Together with the Real Estate Council of Greater Fort Worth, Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce, the city of Fort Worth held its first Development 101 workshop last month.

What happened: According to the city news release, those in attendance included area developers and business owners. The goal of the four-hour workshop was to provide a roadmap for the development process and it showcased topics such as:
  • Zoning and urban design
  • Urban forestry,
  • Platting
  • Stormwater and other development-related areas
The details: According to the news release, city staff used a creative “real-world” scenario—a man named Bob was building a bistro—to highlight what processes could be triggered when trying to open a business. This scenario helped the audience follow the steps needed in a simplified manner.

What they said: “Instead of a dry talk about zoning or permits, we wanted to draw the audience in with a story of sorts,” said Daunte Rushton, development support administrator. “Giving them Bob to follow helped us explain the importance of each development area step when trying to open a business.”

“Thanks again for hosting this,” said Trevor Mendes with DHI Communities, a D.R. Horton Company. “It was a truly phenomenal and informative event. I enjoyed it thoroughly and look forward to seeing what y’all come up with for the next one.”

“Since this was our first workshop, we weren’t sure what the result would be,” said D.J. Harrell, director of development services. “But we believe it was received well, between the outstanding attendance numbers and how engaged the audience was.”


Diving in deeper: According to the news release, information on the next Development 101 workshop will be promoted on city social media channels and the city website when it becomes available. The workshop presentation can be found online.