Along the way, Laudenslager is learning a lot about local history, tax credits and other intricacies of restoring a building that, to use a Stockyards description, has been ridden hard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It is work, but investors like Laudenslager say they can\u2019t resist the allure of the city\u2019s dusty, rough-and-tumble history.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What also makes the area a gleam in the eye of savvy investors is the continued success of the Stockyards Historic District, which has seen tourism grow from 3 million visitors a few years ago to 9 million this past year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Stockyards is a hot commodity right now, thanks to the movie industry and future development plans,\u201d said Todd Lambeth, executive vice president and managing partner in the Fort Worth office of Dallas-based Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The 70-acre core of the roughly 200-acre Stockyards Historic District is being redeveloped by Stockyards Heritage, a joint venture between Majestic Realty Co. and Hickman Companies, along with development partner M2G Ventures.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After having completed Phase 1 of its plan, which focused on adding the Hotel Drover and creating a retail district using the Mule Barns, the partnership is moving on to Phase 2, which will include more hotels, underground parking, commercial space and residential development.<\/p>\n
Phase 2 of the development hit a stumbling block<\/a> recently because of legal issues between the former leader of Stockyards Heritage, Craig Cavileer, and Majestic Realty. Those two are tied up in a court battle, but Majestic officials say progress on the estimated $1 billion Phase 2 of development is continuing, albeit under new leadership.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Stockyards traces its history back to the days of the Chisholm Trail, when cattle came through the city on the way to the packing plants in Chicago and Kansas City. Fort Worth attracted Armour & Co. and Swift & Co., which built plants here in the early part of the 20th century.\u00a0<\/p>\n During World War II, the plants processed more than 5 million head of livestock and employed thousands. By the early 1970s, however, both plants had closed. In the 1980s, civic leaders, such as businessman Holt Hickman, began work to preserve the area and its rough-hewn history.<\/p>\n The area bucked to life in 1981 when Billy Bob\u2019s Texas opened, billed as \u201cThe World\u2019s Largest Honky Tonk.\u201d Tourists buses began to park with visitors eager to down Lone Star Beer suds, get a bit of the \u201cWhere the West Begins\u201d experience and scream \u201cBullsh\u2013!\u201d unabashedly while line dancing to \u201cCotton-Eyed Joe.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The success of Phase 1 increased interest in the area, which was once in danger of \u201cdemolition by neglect,\u201d according to former Mayor Betsy Price.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are starting to ask questions about the Stockyards when looking at commercial property in Fort Worth,\u201d said longtime broker Jordan Johnson, with Team & Vasseur Commercial Real Estate. \u201cIt didn\u2019t used to be that way. They\u2019ve changed the game up there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Bradford\u2019s Lambeth saw the game change firsthand when an investment group was looking to purchase real estate in the district. The investment group, Stockyards BB LLC, landed a prized asset: a 4,650-square-foot store at 2405 N. Main St., which is net-leased for the long term to Boot Barn Inc., a publicly traded company with 412 stores in 46 states.\u00a0<\/p>\n Lambeth says he contacted his investment client as soon as he saw the listing for the high barrier-to-entry offering.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s rare to see a property for sale in the Stockyards. It\u2019s even hard to find spaces to lease in that area,\u201d he said. \u201cWe swooped in under the radar with an attractive price.\u201d<\/p>\n Lights, Camera, Beer\u00a0<\/p>\n The Stockyards has appeared in countless films and television shows, including Taylor Sheridan\u2019s epic \u201cYellowstone,\u201d \u201cLandman,\u201d \u201c1923\u201d and \u201c1883\u201d sagas. Sheridan himself has invested in the Stockyards by purchasing,<\/a> with partners, the Cattlemen\u2019s Steak House.\u00a0<\/p>\n That so-called \u201cYellowstone\u201d effect has had a profound impact on marketing the area, Lambeth said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe Stockyards has always been a popular attraction, but the film industry is really putting it on the map,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n In fact, just a block away from Laudenslager\u2019s Percy building is the former Catholic Men\u2019s Club at 1428 N. Commerce St. A group is seeking a zoning change to allow for use of the building as a film production studio, including set design and prop storage.\u00a0<\/p>\n The growing tourism economy in the area is drawing more hotels as well.<\/p>\n On July 9, Fort Worth zoning commissioners unanimously approved a zoning change for a new Stockyards hotel at 312 NW 28th St. The dual-branded hotel will stand 65 feet tall, slightly higher than a nearby Hampton by Hilton development but will appear shorter than that hotel because of a slope on the property. The development will include new sidewalks, trees, lighting and landscaping.<\/p>\n The hotel will be designed to tie in with the Stockyard\u2019s Western heritage. It is one of several hotels that have been proposed for the area.\u00a0<\/p>\n Adaptive and authentic<\/p>\n \u00a0Near the center of the Stockyards development, on the eastern edge of Exchange Avenue, the finishing touches are being put on the last existing building of the Armour & Co. packing facility.<\/p>\n The $8 million renovation is by U.S. Energy Development, which moved its headquarters from Arlington to the historic 51,000-square-foot property at 601 E. Exchange Ave.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Armour Building project is being completed in concert by architects Bennett Partners and its partners.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou can think about what is happening in the Stockyards several ways,\u201d said Michael Bennett, executive partner and CEO of Bennett Partners. \u201cWhen you have success at that level, you see a lot of other people that want to jump in on that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n With all the impacts on the market such as tariffs and rising construction costs, investors are naturally going to gravitate to developments like the Stockyards, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are going for the sure shots instead of the riskier ones,\u201d he said. \u201cThis has become more of a sure shot, which it wasn\u2019t a few years back.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Bennett believes that success can continue as long as the Stockyards invests thoughtfully in its history.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things, if not the thing, I think that has made the Stockyards so successful is that it feels authentic,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Without that authenticity, that success wouldn\u2019t happen, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe Stockyards is actual,\u201d Bennett said. \u201cIt\u2019s the actual historic building. You\u2019re touching the brick that was put there 100 years ago when they built this building. That brick has been touched by literally thousands of people in the intervening time. It really is a piece of history, and that\u2019s why these historic buildings are so, so important.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Email him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Eric E. Garcia contributed to this report.\u00a0<\/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 \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative<\/a> for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.<\/p>\n Republish This Story<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1951-areial-of-FW-stockyards-UTA-Library-Copy-Right-2.jpg\")
Aerial of Armour & Co. and Swift & Co. meatpacking plants in Fort Worth Stockyards, Sept. 26, 1951. (Courtesy photo | UTA Archives)\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Personal-Photos-Photo-Card-in-Light-Blue-Modern-Style-13.jpg\")
Before, left, and after, right, photos of the Armour & Co. packing facility, which was converted to an office project. (Courtesy photos | Bennett Partners)\u00a0<\/p>\n
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