💰Frost all in for Texas Exchange; FW EDP struts big numbers; Halloween & Harry Houdini.

Today’s issue sponsored by: Burt Ladner Real Estate

Cullen/Frost Bankers, the parent company of Frost Bank, will move its primary stock listing to the Texas Stock Exchange | TXSE Group Inc., effective Nov. 12. “Frost will always be based in Texas and will always do everything we can to support the health and growth of our vibrant communities and our regional economy,” said Frost Chairman and CEO Phil Green.

Trinity Metro broke ground on its $270 million TEXRail extension that will connect Fort Worth's Near Southside and Medical District to downtown and D-FW International Airport. Completion is anticipated for fall 2029.

"The growth we are experiencing is real and the growth is for all of our community, not some of it," according to Robert Allen, the President and CEO of the Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership, which was started in 2023. Speaking at the annual meeting, Allen said the area has reached $1.9B in new capital investment, creating 4,100 new jobs. Since inception, the numbers are $11.6B in capital investment and 15,100 jobs. See the full report.

20 of the top 100 paid executives in D-FW are in Tarrant County, according to The Dallas Morning News. TPG placed five executives on the list, followed by D.R. Horton with four and American Airlines and Charles Schwab with three each. FirstCash Holdings, Omnicell, Range Resources, Sabre and TXO Partners each had one. See the full list.

In its first year of stronger oversight and scrutiny, the Texas Lottery contributed $1.85 billion to beneficiaries, including $1.82 billion for the Foundation School Fund and a record $31.7 million for the Fund for Veterans’ Assistance. Both contributions increased over the previous year, and the total was the fifth-largest annual contribution in lottery history.

The Tarrant Regional Water District is planning the Trinity Lighted Loop, which would add enhanced lighting along 3.3 miles of paved trail between the Phyllis J. Tilley Pedestrian Bridge and Mistletoe Heights Pedestrian Bridge. The project grew from public input gathered during the TRWD Recreation Master Plan meetings. Learn more and send feedback by November 24.

Fort Worth is weighing incentives of $100,000 a year for five years for Beacon Modular, a Lighthouse Electric Co. subsidiary that builds pre-assembled electrical and power systems for data centers and other big projects. Beacon would put a plant in Hillwood's Alliance Gateway 71 warehouse in Roanoke and promises at least 600 full-time jobs by December 2029, with an average wage of at least $91,000, plus $30 million in capital investment by the end of 2027. 

A MESSAGE FROM BURT LADNER REAL ESTATE:

Club proximity. Pool privacy. 2401 Stadium Dr. Near TCU in Fort Worth’s Colonial Country Club neighborhood, this 5,480-square-foot home has four bedrooms, three baths, two living areas, two dining spaces and three fireplaces. The primary suite includes a sitting area and two walk-in closets. Other features include a workout and storage space, a pool, garage, and a two-car carport. Offered at $2,995,000 by Laura Ladner.

King Yuan Electronics Co., awaiting to close a deal with the city of Fort Worth, approved the purchase of a 27-acre property at 273 W. Everman Pkwy. for $79.35 million through its Texas subsidiary, AeternZ Semiconductor Testing Corp, according to Market Screener. The seller is Everman Fort Worth Building 2&3 SPE LLC. The plant is expected to be used for the company's testing services for Nvidia.

Fort Worth-based Energy Domain, which sells courthouse title records and well data to oil and gas companies, opened its TitleLab and Fundamentals databases to AI tools such as Claude. Customers can ask an AI model to run a chain-of-title check or build a lease take-off, with each answer citing its instrument or well numbers.

The Texas Women's Foundation reports that little progress is being made in pay, and access to affordable childcare is a big obstacle. The latest study finds that women working full-time earn, on average, 81 cents for every dollar men earn, down from 83 cents in the previous report. The gap is wider for Black and Latina women. 

Fort Worth's Woodhaven tax increment financing district had about $27.4 million in the bank as of early October. It must spend the money before the zone expires at the end of 2028. Requests include $28 million for a community center that the neighborhood association opposes, $11.8 million for a business park and $3.5 million for a trail connection. The board takes up funding recommendations Nov. 4. 

Texas Wesleyan University and Dallas County Promise will partner to expand college access for students. With assistance from the Economic Mobility Center, eligible Dallas County Promise students will receive a last-dollar tuition grant from Texas Wesleyan, making enrollment tuition-free. Students will also receive personalized support to help them apply, enroll and graduate.

This semester, TCU launched a Bachelor of Science in Professional Aviation Administration in the College of Education. It prepares students for leadership roles with airlines, airports and aviation organizations. Let's face it, we are the Aviation Capital of Texas. 

The Board of Fort Worth-based FirstCash Holdings increased the company's stock re-purchase authorization by $200 million, bringing the total to $350 million.

D-FW ranked second among major U.S. metros for attracting talent, according to a scorecard from Lightcast, a provider of labor analytics and intelligence. It came in behind Austin and ahead of No. 3 Raleigh, N.C., No. 4 Phoenix and No. 5 Orlando. Metro areas were evaluated on factors such as job growth, regional competitiveness and attraction of workers ages 25 to 54. 

Five former students in Texas Wesleyan University’s Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice program have filed a lawsuit against the school alleging wrongful dismissal because of what they allege is a fraudulent and discriminatory over-enrollment scheme.

Irving-based Christus Health was awarded $212,378,426 for the third option period of a $709,265,196 fixed-price commercial contract to provide comprehensive health care services through the Uniformed Services Family Health Plan. It is a managed care plan serving approximately 19,618 eligible uniformed services beneficiaries within designated geographic areas. 

TexasBank established the first program endowment for the University of Texas - Arlington College of Business' Certificate in Banking program, providing ongoing support for the program and helping strengthen educational opportunities for students pursuing careers in banking and financial services. 

Lockheed Martin was awarded a $43,673,774 modification contract to add scope and new line items to provide operating system upgrades to the F-35 Lightning II re-programming laboratory facilities and systems maintained and sustained. The contract supports the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and F-35 cooperative program partners. 20% of the work will be in Fort Worth.

Fort Worth-based American Airlines' nearly 600 dispatchers and operations specialists approved a five-year contract, according to their union. The contract includes pay increases that take effect immediately, though no figures were available.

Snippets:

• Business Insider discovers what happened with the "never-ending" cruise that stalled in Cambodia and had most everyone jumping ship.

• Willow Park, Aledo and Fort Worth resolved all claims involving boundary disputes between the cities. Final boundaries have been agreed upon and the lawsuit between the cities has been resolved.

• Delivery giant DoorDash agreed to buy Instacart for about $17 billion. It is a lifeline for local grocers fighting online rivals. Instacart works with nearly 100,000 stores, and DoorDash adds 50,000.

Earnings reports:

• Fort Worth-based pharmacy-automation company Omnicell reported third-quarter profit of $11 million, up from $5 million a year ago. Revenue slipped 1% to $308 million, but the company raised its full-year forecast for adjusted earnings to $2.48 to $2.56 a share, and narrowed full-year revenue guidance to $1.225 billion to $1.231 billion.

• TPG, based in Fort Worth and San Francisco, earned $99.6 million in the third quarter, up from $67.1 million a year earlier. Assets under management rose 21% to $345.7 billion. TPG raised $15 billion in the quarter and declared a dividend of 55 cents.

Permits and filings:

• Mendocino Farms filed for a $650,000, 3,262-square-foot restaurant finish-out, including a 733-square-foot patio, at 1701 S. University Drive in the Westbend development.

• Keller Distribution filed for a $4-million remodel of a 641,833-square-foot industrial warehouse and offices at 2800 Lovett Ave. in north Fort Worth for Monster Energy. 

• Teebox filed for a $590,000 finish-out of 4,346 square feet at 210 Randol Mill Ave. in Southlake. Work is scheduled from Nov. 30 to Feb. 15.

• RAK Real Estate Equities Marine Creek LLC filed on four $500,000 spec office buildings -- about $2 million and 9,117 square feet in all -- on Marine Creek Parkway. RGA Architects is the designer, and work is scheduled to start Nov. 16 and finish in March.

• The Fort Worth-Tarrant County Innovation Partnership filed for a $400,000 finish-out of 5,022 square feet in Suite 425 at Water Gardens Place in downtown Fort Worth. The state filing names Magnolia WG LP as owner and idGROUP as designer. Work is scheduled from Nov. 2 to Feb. 15.

Did you know? Tomorrow is not only Halloween but also the 100th anniversary of the death of legendary magician and escape artist Harry Houdini, the ultimate poster boy for “don’t try this at home!” 

Today in history: 1938 = Orson Welles' radio adaptation of "The War of the Worlds" aired, and some listeners took the fake Martian invasion for real news.

Daily digit: 20 = Number of breweries in Texas lost last year (from 440 to 420), per the Brewers Association. The industry is struggling amid a shift away from alcohol consumption, particularly among younger people.

Announcements:

• Dallas Mavericks: CEO Rick Welts will retire, effective Dec. 31. Mavericks president Ethan Casson will succeed him as CEO and alternate governor.

• Broadwing Capital: Adds Lane Davis to focus on business development.

• Raymond James: Names Brandon Brinkman a Sr. Financial Advisor.

• Girl Scouts of Texas Oklahoma Plains: Selects Nekisha Henry as Chief of Staff.

• CREW Fort Worth: Awards annual Susan A. Halsey Excellence in Leadership award to Cassie Walker with JPMorgan Chase. 

• Bank of America: Names Nadia Kassim a Business Banking Relationship Manager. 

• SpawGlass: Adds Shonna Driver as Business Development Manager for north Texas.

• Cristo Rey Fort Worth: Selects Rebekah Hernandez as Client Relationship Manager. 

• Texas Capital: Hires Kelsey Devore as a Director, Human Resources Business Partner. 

• ACLU of Texas: Hires Changa Higgins as Policy and Advocacy Strategist. 

• Cook Children’s Health Care System: Hires Zoe Booth-Growald as Membership Coordinator.

817 Biz is formatted for viewing on mobile devices. Some links may expire after posting or be paywall-protected.