\/p>\n
For 25 years, Fort Worthians have been hearing about Panther Island, a gargantuan flood control and development project<\/a> that will transform an area north of downtown to include a San Antonio-style<\/a> river walk, high-rise towers and homes for 10,000 people.<\/p>\n These days, much of the area planned for the projects aren\u2019t much but grass and concrete where buildings once stood \u2014 but that is expected to change soon.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a lot to Panther Island besides the island itself. Here\u2019s what to know about where the development stands:<\/p>\n Two projects<\/p>\n What people might know locally as \u201cPanther Island\u201d as a whole encompasses two projects.<\/p>\n There\u2019s the island itself, which first was envisioned in the early 2000s as a waterfront district north of downtown with a town lake and waterfront space. The Tarrant Regional Water District, which is the Army Corps\u2019 local development sponsor, has called the plan a \u201conce-in-a generation opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n The vision for Panther Island has shifted over the years, but the core is the same today: a dense, walkable 300-acre district that supports 10,000 residents as well as retail and office space. The plan for development on the island got a facelift in 2024.<\/a><\/p>\n That new plan envisions<\/a> bike paths, public transportation, nearly 200 acres of developable land, and four canals that will act as stormwater infrastructure.<\/p>\n The island will include a 3-acre park where the Coyote Drive-In movie theater sits today. The Coyote, known since its inception to be a temporary venture, closed in September after 14 years.<\/p>\n The Coyote\u2019s pavilion, with its shady trees and its view of the Fort Worth skyline, will stay with the park and serve as a space for dining, entertainment, and recreation.<\/p>\n When the Star-Telegram toured Panther Island sites in September, shortly after the Coyote closed<\/a>, the beloved Fort Worth landmark was abuzz with construction.<\/p>\n In June, the city of Fort Worth approved<\/a> a $10 million deal to help Austin-based Seco Ventures build a 12-story apartment tower<\/a> on Panther Island. That project would be completed by the end of 2030.<\/p>\n The Encore Panther Island apartments, at 447 N. Main St., serve as a vision for what the canals are intended to look like at completion.<\/p>\n Nestled smack-dab in the middle of Panther Island\u2019s footprint \u2014 or pawprint, rather \u2014 the apartments look normal until you see the Venice-style canal snaking through the middle of a courtyard.<\/p>\n That canal was built as a test case for Panther Island\u2019s canals, said Matt Oliver, a spokesperson for the water district. Construction began in 2018.<\/p>\n A contract will be awarded for the canals in late 2026, with construction expected to begin around December 2026 or January 2027, Oliver said.<\/p>\n Central City Flood Control Project<\/p>\n The other piece of Panther Island \u2014 the Central City Flood Control Project \u2014 is limited to creating new infrastructure for flood control. Dirt has been moving on this side of the project for several years, but starting in 2027, it is expected to be much more visible.<\/p>\n Fort Worth\u2019s levee system was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the 1950s in response to a series of floods between the 1920s and 1940s.<\/p>\n The levees were built, Oliver explained, for a city of 350,000 people. With the city\u2019s population of 1 million (and the concrete that comes with development), the levees just aren\u2019t tall enough to give water a place to go in the event of a once-in-a-generation flood.<\/p>\n By the Army Corps\u2019 estimate, by the early 2000s, 86% of Fort Worth\u2019s levees were no longer tall enough to protect against that kind of biblical flooding.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you think of the river as a pipe, the pipe\u2019s not big enough,\u201d Oliver said. \u201cThe levees have done exactly what they\u2019re supposed to, but we\u2019re not going to stop growing,\u201d Oliver said.<\/p>\n To remedy that, the Army Corps will build a bypass channel along with \u201cflood water storage sites\u201d that will slow water down before it can flood neighborhoods east of Fort Worth. Some of the storage sites have already been completed.<\/p>\n Though it may get less attention than the development side of Panther Island, said Susan Alanis, the Panther Island program director for TRWD, it is a vitally important component.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that people may be concerned that flood control wasn\u2019t the priority, b<\/a>ut that\u2019s absolutely the driver of<\/a> the overall effort,\u201d Alanis said. \u201cIt\u2019s these other things that are being cobbled together to make it all work.\u201d<\/p>\n Construction is expected to begin on the north bypass channel later this winter or in early 2027, and wrap up in 2029. The southern portion of the bypass channel is still in the design phase.<\/p>\n Panther Island will be \u2018spectacular\u2019<\/p>\n All told, with its lofty vision for a multi-use haven, Panther Island is expected to cost over $1.1 billion. That estimate hasn\u2019t been updated since 2018, even as inflation has surged 33%.<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s an almost incomprehensible vision \u2014 but those who have been working on Panther Island since its early days believe in what it could create.<\/p>\n \u201cOne thing that I say when I talk to people about this project is that it has the potential of changing the definition of Fort Worth, Texas, worldwide,\u201d said Andy Taft, president of Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. \u2014 downtown\u2019s local advocacy organization and a Panther Island partner. \u201cThis is such a monumental piece of Urban work, bridging downtown and the stockyards, and creating a waterfront mixed-use magnet in an urban area like this is almost unheard of in a city as mature as Fort Worth, and it will be spectacular, and it will draw worldwide attention.\u201d<\/p>\n The pavilion that was part of the former Coyote Drive-In will remain to be incorporated in the development of the future Panther Island as seen on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2026. Amanda McCoy FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM <\/p>\n
The Encore Panther Island apartment building, on North Main Street, has the first portion of the internal canal system of the future Panther Island built between its buildings as seen on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2026. Amanda McCoy FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM <\/p>\n
A canal system is planned to cut through this area near Encore Panther Island apartment building, located on North Main Street, as seen on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2026. The canal system will act as a districtwide stormwater system for the future Panther Island. Amanda McCoy FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM <\/p>\n
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ bypass channel will cut through that area near downtown Fort Worth as seen on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2026. Amanda McCoy FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM <\/p>\n