Fort Worth Real Estate

• 06Mar

  Transition Town

  Commercial, Historic, Residential 2 Comments
  We have known for some time that peak oil would affect the way we live. This is especially true in the DFW metroplex where our infrastructure has never been conducive to mass transportion. An abundance of land has lead us down a road of mass sprawl that makes us even more dependent on fossil fuels. Some people would call this an “Oil Addicted Treadmill”.

  These are easy headlines at $5.00 per gallon of gasoline, but we unfortunately have a limited memory when commodity prices begin to eas back to a lower point. Enter the Transition Town movement which seeks to capitlize on the time between now and future energy crunches. Randy Hopkins pushes the Transition Town idea worldwide and has written a book titled “Transition Handbook: From Oil Dependence to Local Resilience”. Randy’s idea is that if “we collectively plan and act early enough” we can create a lives which are “more connected, more vibrant and more in touch with our environment. Hopkins has some essential litmus tests for how resiliant communities are:

  • Local production of food.
  • Locally manufactured goods
  • Locally owned business
  • Number employed locally
  • Ratios of parking space versus land use.

  The list continues on, but the ideas all remain the same. The objective of the Transition Town movement is to combine energy efficiency with a desire to improve the climate overall. If we were to face a protracted large scale energy shortage the natural transition would be a re-urbanization, suburban decay, and a localization of agriculture and manufacturing. The problem is that the natural transition would simply not be smooth one. Transition Town seeks to motivate proactive people for change before the need arises out of desperation.

  I personally tire of all the “green” zombies out there. This however, is a natural, logical, and responsible step. The bottom line is that we have mismanaged growth since the Second World War, and that is very evident in cities like Fort Worth.

• 05Mar

  Poor Foundations

  Historic, Residential 3 Comments
  I received a NYTimes article from September of 1999 titled “Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending” authored by Steven Holmes.The article addresses Fannie Mae’s movement at the time toward lending: I will paraphrase some of the select points of the article:

  “In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers,” Fannie Mae is “easing the credit requirements on loans”. A pilot program will “extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans”.

  Fannie Mae “has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people”. “Banks, thrift institutions and mortgage companies have been pressing Fannie Mae to help them make more loans to so-called subprime borrowers”. This “may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times”, but the government may run into trouble in a downturn, and be forced to rescue these loans and institutions.

  The blame game doesn’t really get us anywhere at all, but I’d start with Clinton, Fannie Mae, High Finance, Greenspan, Bush 2.0, Bernanke, as a short list. It is important for us to remember that housing, or anything else, doesn’t necessarily need to be manipulated into affordability. The markets react strongly when you mess with them, it just might take a decade.

• 27Feb

  Omni Hotel Getaway Giveaway

  Historic, Local Stuff, Uncategorized No Comments

  Cool news for everyone that has been dying to check out the new Omni Hotel. We are holding a contest to give away one free night at the Fort Worth Omni Hotel. Not just any night, but a “French Kiss Romance Package” Night. 

   

  What’s this contest you speak of? 

   

  It’s easy. Just write an article (doesn’t have to be a long one) about your favorite Fort Worth location that has local historical significance. The article with the most comments (ending March 19, 2009) will win the Omni Hotel stay. Email us your tireless labor, we’ll stick it up and tag your first name. Check out the official details here.

  Think: Swift Building, Amon Carter, Camp Bowie, Courthouse Bluff, Will Rodgers, Fred’s.

  What’s the “French Kiss Romance Package”?

   

  Some fancy feel goods (for two) the Omni is putting on, available on Friday’s and Saturday’s through the end of the year. The package includes French Champagne on arrival, one fancy smancy romantic turndown, and some French Toast to get you going in the morning time. They might put a mint on your pillow, I dunno.

  Any Particulars?

   

  Write a cool article, something that will make others want to comment. Don’t plagiarize, that’s lame anyway. We’ll pay for the room and the package, but not any incidentals or damage. Feel free to invite friends to comment, but we want to make sure all comments are real and unique. We’ll count them all up at midnight on the 19th of March, and announce the winner the next day. Details, details, details.

  And you thought only Obama was giving stuff away….

• 24Feb

  Masonic Home Overhaul

  Commercial, Developments, Historic 2 Comments

  You know that big compound on Berry and 287 that looks like a haunted boarding school. Looks like the city will be teaming up with developers for a multi-million dollar overhaul of the old Masonic Home. Plans are to include 500,000 square feet of retail and restaraunt space. This looks like a very promising development in what has been called an “under-served” part of the city, and I imagine that it should come together very nicely. It certainly varies from the plans announced by Mallick Group in 2006 to develop single family residence there. 

  As a historical item within the city however, I am sad to see it go. It seems that it would have been a fairly neat opportunity for restoration. The 200 acre facility opened in 1899 to care for orphans and widows. After being functional for over 100 years the Grand Lodge of Texas closed the location when it became un-economic. In 2006 Mallick had announced that they would develop around the existing structures, but I doubt that that will be the case now. 

  

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