The Tower ~ Fort Worth’s highrise hot spot!

Setting: Downtown Fort Worth, Texas, 76102 ~ Time: March 2000 ~ Place: Bank One Tower ~ Action: a tornado

The winds were deafening that early evening when the tornado hit. No one was killed, thank God, but the building would never be the same again. It was like a scene from the Wizard of Oz. And when it was over, the businesses housed in the Bank One Tower on Throckmorton had no place to go. One of the trendiest restaurants in town, Reata, perched on the top floors of the building had an uncertain future. The owners of the building didn’t have it in them to restore it, and so it sat there for years as the butt of jokes, earning the name ‘the birdhouse’ because of the broken windows, covered with wood to keep some of the birds out. We even made reservations to watch the implosion from the nearby Fort Worth Petroleum Club —- and then things changed. A developer decided it was worth much more as the city’s first highrise condominium project, and The Tower was born.

In the winter of 2004, the rush to own a piece of downtown’s premier homesite caused the developer to sell (rather than lease half of) the entire building. The location certainly didn’t hurt sales! Many buyers chose their unit based on the direction their windows would face — they wanted to watch the buzz of Sundance Square from their living rooms. In May of 2005 the first residents moved in, and homelife took on a new direction.

This space is dedicated to the urban lifestyle that downtown residents know and love, and a few things they love to hate, as well. For more information go to www.PrudentialTexas.com/MarieFerguson and come back often to learn about downtown residents, the best places to eat, best bars, best places to hear great live music (besides Bass Hall), etc.