Goldenrod Breaks Ground on $400 Million Mixed-Use Investment in Fort Worth

Goldenrod has begun work on Van Zandt, which will include 100,000 square feet of offices, 226 apartments and 13,000 square feet of retail in the 2800 block of West Seventh Street.

Nearby, the company also plans One University in the 3000 block of Morton Street, which will include around 115,000 square feet of offices, 242 apartments and a 176-key Autograph Collection hotel called The Tycoon. Altogether, the projects represent an estimated $400 million investment in an area that is seeing a wave of commercial development. After some delays, Goldenrod selected OLINE Construction as the general contractor for the Van Zandt. Zach Wiegert, managing principal at Goldenrod, said during the groundbreaking ceremony that the project has been a long time coming. "We're excited about the opportunity of bringing a lot of jobs here to town, to this area," he said. "[One University] will be right around the corner in about four months."

Goldenrod's developments are part of a wave of mixed-use and office projects in Fort Worth. Including Goldenrod's two developments, more than 400,000 square feet of office space is in the pipeline. That includes a second office building at Crescent Fort Worth, which JPMorgan Chase & Co. will anchor. Larkspur Capital and Keystone Group plan to initiate construction on the first phase of a potential $1.7 billion mixed-use development in early 2026.

Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker said during the ceremony that she was introduced to Wiegert shortly after she was elected in 2021 by Hillwood's Mike Berry, where they met at the old city hall and talked about the vision for the developments. "While West Seventh and this corridor has been wildly successful, we were in kind of a time of transition, right?" she said. "There was a lot of change that needed to happen here. And we definitely, definitely needed people like Zach and Goldenrod Companies to reinvest in Fort Worth, especially around class A office, to reinvigorate this area." Wiegert anticipates the Van Zandt will complete construction in about 20 months. He said he expects to make announcements about tenants soon, and that the companies in the financial sector have expressed interest. "That's definitely some of the ones that are very excited about it," he said. "This seems like it's becoming a financial district, kind of like Uptown is and Dallas." Last August, Fort Worth City Council approved an amendment to Goldenrod's incentives deal that separated the real estate projects into two separate agreements. If Goldenrod meets the terms of the agreements, the city could provide grants totaling up to $11.17 million for the Van Zandt and up to $19.65 million for One University. According to the agreement, Goldenrod has to complete the Van Zandt and obtain a certificate of occupancy by Dec. 31, 2026, followed by One University by Dec. 31, 2027.

The plans in Fort Worth don't seem to stop there for Wiegert or Goldenrod. Wiegert said he wants to do more projects around Cowtown, and said that the company owns more land in the city.