Historic Downtown Fort Worth Building to be Renovated by New Owners
Local investors Darwin German and David Tuttle team up to restore the Daiches Jewelry Building located on Weatherford Street near the historic Tarrant County Courthouse
Local investor Darwin German has teamed up with commercial broker and investor David Tuttle to renovate a 100 year-old historic building in downtown Fort Worth. The two, both Fort Worth residents, have had a successful working relationship dating back nearly ten years including office, warehouse and multi-family transactions throughout the DFW area.
German has had his eye on what is known locally as the Daiches Building for years. Coming from a family with a rich real estate investment and development history he knew how important the location was from a historical perspective since it is close to the site of the original city of Fort Worth and across the street from the Tarrant County Courthouse. He also recognized the architectural importance of the structure itself, and when he called Larry Daiches five years ago to make an offer he was disappointed when they could not make a deal. Recently Larry’s son-in-law Glen Stuart (who currently owns Joe Daiches Jewelers) decided to move the business out of downtown after 81 years in the same location. Daiches contacted German to see if he was still interested and German jumped at the chance to own an irreplaceable piece of Fort Worth history. “Whenever I drove by the Daiches Building I thought what a shame it was the building was being underutilized – that’s the real estate investor in me. At this point it’s not just about the numbers working, but also being able to make sure a little piece of Fort Worth’s history can be saved.”
Tuttle, who launched his own commercial real estate consulting and investment company one year ago, was searching for a local project when German called looking for an operating partner. “I love the building, so it was a no-brainer for me since Darwin and I have always worked well together. He didn’t have time to manage the construction and leasing of the project, which makes us a great team since that’s exactly what I do as a commercial broker”.
George L. Gause, a funeral home operator, built the 9,000 square foot, three-story building on the corner of Weatherford and Houston Streets in 1910. The idea is to renovate the Daiches Building, located at 117 W. Weatherford Street, back to its original condition including the removal of the ground level mosaic façade added in 1955. The second and third floors operated as a hotel for almost seventy years but have been closed and unoccupied since the late 1970s. Like a time capsule, much of the original configuration of the 30 offices on the top two floors is intact, including original doors, transom windows, hardware, wood floors, chair rails, molding and tin ceiling tiles.
The location, within two blocks of Tarrant County civil, criminal and family law centers as well as administration buildings, is ideal for an attorney along with the possibility of retail on the ground level. Preconstruction leasing has already started with occupancy available in early 2011.
Cowboys of Color Rodeo Joins the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo
for the First Time in 114 years!
Come enjoy the excitement of western heritage January 18th
at
2 p.m. at Will Rogers Coliseum.
