💲Wabtec gains big locomotion order; Road trips for Cowboys & Cheerleaders; Major road closed alert🛑.

Westlake’s Circle T Ranch, a Ross Perot Jr. property, announced it will break ground this year on Front 44, a mixed-use project between the Charles Schwab offices and the fork of Texas 170 and Texas 114. Once completed in 2027, it will have retail, restaurants and an upscale hotel with 150 rooms. A 54,000-square-foot office building also is planned. A steakhouse, food and beverage businesses, and health and wellness shops are expected to be the retail components. 

Union Pacific and Wabtec announced a landmark, $1.2-billion agreement to modernize the railroad’s fleet of AC4400 locomotives. Much of the work will be performed in Wabtec's Fort Worth facility. 

Road closure alert! Between 9 p.m. tonight through 3 p.m. Sunday, TXDot is closing all lanes of I-30 from the I-820 West Loop to Chapel Creek Boulevard to make room for a bridge demolition. Read here for your alternatives. 

Fort Worth-based Vertess said it closed four sell-side advisory transactions during December/January 2026. The healthcare mergers and acquisitions advisory firm said 2025 was a significant uptick in M&A activity after two years of a sluggish market.

The Dallas Cowboys will host their first international game during the 2026 season as the team chose to forego one of nine home games for the first NFL game to be played in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The date and opponent will be announced this spring. 

Fort Worth is on the schedule this year when the Cowboys Cheerleaders take their high kicks and audition routines on a 9-show, April road trip. They will perform at the Will Rogers Auditorium on Thursday, April 9. Parts of the tour include tryouts for next year's team. 

Travis Goff, President of Goff Capital and one of several large Fort Worth investors in Washington-based ProbablyMonsters, says the gaming company's latest offering -- Nekome: Nazi Hunter -- has arrived.

Son Nathan Hodges had a quirky idea. Father and welder Brian Hodges missed working with people. Last June 1, they opened a Pokémon business called Card Center in North Richland Hills. It is hard to tell who is having more fun. The Collegian caught up with the former Tarrant County College student-turned-entrepreneur for a Q&A.

Silicon Labs entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Texas Instruments in an all-cash transaction valuing the company at approximately $7.5 billion, or $231 per share, with closing expected in the first half of 2027. The deal is designed to create a global leader in embedded wireless connectivity.

Beacon Pointe Advisors announced three recent acquisitions worth approximately $62 billion, including what had been InvestmentHunter Wealth Services in Fort Worth. Beacon Pointe is led by Alisha and Burk Rosenthal.

TCU is launching a Chancellor’s Innovation Prize challenge for students, faculty and staff to propose innovative solutions that improve university operations and support student success. This year's competition centers on operational artificial intelligence, emphasizing the purposeful use of AI technologies to enhance academic, administrative and student-facing functions. There will be three $5,000 prizes. 

Texas Wesleyan University, with AllCampus as its partner, is launching its first doctoral-level online programs — the Doctor of Nursing Practice and the Doctor of Education. AllCampus helps universities and employers solve their biggest academic program and workplace challenges. 

It's all (new) Greek to them. Sororities Zeta Phi Beta and Lambda Theta Alpha are returning to Texas Wesleyan, and Alpha Kappa Alpha is looking to establish a chapter.

Fort Worth-based Presidio Investment Holdings, an oil and gas operator focused on the acquisition and optimization of mature, producing oil and natural gas assets in the United States, re-affirmed its initial dividend framework and broader shareholder return strategy in conjunction with the previously announced business combination with EQV Ventures Acquisition Corp.

Fort Worth-based AZZ provided financial guidance for fiscal year 2027, beginning on March 1, 2026, and ending February 28, 2027.

Effective Feb. 16, luxury bus operator Vonlane is offering rides between Fort Worth and Austin. The new Fort Worth to and from Austin schedule is 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday, Thursday and Friday.

Goodwill North Central Texas has leased a retail location in Mansfield, relocating its existing store to a significantly larger space (19,677 sq ft) at 989 N. Walnut Creek Drive, Suite 151. The store, expected to open in April, will be the largest Goodwill North Central Texas retail location and will create 17 additional jobs and have approximately 30 employees.

Demolition is underway on the adaptive reuse of the 300,000-square-foot former Oncor Building at 115 W. 7th Street in Fort Worth. Developed by 3L Real Estate, the multi-family conversion construction is led by Hasen. The 16-story structure was built in 1952 for Fort Worth National Bank. 

Texas commercial real estate accounted for about $203B into the state economy during 2025, according to a research foundation's Economic Impacts of Commercial Real Estate, 2026 U.S. Edition. Texas was the top state for CRE’s contributions to state GDP. Texas also ranked No. 1 for total economic impact in office, warehouse and retail, leaving room for other states to lead in just multi-family and industrial, a separate category from warehouse.

Six Flags Over Texas and Hurricane Harbor Arlington plan to hire more than 1,400 seasonal employees for their 2026 seasons, which launch Feb. 28. Go here for details.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has new work requirements for eligibility. What went into effect is recipients must work and document at least 20 hours per week or 80 hours per month.

Joe's Italian Restaurant at 1601 Park Place in Fort Worth closed after 26 years. No problem. You can find him occasionally at Italiano’s (5442 River Oaks Blvd.), which he owns with his wife and daughter.

42,000 students applied for Texas Education Freedom Accounts Wednesday, the first day of the $10,500 voucher program’s launch. The number is a nationwide record for most enrollments for day one of a new school choice program, surpassing Tennessee’s 33,000 applications in 2025.

Significant stat: 129,115 = Record number of rides in December provided by Trinity Metro’s TEXRail, beating a previous mark of 103,312 set in December 2024.

Daily digit: $529 million = Estimated amount that Anheuser-Busch has spent on Super Bowl spots the past five decades. The Budweiser Clydesdales have appeared in 47 Super Bowl commercials.

Snippets:

• Fort Worth-based Rainwater Foundation announces its 2026 research winners and disbursement of $1 million in prize funds. 

• LaMonte McLemore, a singer and founding member of The 5th Dimension, has passed away at 90.

• John Biever has photographed every Super Bowl. Here are his 5 favorite shots.

Building owners and property managers: 817 Biz seeks additional distribution outlets in office buildings/towers for it’s bi-monthly print publication. Our partnership program allows us greater visibility and has special enhancements for your management services. For more information, email [email protected].

Announcements:

• Fort Worth: Names Cynthia Sanchez Serrano Director of the Fort Worth Public Events Department and leader of Phase 2 of the Fort Worth Convention Center’s expansion and modernization project.

• Fort Worth: Names Mike Crum Deputy Director of Special Projects. 

• Will Rogers Memorial Center: Hires Shanda Pettibone Cartwright for interim role as Director of Sales and Marketing.

• Silvas Law: Selects Jon P. Bennett as Chief Operating Officer and Head of Business Solutions.

• Recovery Resource Council: Rosa Maria Berdeja, Vice-Chair since 2024, is now Board Chair. She is an attorney and community advocate.

• Citadel Partners: Hires Alexa Bode as Director of Marketing for Fort Worth and Dallas.

• Venator Resources: Names Nikki Tramel Chief Financial Officer. 

• JPMorganChase: Names R. Steve Weger Head of Product Chase Auto.

• UMB Bank: Promotes Austin Hold to SVP-Treasury and Commercial Card Sales.

• FranFund: Promotes Holly Bejar to Executive Vice President of Operations and Shay Kleinschmidt to Executive Vice President of Business Development.

• Wells Fargo: Hires Nick Punzalan as Relationship Manager-Commercial Banking. 

• Klein Tools: Promotes Joey Welk as Sr. Director of Engineering Services. 

• Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Fort Worth Market: Promotes Chris Nietenhoefer to Managing Director.

• Trinity Bank: Adds George Coultress (Trindero Partners) to Board of Directors. 

• Yamaha: Recognizes Rolando Rivera of Diamond Hill -Jarvis High School as one of its top 40 under-40 music educators in the U.S.

• National Association of Royalty Owners: Names Jason Fitzgerald, Whitley Penn Mineral & Asset Management Senior Manager, President of the organization.

• BridgeBio: Hires Belinda Gist as Vice President Medical Affairs-Neuromuscular.

• WLS Lighting and Electrical: Names Alex Stolz as Operations Director. 

• Mental Health Connection of Tarrant County: Adds Emily D. Mills (TCU), PhD, LPC-S; Brian Miller (Camp Fire), MS, LPC; and Laura Kender (MHMR), MS Ed, to its Board of Directors. 

• Goodyear Cotton Bowl Athletic Association: President & Chief Executive Officer Rick Baker to retire.

• Parkinson’s Foundation: Hires Alexia Willis as Community Education & Outreach Manager. 

• Ben E. Keith: Hires Rebecca Wells as District Sales Representative.

• Dallas Cowboys: Adds Tyler Potts to lead Partner Sales & Strategy.

817 Biz is formatted for viewing on mobile devices. If this email doesn’t look right, click the link at top right. Some links may expire after initial posting or be paywall-protected.