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Flood control projects have become economic drivers for many American cities. With this in mind, proponents of Fort Worth’s Panther Island look toward San Antonio’s success while creating their own path forward.

The River Walk transformed San Antonio. Could Panther Island do the same for Fort Worth?

An infusion of federal funding puts Fort Worth on a path to pull off its long-awaited waterfront project. History gives clues to what happens next.

By Rachel Behrndt, Andrea Drusch, Tracy Idell Hamilton and Haley Samsel, Fort Worth Report and San Antonio Report

A tale of two rivers

Fort Worth’s skyline, with the Trinity River in the foreground, is pictured in 1973.

Redevelopment in Fort Worth

San Antonio River Walk visitors step across a stone path in front of the Omni La Mansión Del Rio hotel.

A blueprint for Panther Island

San Antonio: Model for public participation

San Antonio architect Irby Hightower was deeply involved in the development of the Museum Reach River Walk extension.
Cyclists ride along the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River near the Mission County Park Trailhead.

Finding the right champion

J.D. Granger, left, and Shanna Cate Granger, right, listen to a councilmember speak at the Henderson Street bridge ribbon-cutting ceremony in October 2021.

“Power of personality”

Former Mayor Phil Hardberger speaks during a City Council meeting in 2019.

Changing winds in Washington 

U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, whose district includes parts of Dallas and Tarrant County, including Panther Island, was instrumental in securing project funding from the Biden administration.
White Settlement Bridge extends, for now, over dry land. The bridges were completed in 2021, after several delays related to construction and funding.

“We don’t want to be erased”

Arturo and Rosalinda Martinez live in the Far Greater Northside Historical neighborhood. They co-founded Historians of Latino Americans (HOLA) Tarrant County.
Encore Panther Island, a Fort Worth apartment complex, offers a preview of a proposed canal system that could wind its way through future Panther Island.

Doing its own thing


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