🌙JPM: Goodbye Sundance, hello Crescent; Blizzard blows up this love story; Rainwater exec leaving for San Antonio.

John Goff is expanding his mixed-use Crescent development near West 7th and University with an office building anchored by JPMorgan Chase & Co. Crescent Real Estate will break ground today on the project, which will include 170,000 square feet of office space, a gym and two restaurants. JPMorgan will relocate into double the space it has in Sundance Square and expects around 300 employees, up from 160 at its existing office.

Fort Worth-based U.S. Energy Development Corporation acquired approximately 20,000 net acres in Reeves and Ward counties in the Permian Basin. The position includes a substantial proved producing component and multi-year drilling inventory, and the $390-million price tag is the largest single acquisition in the company's 45-year history.

Nothing to do with business: A blizzard of publicity for a young Fort Worth woman's TikTok post turns into a Dairy Queen wedding for the future Mr. and Mrs. Blizzard.

Banks held off the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau when the latter agreed it had overstepped its reach with an $8 limit on late credit card fees, among other things. A judge will have to sign off on the agreement with the American Bankers Association.

With approximately 88 million passengers during 2024, D-FW International Airport maintained its position as the third busiest airport in the world, according to Airports Council International. Atlanta and Dubai remained in the top two spots in total passenger traffic. 

North Richland Hills-based Tremedics has won the 2024 MassChallenge Healthcare Award and the $25k first prize. The competition included 128 startups selected from more than 1,300 applications. Tremedics, a TechFW member since 2018, was recognized for its innovative and ground-breaking work on a stent designed to restore blood flow, seamlessly integrate with tissue and eventually dissolve, allowing for the natural growth of diseased aortas in children. 

American Airlines and AT&T will offer complimentary in-flight Wi-Fi on more than two million American flights a year, beginning in January 2026. The deal is exclusive to members of the AAdvantage loyalty program.

The Aerospace Maintenance Council’s 2025 Competition was dominated for the second year in a row by repeat winners Southwest Airlines Team Herb and Tarrant County College, which placed first in six of the competition’s events.

China's rare metals retaliation tariff sends Fort Worth MP Materials' stock soaring. 

A female Army Ranger competed in the annual Best Ranger Competition for the first time. Female soldiers were not allowed to be Army Rangers until 2015. She and her male teammate finished 14th.

ECI Software Solutions, a Fort Worth-based provider of cloud-based business management software and services, has acquired Davisware, which provides all-in-one business management solutions for service fields including commercial food equipment, HVAC & refrigeration, petroleum equipment, and overhead garage doors.

BNSF Railway has reached a tentative 5-year contract agreement with 320 SMART Yardmasters.

Westlake-based Schwab is offering its Alternative Investments Select fund, created in partnership with iCapital, to retail and Wealth Advisory clients with $5 million or more invested with the firm.

Southlake-based Sabre agreed to a multi-year contract with Bermuda airline BermudAir for Radixx, Sabre's low-cost, carrier passenger service system that supports growing operations.

Tarrant County Commissioners approved the acceptance of private donations for a Ten Commandments monument to be placed on the grounds at the county courthouse.

The Fort Worth ISD hired First Student of Cincinnati to provide a comprehensive suite of fleet maintenance services for the district's 240 buses. 

The U.S. isn’t currently in a recession, but "recession hair" has become a trending topic on social media. The term describes a cost-saving trend where during harder economic times women opt for lower-maintenance colors, cuts, styles and services to stretch out their trips to the hair salon.

Tarleton State and the Fort Worth ISD have an initiative to augment the number of teachers in high-need Fort Worth schools. The program aims to attract and recruit aspiring teachers who already work in another capacity for the ISD and have an associate degree or equivalent hours to obtain their bachelor’s in education from Tarleton. An interest form for aspiring teachers is here.

This purse can’t even fit an iPhone, but it keeps selling out. While most entrepreneurs would agree that it’s impossible to fully manufacture virality, Larian Hekmat has developed a seemingly reliable playbook. Here are three ways she’s leaned on her creativity and strategic thinking to gain traction with consumers.

Believe it or not: NASA is offering $3 million to anyone who proposes the best technology to recycle feces and other human waste in space.

Daily digit: The U.S. ended 2024 with 1,354 fewer retail bank branches than when the year began. At least 211 more have closed already this year.

Significant stat: AI experts are far more likely than the general public to believe AI will have a very or somewhat positive impact on the U.S. over the next two decades (56% vs. 17%).

Announcements:

• Mays Family Foundation: Hires Jay McCall to lead the foundation. He had been with Rainwater Charitable Foundation in Fort Worth. 

• Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: Honors Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center as winner of Technical/Technology category of Texas Environmental Excellence Awards. 

• American Airlines:  Selects Karen Correa Matos as Analyst IOC Planning & Support. 

• Landsea Homes: Names Stewart Parker President of Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin divisions; Brandon Dickinson as Vice President of Operations -Texas; and Shawn Jeffcoat Vice President of Construction - Texas.

• Rural Media Group: Sisters Gatsby Gottsch Solheim and Raquel Gottsch Koehler to lead the media company founded by Patrick Gottsch. Solheim will be Chief Financial and Legal Officer. Koehler will be Chief Marketing and Creative Officer.

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