Crestwood Place Apartments, R.I.P.

Kevin, you ruined my morning.

Fort Worthology reports that the Crestwood Place Apartments on White Settlement Road will be demolished to make way for single-family homes. That was my first apartment in Fort Worth, to the left of the door on the right in that picture. When I lived there, it was still very much like it was when it was built in the 1940s. Some of my neighbors were original residents. Boy, I loved that place. I hate to see it go. Just another example of a change not-for-the-better in Fort Worth.

UPDATE: I really didn't get in all I wanted to say about my old apartment. My wife and I have talked a lot about the old place. I lived there when we first met. The first time I kissed her was on the lawn in front of that door on the right. For both of us, the Crestwood Place Apartments are special because that's where we were when we fell in love.

We both held the same thought in our minds -- this was the place we would go back to if everything went to hell. This was basecamp. This would be the place where we would go where everything would always be OK. Other things could come and go, but we would always have each other and we would always have that place to go back to. Stupid thought, maybe, but a critical part of the mythology that holds two people together.

The other night, I saw a documentary about Tony Bennett and someone asked him about the success of his song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." He explained that the reason that song is so beloved is that it really isn't about San Francisco, it's about wherever your heart is. San Francisco can be anywhere. Paris, Manhattan or an old apartment on White Settlement Road in Fort Worth, Texas.

I guess the Crestwood Place Apartments is San Francisco to us. A little bit of our hearts will always be there, and a little bit of that place will always be in our hearts. They can build million-dollar homes on that land, but they will be unable to build a more beautiful building to me.

Barnett Shale Buyer's Remorse?

Signs like the ones pictured above are a common sight around the Berkeley, Mistletoe Heights, Ryan Place and Fairmount neighborhoods of South Fort Worth where lots of residents are up in arms about proposed urban drilling for Barnett Shale gas deposits. For a good overview of their concern, I'll refer you to this FWWeekly story from March.

Now, before I go off on a ramble, I'll go ahead and disclose that my wife and I signed a drilling lease with the Four Sevens Company this past winter. We were a little skeptical at first, but after speaking to person with first-hand knowledge of the Barnett Shale drilling, we decided to sign. His advice: "They're going to drill anyway whether you sign or not, you might as well get the money." And so it went. A modern-day Jed Clampett, I went ahead and signed.

Call me a hypocrite if you will, but I'm struggling a little bit with this decision. I know what's done is done, but things I'm hearing are not making me feel that great about my decision to sign. It's not that I'm against drilling. That stuff is down there and it's coming out by God. If Fort Worth can make some money off of it that it can use to make this a more liveable, vibrant city, I'm all for it.

But if it means that Chesapeake, Four Sevens and other Barnett Shale drillers make billions, while the neighborhoods, homeowners and Average Joe just get the shaft, that I'm not OK with. I am not suggesting that anything untoward is going on, but when I found out that Four Sevens Partner Dick Lowe was one of the boosters at the center of the TCU football scandal back in the 1980s, it made me a little queasy to think we're depending on this guy to do the right thing by Fort Worth neighborhoods.

I'm not OK with shortcuts that will jeopardize the environment and the safety of our neighborhoods. I'm not OK with destroying the Trinity Trees. And I'm not OK with variances to the 600-foot minimum required by Fort Worth ordinance.

And that's just what I know, which ain't much. But I'm going on a little quest of sorts to find out more from people involved in what's going with urban drilling. I want to know more about the environmental impact, safety issues and long-term ramifications for Fort Worth. Where is the city's money going to go? I don't know the answers to these questions and maybe I'm a little late in asking. Maybe the horse is out of the barn. But I don't think we can just slide by on good intentions, or, at least I can't. I want to know what can be done so that this Barnett Shale drilling is done with safety and environmental sensitivity, and that the Fort gets the money it has coming and spends it wisely.

Bluebonnet Circle Condos Moving Forward

When I wrote a few weeks ago that the proposed condos south of Bluebonnet Circle were moving forward, for some reason the concept of "immediately" didn't jump into my mind. Well, as you can see above, demo has begun, along with the pesky problem of asbestos removal. Here's to hoping they're doing it right, and, if they're not, that the prevailing winds blow to the east.

Save the Trinity Trees

I ride my bike through here every day. This beautiful, eight-acre wooded parcel of land along the Trinity Trail near Rogers Road, which most people thought was a park, is now owned by Chesapeake Energy. Plans are being finalized by Chesapeake to destroy 2.5 acres of the trees to be used as a gas drilling site.

The trees are located in Fort Worth along the Trinity River Hike and Bike Trail just upstream from the Rogers Road bridge and north across the Trinity River from Colonial Country Club. Click here to view a slide show posted on WFAA.com Wednesday, August 8, summarizing the Trinity Trees issue.

What can you do to help?

Spread the word.

Attend the Trinity Trees Picnic: Labor Day, September 3, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm, along the Trinity Trail by the grove of trees.

Attend the City sponsored Public Forum: Thursday, September 6, 6:00-8:00 pm, Capstone Church, 1700 Rogers Road.

Go to TrinityTrees.org to learn more, register for updates, post comments on our various blogs, download printable fliers and petitions, and/or donate.

Bluebonnet Circle Condo Development

I'm not sure how I feel about this. An $8 million condominium development on South University Drive will move forward despite protests by residents who say the 59-unit project will overwhelm already tight parking in the area just south of Bluebonnet Circle in Fort Worth, the Startlegram sez.

Councilwoman Wendy Davis said she has mixed feelings about the project because the city is developing an "urban village" plan for the Bluebonnet Circle area that would call for lower-density residential development and a mix of retail and commercial businesses. "My preference would have been it be replaced by a town-home development," she said.

The three-story buildings will include 43 three-bedroom units and 16 four-bedroom units ranging from $240,000 to $275,000. The condos, expected to be completed by fall 2008, would replace 60 apartments built in 1955 that had inadequate parking. "Some of our investors will be parents of TCU students," said Mac Jones, a partner in the Austin development firm. "But we'll also have young professionals who want to live a similar lifestyle of downtown for much less."

Kevin? Bernie? Whadya think? Have y'all heard anything about the city's plan for the Circle?

TCC 1, Ed Bass 0

Color me shocked -- Tarrant County College District trustees withstood pressure Tuesday night from some downtown business leaders to revamp its plans for a sunken plaza at its new downtown campus, saying the college can't afford the time and money a redesign would take. The seven-member board instead unanimously voted to proceed with its original plan. The board heard from its staff and members of the construction team who said a redesign could cost tens of millions of dollars and possibly delay the opening of the campus from 12 to 18 months.

PREVIOUSLY: Mitch Schnurman sez cool it Ed.

Trinity River Developments

LaGrave Field Development Plan: Fort Worth Cats owner Carl Bell has put his development plan on the fast track. "Bell plans 1.5 million square feet of space for offices, restaurants, shops and other service-related retailers. There will be about 850 residential units, he said. Closer to the ballpark, there may even be a mid-rise condo tower, and perhaps a hotel, he said. ... As a part of the deal with the city, Bell agreed to build 15 percent of the planned residential units, or about 125 units, as affordable housing, giving middle- to lower-income families the chance to live there." My take: 1) How long until this comes together? I look at the photo above and think 20 years. 2) Affordable housing, eh? Why does it always seem like development throws in the idea of affordable housing but it takes so long to come around? Is it the lure of the big payday from luxury developments is too strong? What I really wonder is this: are there really enough fat wallets around to absorb all of these high-end residential developments in the downtown area?

TCC Design: I'm a few days late, but Mitch Schnurman did a great column on the Tarrant County College campus design. Basically, Schnurman throws his support behind the design of Vancouver architect Bing Thom and his sunken plaza design. "Thom's design for a campus entry does what it aims to do: dramatically and elegantly, it turns the Trinity River into a vital part of civic life downtown. That's design job No. 1. It also recognizes that there are much better places for the kind of plaza that [Ed] Bass wants to see, including in the middle of his Sundance Square district, about four blocks to the south. Finally, the Thom design brings a bold new architecture and attitude to central Fort Worth, just when the city is trying to stretch beyond its traditional styles and borders. So why hire a world-class architect to do a groundbreaking project and then change his design?" Well put, Mitch. But don't count out Ed and his billions. If he doesn't get his way, I'll be shocked.