Giving a developer its best shot at approval for four one-story commercial buildings fronting the Trinity River in a 10-acre proposed signature development off of University Drive south of Interstate 30, a city commission grappled with design and density concerns over two meetings before approving the case.
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Fort Worth Board of Adjustment commissioners continued the case at their July 16 meeting, after a commissioner signalled she wouldn’t support the proposal, meaning the vote would fall one vote short of the minimum nine commissioners required by city ordinance for approval.
At a special July 30 meeting, the commission voted 9-0 to approve the developer’s request, after the developer’s representatives initially said they wanted to withdraw in order to rethink the case.
“This is a very big deal for us and the city,” Kyle Poulson, principal of Transwestern Real Estate, representing Carriage House Development LLC, the property owner, told the commission at the start of the July 30 hearing. “All we are being is very cautious.”
The commission opted to hear the case to see where the board members stood on it, giving Carriage House’s representatives to chance to decide at the end whether to withdraw. A commissioner ultimately moved to approve the developer’s request to withdraw, which was seconded. Commissioner Kay Duffy then made a substitute motion to approve the case, which was seconded. The commission voted on the substitute motion first, and the 9-0 approval made the initial motion moot.
Carriage House Development plans 337 apartments, plus retail shops and restaurants, in the development. It had earlier secured the city approvals it needed for the project, except for permission to build four one-story commercial buildings fronting the river in mixed-use zoning that requires two stories.
Carriage House sought the approval based on a provision in the city ordinance that allows variances if the applicant can show an “unnecessary hardship or practical difficulty.”
Carriage House’s representatives told the commission that it would be difficult to lease the second floors and that the river-facing commercial buildings would strike too much of an imposing profile to pedestrians, given that the developers plan to raise the level of the development by 8 feet to get the site out of the 500-year floodplain.
“It would definitely require us to reevaluate,” Jennifer Oliverio, senior vice president of Transwestern Development Co., representing Carriage House, told the commission at the July 16 hearing..
Some commissioners questioned at that hearing whether a hardship exists. Commissioner Adrianne Holland pointed out that Press Cafe, which fronts the river in the nearby Clearfork development, has two stories, including party and meeting space upstairs. Holland said at the July 16 hearing she could not support the case, but she was not present at the July 30 hearing.
Documenter name: Bryson Kloesel
Agency: Fort Worth Board of Adjustment — Commercial
Date: July 16, 2025
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Notes
Case 1, BAC-25-022, 4665 Bryant Irvin Road
- Special exception for a monument sign
- Applicant: Giant Sign Co.
- Property owner: Tselev Hotel Group LLC
Case background and commissioners’ action: Applicant requests permission to replace an existing sign. Variance is needed because zoning rules have changed since it was installed in 1998. Andy Park presented for Giant Sign. Park clarified that the new sign will be smaller to comply with new regulations. Vote: Motion to approve was seconded and approved unanimously.
Carriage House Development LLC sought variances from Fort Worth’s Board of Adjustment-Commercial to allow four one-story commercial buildings in zoning that requires two. The buildings are identified as B, C, D and E on this drawing. (Rendering | City of Fort Worth and Michael Hsu Office of Architecture)
Case 2, BAC-25-029, 1501, 1525, 1533, 1541 and 1555 Merrimac Circle, 1551 and 1561 University Drive
- Variance to allow a single-use commercial building below the minimum height requirement (Buildings B, C, D and E)
- Applicant: Transwestern Development Co.
- Property owner: Carriage House Development LLC
Case background and commissioners’ action: The city’s Urban Design Commission referred the case to the Board of Adjustment. The applicant’s variance request centered on four commercial buildings. Applicant asked for approval to design the buildings as one story each, a departure from the zoning rules that require two stories to increase density in the urban core. Presenters were architect Diana Su of Michael Hsu Office of Architecture and Jennifer Oliverio of Transwestern Development Co. Su said the development is designed to be “people scaled.” Board member Adrianne Holland questioned whether the variance sacrifices too much density. Some commissioners questioned whether the case met the city ordinance’s requirements for unnecessary “hardship” that would allow the commissioners to approve the variance. The board had a tight minimum nine-member quorum, with a minimum nine-member requirement to approve a variance. The board continued the case after Holland said she could not support the variance.
Case 3, BAC-25-032, 3301 E. Berry St.
- Special exception for a freeway sign with electronic, changeable copy
- Applicant: Empire Sign & Canopy
- Property owner: 3301 E. Berry St. LLC
Case background and commissioners’ action: Commissioners continued the case. The applicant was not present.
Case 4, BAC-25-033, 8100 Comanche Springs Drive
- Special exception for a monument sign with electronic, changeable copy
- Applicant: Bryce McCarthy, VLK Architects
- Property owner: Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD
Case background and commissioners’ action: Permit application submitted in March 2025, awaiting approval of variance. The sign is a standard monument sign for Prairie Vista Middle School. Commissioners approved the application unanimously.
Case 5, BAC-25-034, 6129 Texas Shiner Drive
- Variance to allow a monument sign across from a one- or two-family district to be illuminated
- Special exception for a monument sign with electronic, changeable copy in community facilities district
- Applicant: Bryce McCarthy, VLK Architects
- Property owner: Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD
Case background and commissioners’ action: Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the application.
Case 6, BAC-25-036, 5901 and 5949 Retail Way
- Variance to allow two monument signs separated by 293 feet (minimum is 300)
- Applicant: Pattison ID
- Property owner: Chisholm Trail Center LP
Case background and commissioners’ action: Commissioners approved the application unanimously.
Case 7, BAC-25-037, 4675 Railhead Road
- Variance to allow 158.41-square-foot sign exceeding the max area by 70.66 square feet
- Applicant: Anderson Levingston
- Property owner: Jason Campbell Company LLC
Case background and commissioners’ action: Applicant testified the bigger sign is needed to make the sign visible for truckers. Commissioners said they wanted more specific evidence that a sign complying with size regulations will not be visible. Commissioners continued the case to the August meeting.
Early adjournment: The meeting adjourned before the board considered the final two cases, for lack of time. Commissioners continued these two cases until the August meeting.
Case 8, BAC-25-038, 928 E. Berry St.
- Variance to allow metal paneling (disallowed) on an existing screening fence
- Applicant: Mohammed Neak and Farooque Neak
- Property owner: Shahla N LLC
Case 9, BAC-25-039, 4310 W. Vickery Blvd.
- Variance to allow 16 parking spots when the size dictates minimum of 25
- Applicant: David Sirois, Schwarz-Hanson Architects
- Property owner: Security State Bank & Trust
If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at scott.nishimura@fortworthreport.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.
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