✏️Crescent hires top Hillwood exec; I-30 lane closures this weekend; Would Jerry sell Cowboys for $15.5B?

Mach Industries, a defense technology company in Huntington Beach, CA, could land at Alliance in light of a package of up to $4.5 million in tax breaks and grants over 10 years approved by the Fort Worth City Council. Mach designs and builds aerospace and defense hardware, including unmanned aircraft, long-range munitions and alternative propulsion systems. 

Younger Partners Executive Vice President Ben McCutchin brokered the sale of 618 acres at the northwest quadrant of Friendship Road and FM 1385, north of U.S. 380, in Pilot Point to Hillwood for a master-planned community. Lantern by Hillwood is projected to be a $1.2-billion project that will include approximately 2,000 homesites, parks and open space, regional trail connections, retail, multi-family opportunities and a potential site for a future Pilot Point ISD elementary school. 

Fort Worth council members agreed to a 90-day moratorium to establish clear standards for data center development by utilizing tools under its existing regulatory authority. It also established a Fort Worth Data Center & Infrastructure Commission and will adopt an application requirement for data centers. 

Wow, what are the Dallas Cowboys worth? The Los Angeles Lakers are being sold to Josh Kushner of Thrive Capital and former Disney CEO Bob Iger for a record-breaking price of $12.5B. Kushner and Iger had been involved in bringing an expansion team to Las Vegas before this pivot. Mark Walter, CEO of Guggenheim Partners, is the majority owner of the Lakers and the Buss family owns about 15%. Sportico reported Wednesday the Cowboys are worth $15.5 billion. 

The Arlington Economic Development Corporation announced the Business Innovation and Research & Development Matching Funds program, which is designed to help Arlington-based technology and innovation companies grow and bring new products and technologies to market. The program provides matching grants up to $100,000 to companies that receive outside non-dilutive funding.

American Airlines, looking to match the financial results of its two key competitors, announced a management shakeup. Four executives joined the senior leadership team; three others are departing. See who and read why. 

Trinity Metro and partners break ground this morning for the Trinity Railway Express Double-Track Project along one of north Texas' most important regional rail corridors. The project will add approximately 2.5 miles of a second mainline track between Fort Worth Central Station and Trinity Lakes Station, eliminating one of the busiest single-track segments along the TRE.

All eastbound main lanes and ramps on I-30 in western Tarrant County will be completely closed from the I-20 interchange to West Loop 820. The closure starts tonight at 7 and re-opens Monday morning at 6.

Believe it or not: The U.S. Department of Transportation is actively recruiting video gamers to become air traffic controllers, citing skills such as spatial awareness, multitasking and quick decision-making. More than 2,000 air traffic controller candidates are currently in the hiring pipeline. “See Mom, I wasn’t playing video games. I was training for air traffic control.”

The Texas Workforce Commission voted to cut 9.5% of the state’s childcare scholarships, which represents approximately 14,000 seats for children. The scholarships are a federal funding program administered by each state, similar to SNAP or Medicaid, meant for low-income working families.

Texas 2036 takes a deep dive into the state of childcare in Texas; coincidentally, the state is granting fewer financial resources. 

The Municipal Court Judge of Watauga, J. Stewart Bass, has died following a medical emergency. Bass served with “professionalism, integrity, fairness, and a deep respect for the law and the people who appeared before his court,” city officials said in a news release. He earned his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 1985 and was licensed to practice law in Texas in 1986.

The Marine Central development at 1332 N. Main St. (Central Avenue and North Main) in Fort Worth has signed its first tenants -- Wild Knox Hat Bar, Cultura Markets and Sol Dias Ice Cream & Paleteria. The transactions were facilitated by Brittany Doyle and Kristen Fegley of LanCarte Commercial, who represent the property on behalf of ownership. 

Ascension Coffee is targeting an October opening at Southlake Town Square, its second Tarrant location and seventh in north Texas. It offers craft coffee, slow bars, seasonal flights, and a chef-driven breakfast and lunch menu.

Cambria Hotels, an upscale brand of Choice Hotels International, has opened the 107-room Cambria Hotel Euless–DFW Airport South. There is an on-site restaurant and bar, and complimentary airport transportation. 

A foreign entity with a website that did not check the age requirement refused to respect/answer a Texas civil court. So, the judge fired back by ordering Verisign to lock the company's .com domain. 

Fort Worth-based medical supplier Sanara MedTech reported second-quarter revenue of $28.14 million, a 9% increase year-over-year, but just short of consensus estimates of $28.95 million. Income of $1.8 million led to earnings per share of $(0.05). Gross profit of $26.2 million (93% of net revenue) was up from $23.9 million (92% of net revenue).

The Fort Worth Aviation Museum will honor aviation pioneer Bessie Coleman (posthumously) and Dave Palmer, one of the original General Dynamics F-16 test pilots, with The Wings Awards Saturday. Coleman was the first African American and first Native American woman to hold a pilot’s license, and the first Black person to earn an international aviation license. Palmer graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and flew Navy fighters in combat over Vietnam before joining General Dynamics as an experimental test pilot in 1977.

Worth Commercial brokers Jerry Bolz and Slater Howe announced land located at 6638 Bryant Irvin Road in Fort Worth has been sold. The .68 acres are situated near the southwest medical/hospital district with easy access to Chisholm Trail Parkway.

Fitch upgraded Fort Worth's Issuer Default Rating and limited tax bond rating to AA+ from AA, and upgraded the Multi-purpose Arena Venue Project bonds to AA+ from AA. Fitch maintained a Stable Outlook for the city.

First class pinning ceremony: Established in 2023 to help address Texas’ critical nursing shortage, the UNT Health Fort Worth College of Nursing will recognize 29 graduates as they transition from nursing students to professional nurses. Twenty-seven (93%) will graduate with honors, and nearly every graduate has accepted an RN position.

Fort Worth native Leon Bridges is back at the Bowie House hotel Sept. 13 for another intimate hometown concert benefiting his non-profit, The Big Good. The performance will feature songs from Grammy Award-winning Bridges' album “Happiness Anytime”. Individual tickets are not available, just packages. 

Defense contracts:

• Irving-based Lowery Property Advisors was awarded a $25-million contract for professional real estate appraisal services. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Fort Worth is the contracting activity with an estimated completion date of Aug. 11, 2031.

• Fort Worth-based FlightSafety Defense received a $19,707,848 contract modification for deliverable KC-46 Aircrew Training Devices. This award brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $592,682,072. The location of performance is Broken Arrow, OK., with delivery to MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. 

Snippets:

• Seven teams are competing in the U.S. Defense Rads to Watts program to create a miniature power cell that lasts for years-to-decades without re-charging.

• The University of Texas has reviewed and renewed its core curriculum and President Jim Davis released a letter regarding its phase-in by 2028.

• Cookie Queens documentary will get you prepared for Girl Scout cookie season.

Today in history: 1959 = Dallas businessman Lamar Hunt helps launch the American Football League. Hunt and other prospective owners met in Chicago and agreed to move forward with a rival to the National Football League, with Dallas and Houston among the original markets. Hunt’s Dallas Texans began play the next year, and in 1963, moved to Kansas City and became the Chiefs; the AFL merged with the NFL in 1970.

Significant stat: Austin’s real-estate market has cratered the past few years, Business Insider’s James Rodriguez recently reported. Asking prices have plummeted, and most people who bought in at the top are getting crushed. A whopping 79% of Austin-area homes sold in 2022 are worth less than their sale price, according to Realtor.com.

Announcements:

• Crescent Real Estate: Hires Reid Goetz as Managing Director, Industrial. He had been with Hillwood Properties, where he most recently served as Senior Vice President and Industrial Team Lead at AllianceTexas.

• Recovery Resource Center: Hires Sunny L. Drenik-Jaryga as Chief Operations Officer. 

• Kelly Hart: Adds attorney Macy Henre to its Corporate and Securities practice area. 

• UT-Arlington: Hires Danyelle Williams Ackall as Associate Professor of Instruction.

• Tarrant To & Through Partnership: Promotes Alexis Gonzales to Senior Manager of College Success. 

• Fort Worth: Selects Michael Slattery to lead an 11-member Data Center & Infrastructure Commission. Slattery is the director of TCU's Institute for Environmental Studies. Report is due in November.

• CEC Entertainment: Names Randy Forsythe President and Chief Operating Officer. 

• Aven Hospitality (formerly Sabre Hospitality): Appoints Heather Lisagor Vice President--Innovation and Product Excellence. 

• Fort Worth Youth Orchestra: Hires Carly Addison as Conductor for the Junior String Orchestra. 

• Abilene Christian University: Hires Carley Pursley as Assistant Professor. 

• Fort Worth ISD: Hires Ebonye McGee as Senior Executive Director of Employee Services – Office of Professional Standards.

• Encore Bank: Hires Hugo Florence as SVP-Relationship Manager. 

• Lockheed Martin: Names Ripley Krese Regulatory Compliance Analysis Manager. 

• Catholic Charities Fort Worth: Hires Paul Boyd as Client Services Integrator. 

• ÈisnerAmper: Hires Josh De Sisto as Tax Director.

• Healthcare Highways: Promotes Raena Chasteen to Executive Assistant to the CEO and Project Manager. 

• Jones Day: Associate position offer to Texas A&M third-year law student Delaney Barghols is accepted. 

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