Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I've been lurker this forum for a few weeks trying to collect information on a variety of highrises in DFW and it seems I have found all I can using the search function, so I suppose it is time for me to ask a few questions those threads left unanswered that I was curious about.
To give you a little background information; I currently live about 50 miles south of Fort Worth and have lived around the DFW area for most of my life in various single-family homes. I have decided I would really like to buy a highrise condo in Fort Worth as a permanent home location.
Last month I had found a realtor who had a lot of highrise listings, but mostly in Dallas (and the worst parts of Dallas, might I add!), and only two or three listings in Fort Worth. Therefore, in true 'greedy-realtor' fashion, she kept pushing me towards Dallas in the hopes of securing a nice commission for herself.
Thanks to that realtor, I am rather frustrated with my highrise-searching experience and thought I should take a moment to step back from the opinions of those who care more about their commission check than helping me find a place that truly incorporates my lifestyle. Needless to say, I have dropped that realtor. And so, I join you here seeking real opinions on Fort Worth hishrise locations.
After some of my own searching, I happened upon the gorgeous units at The Tower, located at 500 Throckmorton Street. I was able to find a lot of information on this location from searches here and on the web, but I had a few questions about this building I hope someone here may be able to answer.
First being, does anyone know roughly how many of the 700-ish sq foot units this building has and an expected price point of such units when one pops up on the market? I get the feeling they don't have many units built with that sq footage and I mostly see the 900-ish sq foot or bigger units up for sale and wonder what the price differences between the two is expected to be.
Secondly, does anyone have any information on if any, most or all utilities are included in their HOA fees? All the sites I found with listings in this building didn't specify. Also, does anyone know of the condition of the HOA board's reserve funds or of any recent or upcoming assessments?
Any additional statements by someone who lives there, has lived there or know someone who lives there are also very welcome and encouraged, as those are what I wasn't able to find any information on. Specially regarding if it's a more family-oriented building, party building, lots of noise, bad management staff or whatever.
Regarding the type of venues surrounding the highrise, I would prefer areas more towards bookstores (I love bookstores/libraries, hence my username), museums, shopping and parks than bars, clubs and restaurants. So basically, more in line with daytime activities than nightlife activities. This is one of the reasons I am leaning so heavily towards The Tower, since it has many bookstores and libraries within walking distance.
Timeline is not an issue for me. I could get a place tomorrow or 36 months down the road, I'm not someone who needs to relocate in any fixed amount of time.
I'm not only interested in The Tower. If anyone knows of any other highrises in Fort Worth that fit the criteria posted below, please feel free to point me in their direction!
I am looking to buy only, not rent.
Highrises only, no midrises, town-homes, etc.
Floor-to-ceiling windows or very large windows.
Price range of $100,000-$220,000 (I currently have $150,000 in cash and would prefer something in that range to buy flat-out, but can easily secure a loan to go as high as $220,000).
Thank you very much for any assistance at all that you can offer. I'm very curious to find out if The Tower is the only building within Fort Worth with these specifics or if there are others I have yet to find. I know I will probably need to call the staff at The Tower and other highrises directly to obtain most of this information, but like I said, I am trying to take a breather from aggressive salespeople for the moment before jumping right back in to the mayhem.
your price point is the problem from what I have seen and the fact that much of what is going for "condo" living in FTW proper is not in high rises--
you say you are familiar with FTW but think about the buildings in the city--
there are FEW bldgs that could be consider HIGH rises whether they are condo-living or businesses...
FTW has many lovely condos that are 5 or 6 stories max and lower--
the Montgomery Ward location, the Neal P, Le Bijou--those are all lower than high rise...
T&P lofts on Lancaster has more floors but the location right by the freeway might not be the best and that is on the fringe of downtown re-development as well--farther to walk for restaurants and little more "iffy" for looks/safety (IMO)
your realtor is not listening to you
will PM two RE sites that are showing lots of options in FTW condos--
one specifically just condos in FTW with all condos listed by alpha
but your price point is going to make finding what you want difficult
it is low I think
the market has picked up even with all the offerings on the market
and if you want a higher floor you normally are paying a premium for that space/location
you might Google the FTW paper and check for recent article about how living downtown rated and what type of demographics are living there
it showed some changes since last survey a couple of years ago but population living downtown is growing/becoming more stable--however you choose to look at it
but think the area of "living downtown" is also growing to include the area across the river in So7 as well
Thank you so much for your assistance, loves2read! That is unfortunately what I thought the case would be. Luckily, I'm not too picky about being high up in a highrise (since the TX terrain is so noticeably flat the higher up you get). It was more that I was looking at the lower floors of such highrises for their structural detail that both my significant other and I greatly enjoy (like floor-to-ceiling windows).
It appears I might have to try and talk the SO in to a more loft-ique/midrise location to be able to suit the price point better. I really appreciate you mentioning that the T&P Lancaster building's area seems iffy to you, we looked over that area as well when searching about, but couldn't find much information on it regarding the area. I think it's pretty safe to say we'll have to cross out that location, since my SO would never let me leave the building if there was a fear for my safety walking around alone (under 5 foot tall girl, 80 lbs.). I gotta admit, that is one thing about Fort Worth that really won me over from Dallas, the well-lit streets, the Fort Worth Police Department and the walkability factor.
Thank you very much for the PMed links and advice offered through PM, you have a lot of great insight to help me narrow and widen my search in a way that would be more beneficial to us.
the Sundance Sq area has "Bass cops" on bikes that are pretty visible and I think the crime there is really pretty negligible
very few street people or kids from other areas that come in to cruse the streets and do things like smash/grab in cars...
we go downtown to Bass pretty often and often park several blocks from the Bass because of where we are eating (parking on the street) and have never had really any fear but I am normally always with my husband--6'1" and around 200 lbs--
I say that the T&P area is more sketchy but that is because of the lack of gentrification so far and the confluence of roads/freeways in the area--
it does not really lend itself to "walkability" to me--
the Sundance area, the So7 area and the Museum district all seem more pedestrian friendly to certain extent in my mind--although the So7 gets LOT of traffic on 7th itself--inside some of the developments it is really walker-only and cars are encouraged to use parking garages
you can check crime map and see types of crimes--nothing really dangerous like shootings--but I am sure that car burglary happens
the real negatives about downtown living is lack of grocery store and other retail-friendly stores like dry cleaners--
some bldgs offer concierge priviledge for things like dry cleaning and it is picked up and returned vs you doing it
and there is supposed to be grocery-- Oliver's fine foods-- Oliver's Fine Foods -- think it will offer more heat-up meals vs fresh produce/meat items but not really sure
there is Target at the Montgomery Ward shopping area that has groceries I think--and Tom Thumb store on Camp Bowie which is not that close but might work if you eat out a lot and just need to shop on one day a week or so
living in downtown FTW is not like living in many urban areas that have mix of commercial/retail/residential that replicates suburban living in micro
There are a minimum of about ten different buildings that can be considered as High rise or Loft type locations throughout Downtown Fort Worth. You also have Montgomery Ward Lofts and across the street were more lofts. Not necessarily in a High rise like the old Bank One building that you have chosen but close to the Museums, Trinity Park and other amenities. The Super Target grocery/shopping store is in the same parking lot as as the Montgomery Ward lofts.
I currently live in an apartment downtown, and a good friend of mine lives in The Tower. It is a very nice building within walking distance to Barnes and Noble (Commerce & 3rd) and the Fort Worth Central Library (Taylor & 3rd), both are within a handful of blocks of The Tower. The Trinity Trails are 1/2 mile away (if you are a runner), but other than that, there aren't really any parks in the immediate downtown area.
Within a 5 minute drive or a short bike ride if that is your thing, you have a couple big parks (like the botanical gardens) and some really nice museums. The Tower itself is very nice, and the downtown area is about as safe as a downtown can be. I think I remember seeing a couple listings of the 700sqft ~130k, and the 900sqft ~180-220k, but that was a year or two ago. (And I may be remembering wrong). The nightlife is pretty amazing if you do ever decide to go out; even if you don't drink it is nice to just walk around!
The Montgomery Ward plaza is probably not what you would be looking for; it is definitely geared for the more social crowd. (Some good bars and shopping that way) Stay away from the T&P area. The building is very nice, but they are still trying to rejuvenate that area, and aren't making much progress as of yet. Having jogged that area at night, it can be extremely sketchy.
The only main gripe is I have to drive to Montgomery plaza to grocery shop (the super Target), so that is a plus of the plaza opposed to downtown proper. I have a ton of info, feel free to shoot me an email if you have any specific questions, I will try and point you in the right direction.
The tower is about 76% rentals which is an issue for some. In the last 6 months I've noticed that it has become more of a party building and the noise from Sundance Sq. is driving owners to sell. The issue is that the condos on the market are way overpriced - $100,000 or more. I suspect because the owners bought at the peak of the market. However, if you look at other market data and also the Tarrant County Appraisal District information you will see that values closer to true market. It's tough because the agents want to sell at the price the owner wants but that is not where the market is. Take a look at the City Data "recently sold" information and you will see some bought at true markets but a few were apparently duped into over paying. I talked with an agent who other shared with me those where the buyer overpaid. When I found the additional information and presented it to the agent I never heard back. Regardless of the size of the unit, true market is about $218 - $222. If the unit has hardwood and nice granite and other upgrades increase that up to $242 at most.
Try Forest Park Tower. Might be worth a look. It's not downtown or in a particularly urban environment, but the neighborhood is beautiful. It's close to the zoo and Forest Park, and overlooks Berkley, one of Fort Worth's best areas. They have a website: forestparktower.com I live in Austin, but come to Fort Worth often. I almost did the high-rise thing in Austin, but backed out and went the mid rise route. My condo building only has six stories. I decided I didn't want to have to depend on an elevator to get to my front door.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
