Contact: Joe Czabajszki: 817‐333‐3405 [email protected] Sarah Hill: 817‐737‐8388 [email protected] HOUSING AUTHORITY COMPLETES RECONSTRUCTION ON DOWNTOWN HUNTER PLAZA URBAN LOFTS GRAND OPENING CEREMONY TO CELEBRATE A NEW CHAPTER OF QUALITY AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT Fort Worth, TX – Fort Worth Housing Solutions (FWHS), formerly the Fort Worth Housing Authority, will host a grand opening event celebrating the completion and reopening of Hunter Plaza Urban Residences (605 W. 1st Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102) Wednesday, February 24 at 4 p.m. Local dignitaries, city officials and members of the business community will attend the event to mark the resurgence of the vacant Hunter Plaza Apartments and its transformation into a quality mixed‐use, mixed‐income residential development. “We are very excited to be reintroducing Hunter Plaza Urban Residences to downtown Fort Worth and the greater Fort Worth community at large. The housing opportunities we offer today are as varied and diverse as the clients and communities we serve” said Naomi W. Byrne, President of the organization. “Our customers range from recent college graduates entering the workforce looking for their first apartment to seniors downsizing but wanting to maintain an active, engaged lifestyle. Hunter Plaza accommodates those groups and more.” Reconstruction of the $29 million redevelopment began in November 2014. Today, Hunter Plaza Urban Residences will serve as a provider of a mixed‐use, mixed‐income residential property comprised of market rate and quality workforce housing units for the downtown Fort Worth area. The apartments include 114 1‐bedroom units and 50 2‐bedroom units ranging from 550 to 850 square feet. Additionally, the property includes approximately 10,000 square feet of ground floor retail and commercial space. This development will add and restore attractive and attainable workforce housing to the Central Business District of Fort Worth. The Hunter Plaza redevelopment project includes public partners such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, the City of Fort Worth and Downtown TIF #3.The project’s private partners included funding and support from PNC Bank, Stonehenge Capital, Community Bank of Texas NA, and Bank of Texas. The historic residential building was developed in partnership with Carleton Development LTD, designed by BOKA Powell and constructed by SEDALCO Construction. ‐Continued‐ “We are grateful to all of our partners who have helped deliver this unique and innovative project to our growing community. As people continue to migrate back to urban downtown living, we will be there providing excellent opportunities that our partners and our community has come to expect,” said Byrne. The original Hunter Plaza building was constructed in 1954 and is located on the Northwest side of downtown Fort Worth. The building was first built as the Fortune Arms Hotel until the Fort Worth Housing Authority purchased the building in 1971. The 11‐story building was later converted into public housing for elderly and disabled residents. The Housing Authority’s Administration offices were located at this building from 1971 until 1996. In 2010, Hunter Plaza was vacated, sealed and has remained closed until now. FWHS is changing the face of affordable and attainable housing opportunities by providing mixed‐
income rental and homeownership possibilities that enable our clients to flourish in the community. FWHS accomplishes this by assisting our clients in elevating themselves to the next level of self‐
sufficiency and personal responsibility through life‐changing programs. Through its real estate development program, FWHS also delivers stable investment opportunities for our development partners. FWHS owns 1,002 public housing units, 2,675 affordable housing units, 665 market‐rate units, administers over 5,000 Housing Choice Vouchers and operates a homeownership program. ###