The Fort Worth Stockyards is getting its first structured parking garage, and the family behind one of the district's oldest stores is paying for it.
M.L. Leddy's and the Franklin family, working with Parking Systems of America, broke ground Thursday, Oct. 8, on a $14 million, four-and-a-half-story garage at Ellis Avenue and NW 25th Street. It will replace a surface lot next to the Leddy's store that is among the most heavily used in the district, according to the Fort Worth Report and the project's announcement.
The garage is expected to add about 246 parking spaces, which the developers say raises parking on the west side of the Stockyards by 32%. NBC 5 reported the garage will be open to the public. The Fort Worth Report said construction itself is expected to start within weeks; no completion date has been announced.
The congestion problem
A 2023 city traffic study of the Stockyards found severe overcapacity and circulation problems in the core of the district, especially on Ellis Avenue, Exchange Avenue and NW 25th Street. It found most streets there running above the 85% parking occupancy the city considers desirable, and it recommended making better use of parking on the west side to spread out demand.
The project announcement says overflow parking has spilled into neighborhoods west of the district. Mayor Pro Tem Carlos Flores, who represents the area on the City Council, called the garage "a practical step towards reducing congestion" and said at the groundbreaking that it is designed to fit the look of the historic district rather than read as a standard parking deck.
Mayor Mattie Parker said in the announcement that projects like it help the district welcome visitors while "protecting the neighborhoods and businesses that make it so special."
M.L. Leddy's general manager, Mark Dunlap, said the Franklin family has invested in the Stockyards for more than 85 years. The bootmaker opened its Stockyards location in 1941.
