American Airlines goes forward by moving back; This opening won't be 'Butchered'; MICHELIN does Texas.

In an effort to rebuild business travel, American Airlines is overhauling its AAdvantage Business Program with new perks, and has restored commissions to travel agencies for selling premium fares.

An entity controlled by TPG Real Estate has an agreement to purchase the manufactured home community of Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust for $740 million. The unencumbered portfolio has 12,138 residential lots spread across 75 community sites throughout Canada.

The Department of Internal Medicine & Geriatrics at the University of North Texas Health Science Center has received the first $1 million of a five-year, $5-million grant. The funding is to address the growing needs of older adults and improve the training provided to health care professionals.

The former CEO of a Northeast Tarrant tech company has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, accused of living a lavish lifestyle while defrauding investors. Why was the punishment of Christopher Kirchner, 37, the founder of Slync, big news in England, too? WFAA has the story.

The Sicilian Butcher will open Saturday at Alliance Town Center, near H-E-B grocery. Known for craft meatballs, from-scratch pasta, charcuterie platters and Italian desserts, it’s the first Texas location from celebrity chef Joey Maggiore. The restaurant will also house The Sicilian Baker, featuring a build-your-own cannoli bar, pastries, gelato, espresso and other Sicilian sweets.

Tarrant County told Administrator Chandler Merritt to terminate the county’s contract with a private prison in Post, Texas, which started in 2022. A 60-day notice is required. Merritt said Texas inspected and approved two housing towers for prisoners at the jail in downtown Fort Worth, where air conditioning renovation was recently completed.

Arlington has scheduled a public hearing Aug. 6 about a rezoning request for a 3.24-acre lot at 4400 S. Collins St. An 81,050-square-foot Home2 Suites hotel is looking to build near Arlington Municipal Airport.

Highlights from the June housing report from the Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors:

• Inventory continued upward in Fort Worth as prices increased slightly. The median home price in June was $344,700 in Fort Worth, an increase of 1.8 percent year over year. The increase in Tarrant County was 0.5 percent year over year to $359,945.

• Fort Worth had 3.5 months and Tarrant County had 3.2 months of inventory in June, both higher numbers than have been seen in a decade. The steady increases are starting to tilt the market in favor of the buyer.

• While inventory has rebounded, home prices have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. With higher mortgage rates, affordability is still an issue for many buyers.

Highlights from JLL’s Q2 Fort Worth Office Insight Report:

• The gap between move-outs and move-ins decreased for a third consecutive quarter, as negative net absorption slowed.

• As of May, office-using employment had a total of 238,900 jobs, a 15.2% increase following the recovery of job losses during the pandemic in March 2021 That accounts for 19.7% of all jobs in Fort Worth-Arlington-Grapevine metro division. 

• After the lease up of trophy class space introduced to the office market, an additional 400,000 square feet is scheduled to break ground by 2025. At delivery, 29.5% of nearly 2 million square feet of office space in the West 7th/Cultural District will be trophy class.

The deal is done! As we speculated weeks ago, the new location of the downtown Fort Worth Public Library will be at 512 W 4th Street, the former home of The Center for Transforming Lives, which is moving to a new, larger and more accessible location on S. Riverside Drive. 

Michelin and Travel Texas announced The MICHELIN Guide Texas, its 11th destination in North America. The inaugural edition will include selections from Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio, and will be announced later this year. Anonymous inspectors already are visiting restaurants.

Snippets:

• Retail sales were unchanged in June from May, underscoring shoppers’ resilience.

• PBS has a discussion on extreme heat and its effect on transportation infrastructure.

Significant stat: $14 billion = Revenue estimate for this week’s 2-day Amazon Prime Day sale, a record. Shoppers spent $12.7 billion last year.

Daily digit: 73 cents = The cost of a first-class postage stamp, as of this week, the second increase this year. You probably didn’t notice, or care, but you should.

Announcements:

• Allakos: Adds Brent Sorrells as VP Product Development and Strategy 

• Lone Oak Trust Company: Adds Jaime Lokey as Vice President of Fiduciary Services.

• Act: Hires Andrew Burner as Chief Operating Officer.

• Texas STAR Hospitality: Stu Arledge launches as Owner and sales leader.

• Polished Living: Adds Anna O'Neil as window cover and marketing specialist. 

• SUN Media Services: Launched by Gregory Fox.