Hugman’s plan to develop the riverbend was eventually revived and, thanks to historic New Deal investment, construction of the River Walk’s original bridges and walkways was completed in 1941.Īnticipated economic development was stalled by World War II, and didn’t pick up until the 1968 World’s Fair finally catalyzed the long-promised business district of riverside restaurants serving margaritas under colorful umbrellas, tourist-filled barges and hotels the River Walk is known for. Hardberger’s ideas built on the city’s long commitment to the river.Īn early turning point came after a catastrophic 1921 flood, when residents shut down a flood control plan that included getting rid of the horseshoe bend. He would later run for mayor on plans to further intertwine green space and economic development. Indigenous people were drawn to the fertile grounds along the San Antonio River then came colonizing Spaniards, whose veinlike acequias provided water to newly established missions in the 1700s.įor Phil Hardberger, a young lawyer from parched West Texas, enchantment with the river’s dense greenery solidified San Antonio as his home in 1970. But its modest size has never diminished its magnetism, nor its deadly force after a heavy rain. The San Antonio River is not a great river unlike the Trinity, it is both narrow and shallow, windy and slow. “And there’s another group that has been really much more focused on saying, ‘But it could be more than that.” A tale of two rivers “There have always been people who said, ‘We could have just added four feet at the top of the levee, saved a whole bunch of money, and not done all this,’” said Bennett, the architect advising several local groups on Panther Island development. Instead, leaders saw the chance to ingrain the Trinity River into Fort Worth’s community the way San Antonio has done since the city’s inception - a harder path. Like San Antonio, which once considered turning its horseshoe bend into an underground storm sewer, Fort Worth could have pursued simpler flood control. Construction on the flood control channel is finally moving forward amid new questions about how the downtown property should be developed - and for whom.Įxtensive interviews with leaders in both cities say Fort Worth can learn many lessons from San Antonio’s River Walk: tying economic development to flood control finding the right champions for the project, and securing the kind of neighborhood-level buy-in San Antonio officials credit with its success.
Meanwhile, political and business power brokers in Fort Worth are at an inflection point. Today, San Antonio is scrambling to create affordable housing amid once-unthinkable rises in property value. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) Michael Bennett, CEO of Bennett Partners, moderates a Fort Worth Report event discussing the Panther Island Project on June 15, 2023, at Texas Wesleyan University. Doing so – a mirror image of the flood control efforts that allowed shops and restaurants to open directly on San Antonio’s River Walk – will create new waterfront property ripe for development on what will become Panther Island, named after Fort Worth’s “Panther City” moniker. Army Corps of Engineers must first dig a 1.5-mile flood control channel, putting water beneath the bridges and allowing flood rains to shoot past the riverbend. Cyclists will pass by as parents push strollers and patio diners sip cocktails, while employees mill in and out of a new corporate campus.īefore that vision can become a reality, the U.S.
North of downtown, 800 acres once occupied by refineries and metal reclamation facilities are now home to crumbling structures leading to sprawling grassland, punctuated by three bridges extending optimistically over dry land.Īs imagined by some in Fort Worth, including Bennett, the space will be a vibrant, mixed-use island oasis tucked into the Trinity River’s sharp bend.
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