Iconic Fort Worth Stockyards Undergo a $175 Million Revamp

Other than the Alamo, it’d be hard to find a place as Texas-y as the Fort Worth Stockyards. The iconic district is rich with history and western charm. Now, a $175 million renovation is bringing major changes to the neighborhood and its storied buildings.

The Stockyards Heritage Development Company, a partnership between Majestic Realty Co. and The Hickman Companies, has unveiled big plans for the future of the Stockyards – without erasing its interesting past.

“We knew from the moment we first visited the district over 20 years ago that this was a rare gem… a place people from all over the world visit for a taste of Texas and the West,” Craig Cavileer, executive vice president of Majestic Realty Co./Stockyards Heritage Development Company, says in a statement. “That’s a tall order as a developer, but also an inspirational one.

“We have never taken it lightly.”

The company is ushering in a new era of the Stockyards with the renovation of the historic Horse and Mule Barns, as well as improvements to the Stockyards’ Exchange Avenue. The area will become a bustling hotspot with new restaurants, shopping, office spaces and live entertainment venues, anchored by a four-star boutique hotel.

Hotel Drover, a Marriott Autograph Collection hotel, is expected to open in spring 2020. Could this be The Adolphus of Fort Worth?

The Texas-inspired property will feature 200 rooms and suites, 15,000-square-feet of meeting space, and (of course) a dramatic, elegant barn for events. We have a feeling rustic-chic weddings are set to make a comeback in North Texas…

Also slated for the development are Second Rodeo Brewing Co., a brewpub-meets-music-hall from the team behind Dallas’ Truck Yard; Fort Worth’s first Shake Shack; MB Mercantile & Supply, an artisanal general store and eatery; and RFD-TV headquarters and studios.

If all goes well, the renovation will only help the Fort Worth Stockyards become more Texan. If that’s possible.