By now you've probably heard of Magnolia Avenue in Fort Worth, a strip full of local restaurants and bars that anchors the Near Southside. But the area is quickly growing beyond one street.
The next up and coming epicenter is on South Main Street, where at the intersection with Pennsylvania Avenue, something new meets something waiting to be used. A new UT Southwestern building faces a rundown warehouse and an empty lot poised for development.
It's all part of the mix of old and new that's moving the Near Southside forward, with a nod to the past.
"We've finally got some momentum now," said Paul Paine. As president of Near Southside, Inc., he knows every inch of the area.
On a tour he points out every building, an old school turned into loft apartments, a gas station-turned restaurant. And you can see his genuine excitement at every new project coming to life.
"This building's going to be restaurant and retail," Paine pointed out. "Apartments on top and office space… This is the most activity we've ever had."
But there's a thread running through what's new that ties it all back to Fort Worth's past.
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"We built a place that brought back the fabric of what made this 100 years ago, a great community," Paine said.
"Thank goodness someone didn't tear all this down," said Jana Clark, standing at the entrance to her latest project The 4 Eleven, at 411 South Main.
"This is our wedding venue," she said, standing in the courtyard formed by lifting the roof off a 1920s Model T garage.
She's remodeling 411 South Main into a mixed-use restaurant, retail and event space in a century-old warehouse.
"We're going to keep the old and add some new," Clark said.
Everything here echoes that feeling.
"When you love your city, you want all of it to be redeemed and restored," said Clark.
Instead of bulldozing, they're bringing Southside soul to the surface. So even brand new neighbors, find something familiar.
"It's just very sentimental,” said new South Main apartment tenant Samantha Golden. “It's kind of like going home again."
Going home -- to the foundations of Fort Worth.
Right now there are about 1,000 apartment units under construction in the area, adding to another 1,000 that are already online.
Paine says that all the projects he listed, from restaurants to retail, should be done within the next two years.
The 4 Eleven hosts its first wedding this weekend.
