$174M Development To Impact Fort Worth Stockyards
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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - "Nice horsey," the little girl said as she stroked the mane of a brown and tan horse standing along the road in The Fort Worth Stockyards.
Touching the past is what keeps the Stockyards and workers like Savannah Read in business.
"I'm a broke college student, it's what I've got!" Read laughed.
Read puts people on the back of a docile Longhorn to take pictures.
And Jamie Murphy not only works at The Spice and Tea Exchange in the Stockyards, her family history is tied to the area.
"My great grandfather used to drive cattle through here," she explained.
Both are watching what developers are planning here with concern.
Private companies told a people during a presentation Tuesday they are are planning a massive, $174 Million development around the stockyards including, they say, preserving and expanding historic livestock barns and auction areas. Murphy believes that will lure more foot traffic past her business.
"Because they want to bring back the coliseum and bring back what the history to this area was it will draw more people to Fort Worth," Murphy said.
But the project would branch out to the old meat packing plant and south of exchange bringing hotels, residential, commercial and office space too.
There haven't been any drawings of what it would like or studies showing the impact on the stockyards' atmosphere. And that's what has many wanting the city to keep a tight reign on the developers.
"I'm just worried that somebody's going to kind of come in and take away the history aspect of it and make it some kind of city thing which its not," Read said. "Growing up in Fort Worth, going to the Fort Worth stockyards is one of the most exciting thing to do as a kid."
"If they modernize it very much I think that would be very disappointing," Murphy said. "They need to keep it rustic and western looking."
