Mercantile West

Summarize the project's program, features and achievements?

Mercantile West is a 705,984 square foot industrial development comprised of two Class-A warehouse buildings located in Fort Worth's Mercantile Plaza along the I-35E service road. Developed through a partnership between KBC Advisors, Velocis, and Mercantile Partners, the project broke ground on May 16, 2022 with a scheduled completion date of July 31, 2023. Designed by Huitt-Zollars, the buildings offer modern industrial space near downtown Fort Worth.

The project faced delays in gaining approvals from the City of Fort Worth related to permitting and code interpretations. Close coordination was required to keep the project on schedule despite these obstacles. An active railroad bisects the site, complicating site logistics. Careful planning and coordination ensured safe working conditions while avoiding any disruption of the railroad.

The project specification required high temperature wiring to support the smoke evacuation system per City of Fort Worth requirements. With long lead times for delivery, extra care was taken in early procurement to avoid impacting the schedule. Significant re-grading was required during panel erection to enable truck and crane access around the north side of Building 2. This also required moving cranes and other equipment to keep work progressing safely. Featuring tilt-up concrete construction, the two buildings create an attractive new addition to Fort Worth's Mercantile Center with their modern two-tone gray and white color scheme.