Fort Worth’s buzziest new hotel is now taking reservations. Why the Nobleman is so unique.

Inside Look stories give Star-Telegram subscribers exclusive sneak peeks and behind-the-scenes reporting. Story suggestion? Editors@star-telegram.com.

A boutique hotel opening soon along the growing South Main Street corridor will likely be a first of its kind in Fort Worth — it will have a fireman’s pole in the lobby.

The Nobleman, a 153-room hotel expected to open April 1, was built around a 113-year-old fire station and incorporates the historic structure into the design. The hotel is part of Hilton’s Tapestry Collection, a group of independent hotels with a local feel.

The Nobleman is one block away from the Michelin Guide-recommended restaurant Panther City BBQ on East Pennsylvania Avenue. It’s also about a 10-minute walk from Fort Worth T&P station, allowing travelers to easily connect to TEXRail and the TRE.

The hotel has over 2,400 square feet of event space and meeting rooms. Other amenities include an outdoor pool, fitness center and an on-site restaurant. The hotel restaurant Duchess, created by “Top Chef” star Casey Thompson of Dallas, will seat 56 guests and serve Texas-inspired New American cuisine for breakfast and dinner. The Nobleman will also be home to Station No. 5, a cocktail bar. Both concepts will have their own outdoor seating areas.

Jeff Blackman, the founder and president of Dallas-based Bedford Lodging, is the hotel’s developer. He said connecting the historic building to the modern hotel has been a fun challenge.

Built in 1911, the fire station closed in 1965. It was used as storage until the late 1990s, when it was restored. A vodka distillery opened in the firehouse in 2017. Dallas-based developer CanTex Capital announced plans to turn the building into a hotel in 2019. Blackman bought the property after CanTex’s plans fell through.

Blackman said locals are excited about the project.

“I don’t think I’ve ever developed a hotel where I’ve had more people reach out from the community and tell me how excited they are about having a hotel in the neighborhood,” Blackman said.

Travis Bell, a project manager with Crossland Construction, said in December there were roughly 70 workers on the site every day.

The site was bustling when the Star-Telegram visited, as crews worked on ceilings and guest rooms. Light fixtures and other finishings, such as wallpaper, still needed to be installed throughout much of the property. Multicolored wires snaked out from behind walls in some areas, dangling from the ceiling in others.

Bell said prior to the renovation, he found a book of hand-drawn maps of Tarrant County in the firehouse, its pages yellowed with age. He is unsure exactly how old it was, but one map referred to today’s Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth as Fort Worth Army Airfield, which it was named from 1942 until 1948.

The historic firehouse is the main entryway to the connected new building behind it, which has guest rooms. The lobby and a second-floor seating area for guests are in the firehouse.

The firehouse’s original staircase, which will have a glass railing, will be a focal point of the lobby. Bell said finding a glassmaker who could create a railing that follows the staircase’s tight curve was difficult. A firefighter pole will be installed in the lobby as an homage to its history.

About two-thirds of the building’s windows were restored; those that couldn’t be repaired were replaced with carefully made replicas. The original firemen’s lockers, still intact on the second floor, will be part of a guest lounge.

Barbara Brauss, the Nobelman’s director of sales, said the hotel already has weddings on its calendar for the spring. The hotel is accepting reservations for stays on April 1 and beyond.

An emerging hospitality hub

Located at 503 Bryan Ave., near South Main Street and East Pennsylvania Avenue, the Nobleman is a new entrant into Near Southside’s growing hospitality market, much of which seems to target a specific niche of travelers looking for elevated concepts.

Hotel Revel opened in June 2020 on Eighth Avenue near the popular shopping and dining corridor of West Magnolia Avenue. A Tempo by Hilton is planned for 1200 Hemphill St., between West Magnolia and West Rosedale Street.

Blackman said Near Southside is an interesting submarket for Fort Worth’s hospitality industry, and there’s enough demand in the area to warrant additional hotels. He thinks the personality of the Nobelman will set it apart.

“While I don’t like to see new competition, we like our position,” Blackman said.

Blackman said the development may be ahead of the area’s market, though he expects continuing economic development to sustain it. He said unlike in other cities, hotels in Fort Worth see strong bookings during the week and on weekends. He also said the popularity of hybrid work has led to increased weekend bookings across the hotel industry.

Blackman also expects the Nobleman’s proximity to the medical district to generate business. Thirty-two of the hotel’s 153 rooms will have kitchenettes to accommodate guests on longer stays, such as medical professionals.

He declined to say how much Bedford Lodging has invested in the Nobleman, but construction costs were initially estimated at $26.5 million, according to state records.

Bedford Lodging develops only Marriott and Hilton properties. The company used to develop primarily long-stay hotels and those with limited service, but it has shifted toward smaller brands under the Marriott and Hilton umbrellas, which Blackman called “soft brands.” Unlike a traditional chain hotel, soft brands are more independent and reflect where they’re located.

“We’ve become enamored with soft brands,” Blackman said of his company.

Blackman isn’t the only developer to bet on the concept — such brands have taken off in Fort Worth.

The Stockyards’ Hotel Drover and the Sinclair in downtown are part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection imprint. The recently opened Le Méridien Fort Worth is also a Marriott brand. The Tempo by Hilton coming to Near Southside is a lifestyle-focused brand.

Blackman said Fort Worth has a stronger sense of place than other Texas cities, making it perfect for boutique hotel concepts. Soft brands work well for building conversions, like the Nobleman’s fire station.

But hospitality development has become more challenging across the country.

Blackman said construction costs have risen about 40% since 2019. Over the past decade, the construction timeline for a hotel the size of the Nobleman has stretched from 12 months to anywhere from 18 to 22 months, in part because subcontractors have struggled to find skilled workers. High borrowing rates have also deterred new development.

“It’s tough, it really is,” Blackman said. “I think a lot of my peers in the industry are kind of struggling with the same dynamic, as where do you deploy capital right now, given some of those headwinds,” Blackman said.

Bedford Lodging has adapted to the shifting market conditions by being cautious and exploring new technologies, he said.

The company experimented with modular construction to build an AC Hotel in Santa Rosa, California. Modular construction saves building costs, but transporting finished modules can become prohibitively expensive if the factory isn’t close to the project site. Blackman is also interested in the possibilities that 3-D printing could have for the construction industry.

“We’re not afraid to try new things and experiment,” Blackman said.