Earlier this week, the Hillwood team made its annual presentation to the Fort Worth City Council on the progress of the AllianceTexas project. This year was especially fulfilling as we were able to report that AllianceTexas has eclipsed the $1 billion mark in paid property taxes to the eight governing entities that cover the development.
AllianceTexas also surpassed $43 billion in total economic impact to the North Texas region (during the life of the project), with more than $3 billion of it coming during 2011 (the most recent year measured).
Eclipsing $1 billion in paid property taxes is a big milestone for Hillwood, as well as all of our public and private partners we have teamed with through the years. The success of AllianceTexas provides another example for developers and government entities on the power of public-private partnerships and how they can transform a region—something we are currently seeing with the numerous road projects underway in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Reflecting on the year, 2012 has been an exciting one for us. The growth we experienced between 2000 and 2010 has continued well into the current decade, and with an economic recovery appearing to be under way, we’re seeing a significant amount of activity and expecting big things for 2013.
If there was one “game-changing” event during 2012, it had to be the opening of the 189,000-square-foot Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Alliance, and its 73,000-square-foot adjoining office complex, at Alliance Town Center. Combined with the earlier opening of North Hills Hospital’s 10,500-square-foot ER at Alliance, Alliance Town Center has become a robust and growing medical community, offering high-quality health care and state-of-the art technology to citizens in far-north Fort Worth.
2012 also saw the completion of the 14-screen Cinemark Alliance Town Center XD movie theater complex. This was in addition to the launch of phase two of Alliance Town Center, with the announcement of a 50,000-square-foot Dick’s Sporting Goods store, which will open in 2013. Alliance Town Center now offers numerous traditional retail offerings and casual dining establishments, like Houlihan’s, Mi Cocina and the area’s first stand-alone Starbucks Coffee, among others.
In total, we leased more than 2.6 million square feet of combined commercial space during the year, with a good portion being in the industrial class—a class that I believe everyone is happy to see rebounding in North Texas. Moreover, in 2013, our Class A office space offerings will expand with more than 150,000 square feet of speculative space being developed at Alliance Town Center, targeting the growing professional services market.
It’s truly amazing to see how much this community grows every year. Eclipsing the $1 billion mark is reason enough to celebrate, but witnessing the sustained success and growth to the tax base is what ensures that we are only just beginning to see the exponential return that we expect to deliver on that initial public investment.
Serving as president of Hillwood Properties, Mike Berry leads development efforts the 17,000-acre AllianceTexas development north of Fort Worth. Contact him at [email protected].
For more details on the launch of AllianceTexas, read this D CEO profile.
