(rshsdepot) Fort Worth, TX

["James Dent" <james.dent_@_itochu.com>]

-From the Trains News Wire...

Fort Worth officials like T&P renovation plans, but not its price tag

City officials in Fort Worth, where developers want to turn the Texas &
Pacific Terminal building into a railroad-themed luxury hotel, said this
week that they support the concept but have concerns over the $50 million
cost of the project.

The developers want the city to create a special authority that would help
finance the project, The Star Telegram of Fort Worth reported. The
developers, who announced the project in September, said they would invest
$10 million in the hotel. The authority would assume the rest of the debt
through tax-free bonds.

Plans call for the art deco train station and office tower to be transformed
into a four-star hotel. It would feature between 290 and 330 rooms, an
upscale diner and even a cosmetically restored 19th century steam locomotive
that has been buried in Village Creek in Arlington, Texas, since it derailed
in 1885. Guests also would be able to stay in rooms in one of a dozen 1930’s
vintage sleeper cars.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has expressed an interest in operating the hotel,
the newspaper reported. The hotel, if approved, could open in late 2002 or
early 2003.

The T&P terminal closed in 1969. Until last year, the nine floors above the
lobby were occupied by state offices. The terminal is expected to see rail
service again once Trinity Railway Express commuter trains begin serving
Fort Worth in fall 2001.

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