Plan for mall clears hurdle
By Anna M. Tinsley

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

A proposal that the city provide up to $22 million in incentives to renovate the old Fort Worth Town Center mall into a festival-style mercado passed a hurdle Tuesday at City Hall.

The City Council's economic development committee voted unanimously to forward the proposal to the council for consideration.

Jesus Legaspi and his partners plan to spend $42 million to turn the 1962 mall into a "town hall" and redo the exterior in a Spanish colonial theme, with sweeping archways and bold colors.

"This is not just an Hispanic development, it's something the entire community can enjoy going to," said Robert Sturns, the city's business-development coordinator, in presenting the plan to the committee.

Sturns outlined the proposal to revamp the mall known as La Gran Plaza -- and refund millions in taxes to the development group if sales increase.

The nearly 1 million-square-foot site at Interstate 35W and Seminary Drive will become a one-stop location where families can go for everything from entertainment and dental care to groceries and clothes, officials said.

Under the proposal, developers would receive as much as $21.8 million divided into annual grants over 20 years.

The amount they receive would be based on how much sales increase.

The mall now has about $89 in sales per square foot. If that amount jumps to $150 per square foot, developers could see $9.8 million in refunded taxes.

If it hits $200, developers would see $13.7 million refunded. And if sales reach $300 per square foot, developers would see $21.8 million spread over 20 years, according to the plan. Refunded taxes would be capped at $21.8 million.

But if sales don't pick up after the renovations -- expected to be completed in about two years -- then developers would get no financial help from the city.

"The onus is on them, in terms of making this a successful project," said Councilwoman Wendy Davis, who heads the economic development committee.

The mall, with several boarded-up storefronts, is 40 percent occupied and has had three owners in the past 10 years.

Legaspi and his team -- which includes Boxer Property, Churchill Capital and the Legaspi Co. -- bought the old Town Center mall last year for $16.5 million and have been meeting with area residents and business leaders.

They want to add 30,000 square feet of retail shops and 5,400 square feet of office space and create an amphitheater and central plaza.

Prospective tenants include FAMSA, an electronics and furniture store; Emyco, a shoe store; Ritmo Latino, a Hispanic music store; El Gallo Giro, a Mexican food market; Elektra, an electronics and furniture store; Deportes Marti, a sporting-goods store; Tres Hermanos, a western-wear store; Starbucks; Subway; and Marshalls.

Councilman Jim Lane said he believes that the proposal is a good idea.

"Fort Worth has a tremendous Mexican-American, or Hispanic, population," said Lane, a committee member. "This attracts not just Hispanics, but everyone else too."

Under the proposal, the mall and its stores would create 300 full-time jobs -- at least half filled by Fort Worth residents -- and spend at least $70,000 on supplies and services each year with local minority- and womenowned businesses.