👑TPG gets royal treatment; FW company purchased; New $100M golf course

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📣NEWS OF THE DAY:

Fort Worth-based developer Trademark Property Company has secured a $61-million construction loan from First United Bank to build The Vickery, a mixed-use project south of downtown at W. Vickery Blvd. and Hemphill Street. The community will have 321 apartments, townhomes, and a 5,300-square-foot restaurant and lounge.

Alberta, Canada-based US LBM has acquired ZyTech Building Systems, a building product manufacturer and distributor in Fort Worth. ZyTech primarily designs and manufactures structural building components, such as floor and roof trusses and associated engineered wood products. Todd Monroe, who has led the plant since it opened in 2015, will continue to lead day-to-day operations.

Fort Worth-based Escalante Golf, owners and operators of golf courses and private clubs, says it's $100-million Kelly Ranch Golf Club on 240 acres at Highway 377 and Kelly Road should be completed by spring 2025. The architect is Tripp Davis.

TPG and Lunate Capital, a financial firm overseen by the Abu Dhabi royal family, launched a climate fund called the "Global South Initiative." $500 million will come from Alterra, a climate-focused investment manager established by Lunate, and TPG will manage the fund.  Alterra also will commit $1 billion to TPG's Rise Climate II fund, part of the Fort Worth firm's $18 billion impact investing arm. TPG will also invest $1 billion and raise additional capital from its broader network of limited partners.

Dickies Arena topped Billboard magazine’s year-end rankings for venues with a seating capacity of 10,001 to 15,000. Rankings were based on gross revenue, attendance and number of shows from Nov. 1, 2022, to Sept. 30, 2023. During the period, the venue grossed $70.5 million and had 110 shows with a total attendance of 929,000.

The UNT Health Science Center is hosting a Techstars Physical Health Demo Day today and ten high-growth, early-stage startup founders will make pitches in hopes of securing a share of $10 million in equity investments during three years by HSC and Goff Capital. The finalists were selected out of 4,000 applicants. To RSVP to attend in person, follow this link. To attend virtually, click here.  

“Now hiring” signs MIA: U.S. job openings hit a 2-year low in October, with an estimated 1.3 jobs available for every unemployed person.

Staussa Ervin, professor of psychology at TCC Trinity River, received the Molly Gerold Human Rights Award during the Texas Counseling Association’s Professional Growth Conference. The award, given annually, recognizes the recipient’s contributions in human rights.

Today in history:

• 1923: American toy company Hasbro was founded in Providence, Rhode Island.

• 1964: The classic television special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer premieres on NBC. It has aired every year since, making it the longest continuously running Christmas TV special in history. The story was based on the Johnny Marks song Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Marks specialized in Christmas songs, even though he was Jewish. He also wrote Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree (1958) and A Holly, Jolly Christmas (1962).

Snippets:

• Some like it hot: Chef Tim Love has introduced an afternoon tea service (through Christmas Eve) at the Backstage Club inside La Loteria.

• Spending in spades: Despite past trends, U.S. consumers are spending at record levels. Economists are mystified – and struggling to forecast an endpoint. 

• Pigskin pointer: No. 24-ranked James Madison (11-1) will play Air Force (8-4) in the 21^st edition of the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl. Kickoff is 2:30 pm Saturday, Dec 23 at TCU’s Amon G. Carter Stadium.

Nothing to do with business:

• Holy smoke: Officials in Tennessee found a booby-trapped former Methodist church hiding a sophisticated marijuana-growing operation.

• Hold that thought: A Colorado woman spent 278 hours (the equivalent of 11+ days) on hold with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment trying to receive her unemployment benefits.

• Giant hairball: A tumbleweed the size of a car was captured on video last week in California, where social media commenters compared it to belly lint gone wild.

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