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Official City Release

Council approves improvement district for Panther Island

press releaseTuesday, February 24, 2026Fort Worth Press Releases
City Council approved the creation of a Public Improvement District (PID) for the Panther Island project, covering approximately 407 acres, to fund operations, maintenance, and enhanced amenities through special assessments on property owners at a maximum rate not to exceed $0.165 per $100 of valuation.
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Topics
development
tax
public_hearing
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Mentioned Entities

Analysis

Overview

Fort Worth City Council approved the creation of a Public Improvement District (PID) for the Panther Island project following a public hearing on February 24, 2026.

Financial Highlights

The PID assessment rate is structured in three tiers tied to project milestones, with a hard ceiling of $0.165 per $100 of valuation.

Development & Land Use

The Central City Flood Control Project will create Panther Island and open more than 300 acres immediately north of downtown Fort Worth for development or redevelopment.

Infrastructure & Facilities

The Central City Flood Control Project will construct a Trinity River bypass channel to divert floodwaters, restoring flood protection to over 2,400 acres near downtown Fort Worth and enabling removal of aging levees.

Insights by Role

Contractor

MediumMedium significance — notable action worth trackingCanal C Phase 1 is the next major construction milestone in the Panther Island sequence and the first to trigger a PID rate change, signaling it is the near-term procurement event to monitor. TRWD board agendas are the place to watch for authorization of the Canal C Phase 1 construction contract.

Developer

MediumMedium significance — notable action worth trackingAt the initial cap of $0.02 per $100 valuation, PID carrying costs are low during the pre-construction period. The two rate triggers — TRWD board authorization of Canal C Phase 1 and $50 million in cumulative private improvements — are both monitorable milestones that signal when assessment exposure will rise and when the district has reached meaningful development scale.

Journalist

MediumMedium significance — notable action worth trackingTRWD has committed to paying PID assessments at the maximum rate — $0.165 per $100 — on its tax-exempt holdings within the district. The assessed value of TRWD's property inside the 407-acre boundary is not disclosed in the announcement, but quantifying it would reveal how much of the PID's early operating revenue is underwritten by a public agency rather than private landowners.

Source Text

Open source →

City Council held a hearing on Tuesday and approved the creation of a Public Improvement District (PID) for the Panther Island project.

PIDs are designated areas established to provide specific types of public improvements or maintenance, funded through special assessments paid by property owners in the district. Fort Worth currently has 14 active PIDs.

Property owners representing the majority of taxable property value petitioned to create the PID. The district will fund ongoing operations, maintenance and improvements as development occurs.

Enhanced amenities, including streetscapes, canal paseos, parks and the urban lakefront, will require operational support and maintenance that is above and beyond normal City services, and so are appropriate for funding by property owners through a PID.

The Panther Island PID comprises approximately 407 acres (including tax-exempt areas) of property.

The assessment rate shall not exceed $0.02 per $100 valuation until the Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) board has authorized a contract to begin construction of Canal C, Phase 1. The assessment rate shall not exceed $0.05 per $100 valuation until there has been a total of $50 million in new private improvements to property in the Panther Island PID. The maximum assessment rate shall at no time exceed $0.165 per $100 of valuation.

To establish the foundation of the PID and its improvements in its initial years, TRWD has committed to voluntarily participate for property that it owns, at the maximum rate, despite its tax-exempt status. Other public partners will be asked to do the same to allow sufficient funding as the PID develops.

About the project

The Central City Flood Control Project is a long-planned flood control project in partnership with multiple public agencies. The most prominent feature is a bypass channel in the Trinity River that will divert flood waters, restore flood protection to over 2,400 acres near downtown and allow aging levees to be removed.

The Central City Project will also result in the creation of Panther Island and more than 300 acres immediately north of downtown Fort Worth being available for development or redevelopment.

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