Sky-High Living

Get the best views in North Texas from this pricey penthouse pad

How would you like to own a billionaire’s penthouse in the sky with the best views in North Texas? The founder of Dallas-based TRT Holdings (Omni Hotels, Gold’s Gym International) has placed his pristine Fort Worth condo, at the tip top of the Omni Residences, on the market again.

Robert Rowling, a Dallas billionaire whose primary residence is a $12 million house on Beverly Drive in Highland Park, has listed an amazing $7.9 million property with Allison Hayden and Margo Bentsen of Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty. Hayden and Bentson were the sales team that marketed and sold out the Omni Residences in Fort Worth when they were agents with Allie Beth Allman & Associates.

The penthouse, decked out by Dallas-based designer Adrienne Faulkner, is 10,000 square feet, with four bedrooms, five bathrooms, five living areas, two dining areas, and even a four-car garage. There are five — count ’em, five — balconies with unparalleled 360-degree views of downtown Fort Worth.

It also has a private elevator entrance straight into the unit so you never have to see neighbors. The Omni offers a stunning outdoor pool, exercise facility, and direct access to Bob’s Steak House.

Rowling’s wife is from Fort Worth, but sources say he never spent more than a week in the property, which was mostly used to house friends or business associates.

The Corpus Christi native got his start in the oil business with Tana Oil and Gas, which was partly owned by his father. In 1989, Texaco acquired Tana for $476 million, which seeded TRT Holdings. According to Forbes, Rowling has an estimated net worth of $6.5 billion.

Tarrant County will sure reap the benefits of the sale: The penthouse was valued at $3.1 million. But the price has come down somewhat; last year, Rowlings listed it for $9 million.

“This is a very unique property in that it takes up the whole entire floor of the building,” Allison Hayden told the Dallas Business Journal.

Hayden also says there is no comparison in Fort Worth, and maybe even Dallas. Unless you are talking the $25 million penthouse at Museum Tower.

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A version of this story originally was published on Candy’s Dirt.

A gargantuan kitchen is a must.

1301 Throckmorton St. Fort Worth Omni penthouse for sale

Photo courtesy of Briggs Freeman

A gargantuan kitchen is a must.

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Mixed Use News

Massive mixed-use development coming to key intersection in McKinney

Rendering courtesy of Creation

Long Branch development planned for McKinney

McKinney is getting a new $1.3 billion mixed-use development. Called Long Branch, it will be a 155-acre project at the northwest corner of US-75 and the future 380 bypass, consisting of housing, retail, office, grocery, and hospitality.

The development has 80 acres slated for active development, and will unfold over the next decade in four tracts.

The master plan includes

approximately 1,600 multifamily homes
135,000 square feet of retail anchored by a 65,000-square-foot grocer
318,600-square-foot office campus with two six-story buildings
100-room hotel
five-story, 910-space structured parking garage

All of the essential elements you need for living.

It will also include "6,000 linear feet" of pedestrian trails, "mature" landscaping, and outdoor gathering areas, plus six acres of preserved green space.

The project, which was recently approved by the McKinney City Council, is being developed by Creation, in partnership with Horizon Capital Holdings and Vaulter.

In a statement, Creation principal Alex Bez says that "the modern office campus design at the hard corner of what will soon be one of North Texas’ most prominent highway interchanges also marks a major investment in the city’s future, helping attract new business and top talent to the area.”

First proposed in 2016, U.S. 380 Bypass is a new eight-lane freeway being built by TxDOT in response to the population growth within Collin County — resulting in traffic volumes that have exceeded the capacity of U.S. 380 between Coit Road and FM 1827. TxDOT predicts that US 380 will see 114,400 drivers daily by 2050.

Design on Long Branch is currently underway for the first phase of construction; infrastructure work on the site is expected to kick off later this year, with the first phases of vertical development expected to follow shortly thereafter.

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