Historic Fort Worth officials said the designations would position the future property owner for substantial financial incentives.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TXUNorthMainPlant.jpg\")
The historic TXU North Main Power Plant sits at the south end of the 300-acre Panther Island site north of downtown and south of the Stockyards. (Scott Nishimura | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
\u201cHistoric designation would help to offset the restoration expenses for the power plant, as it adds economic incentives for the restoration of this iconic resource,\u201d Alyssa Banta, Historic Fort Worth\u2019s chair, and Jerre Tracy, the organization\u2019s executive director, said in the letter to City Council members.<\/p>\n
Assistant City Manager Dana Burghdoff told the Fort Worth Report that she invited TCC Chancellor Elva LeBlanc to meet and discuss historic designation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe local historic designation would allow the building basically to be gutted,\u201d Burghdoff said. \u201cWe would just require the historic facade be preserved. It would allow quite a lot of work to be done.\u201d<\/p>\n
LeBlanc hasn\u2019t yet confirmed a meeting, Burghdoff said.<\/p>\n
Council member Carlos Flores, whose District 2 includes the power plant, said he has reached out to a couple of TCC trustees.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to gauge their level of interest,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat we\u2019ve heard back is they would like to have further discussions, some presentation of materials to get them more information.\u201d<\/p>\n
Historic designations require the support of the City Council. While the city can move forward without a property owner\u2019s agreement, a super-majority vote is required, Burghdoff said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The owner\u2019s participation is critical, city officials said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Flores said the city wants to be respectful of TCC and gain college officials\u2019 support.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t want to get ahead of their board or impede any bid that they may be entertaining,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re taking it step by step.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stressed \u201cit\u2019s very important to note how critical it is to try to save this building. It\u2019s in a very prominent spot. What happens to the power plant could affect the surrounding properties.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flores also said one option would be for TCC to maintain the status quo, sell the property and let the city step in at that point.<\/p>\n
Tracy said the city\u2019s immediate outreach \u201cis enormous progress.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis could be a good day for the power plant, and a good day for Fort Worth,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In a statement, TCC spokesperson Reginald Gates did not directly say whether they were interested in meeting with the city at this point to discuss historic designation.<\/p>\n
\u201cDevelopers have the unique opportunity to designate the TXU building as historic and open doors to state and federal grants, tax credits and infrastructure funding \u2014 significantly increasing its redevelopment value,\u201d Gates said.<\/p>\n
Gates listed a number of reasons for TCC\u2019s decision to market the property now. They include:\u00a0<\/p>\n
- \n
- The ability to invest the sale proceeds in educating students.<\/li>\n
- Population growth created more demand for real estate.<\/li>\n
- Financial incentives available to developers.\u00a0<\/li>\n
- Serving as a catalyst for the Panther Island waterfront district.<\/li>\n
- Availability of public-private partnerships.<\/li>\n
- Prospect of returning the property to the tax roll.<\/li>\n
- Eliminating TCC\u2019s costs of maintaining the property.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The college acquired the North Main site<\/a> more than 20 years ago when it bought land for its Trinity River Campus East Center for Health Care Professionals at 245 E. Belknap St.<\/p>\n
The college, which envisioned connecting the downtown campus to the power plant site across the river, spent years exploring potential uses, but had not publicly indicated any movement in recent years.<\/p>\n
The property anchors the south end of Panther Island \u2014 a proposed redevelopment of hundreds of Northside acres held by the Tarrant Regional Water District, Tarrant County, city of Fort Worth, Tarrant County College and several property owners \u2014 and is viewed as a linchpin for development.<\/p>\n
The college will open bids Nov. 20.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would ideally want to see a designation prior to the sale of the property,\u201d Burghdoff said. \u201cWe would want to consult with the college district prior to the sale.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are three choices of historic designation:<\/p>\n
All three would require approval by the Landmarks Commission and City Council.<\/p>\n
The state and federal governments also provide programs that allow up to 45% in tax credits for eligible rehab expenses on historic properties.<\/p>\n
Tracy said historic protection will gain more traction with developers as they understand its benefits.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019re going to get more and more comfortable in talking about historic designation, because historic designation makes us who we are,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Burghdoff said it\u2019s her understanding that TCC has concerns about the former power plant\u2019s structure following a building evaluation.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy understanding is the building can be rehabilitated,\u201d she said. \u201cThe roof and interior would need to be replaced or redone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scott Nishimura is a senior editor for the Documenters program at the Fort Worth Report. Reach him at scott.nishimura@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative<\/a> for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.<\/p>\n
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