Hillwood, developer of the 27,000-acre AllianceTexas development in Fort Worth, continues to move forward with its effort to create the inland port of the future.

Hillwood, BNSF Railway and the City of Fort Worth established the Alliance Logistics District following a Fort Worth City Council vote on Nov. 11 enabling its creation. The ordinance passed by the council eliminated certain requirements and fees for overweight vehicles operating on city streets within the established district and adopted a resolution supporting the use of hostler trucks and autonomous vehicle technology.

With the new district, Hillwood aims to make the movement of goods from warehouses to the BNSF Alliance intermodal facility easier, said Nick Konen, vice president of strategic development.

“We’re trying to make that movement as efficient as possible, and to allow for any type of movement that could theoretically come off of the rail,” he said

The creation of the district, which spans 1,400 acres, allows the use of self-driving vehicles along roadways in the freight corridor. It also allows the use of private hostler vehicles without a commercial driver’s license to shuttle freight between the BNSF facility and warehouses. Finally, it allows trucks to carry loads of more than 80,000 pounds across the district’s roadways without the need for special permits.

Konen said BNSF’s facility plays an important role in moving goods in the region. Outside of seaports, the types of zones like the one recently created don’t exist at inland hubs, he said.

The Alliance facility is one of BNSF’s largest by volume and performs more than 1 million lifts a year.

Konen said the zone is the “cornerstone” of Alliance’s “smart port” strategy. Alliance is building a $262 million “smart port” to enhance the movement of cargo via new infrastructure, including a “smart connected bridge” from the BNSF Intermodal Facility to State Highway 170, a new 32-acre integrated intermodal depot with BNSF and the addition of 5G communication network capacity. Hillwood is also building a $20 million private bridge over FM 156 to link its industrial space to the BNSF Alliance intermodal facility.

“This is us being smart with how we structure the port and how we structure operations, or enhance those operations,” Konen said. “And we’re setting it up for an eye toward autonomy, which we know is coming.”

John Gabriel, group vice president of consumer products at Fort Worth-based BNSF, said the district, along with the private bridge, will help the railroad operate more efficiently by reducing transit time and travel distances for delivery of goods.

“It makes more traffic rail competitive, meaning rail can compete with … truck,” Gabriel said. “But it also allows those customers, those shippers that are using this mode to save the cost, to increase their capacity in their supply chain and ultimately reduce the carbon emissions.”

The BNSF facility at Alliance is believed to be the largest rail intermodal facility in North America, sitting on about 500 acres.

The area within the Alliance Logistics District could eventually see 14.9 million square feet of industrial warehouses, according to Hillwood. Current tenants in the area include Southwire, Walmart and the future Wistron facility. The inland port serves as the port of entry to the southwestern U.S. and connects to other ports including Los Angeles, Long Beach and Houston. AllianceTexas accounted for $834.6 million in trade in 2024, according to a recent study by the Texas Comptroller.

More construction related to AllianceTexas’ smart port is one the way, Michael Morris, director of transportation at the North Central Texas Council of Governments, said in early October. That work, which is in final design, includes dedicated lanes for trucks from SH 170 onto Intermodal Parkway. Part of the smart port effort is also creating a database to keep track of where containers are to coordinate efficient pick up off of a train.

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Spanning nearly 1,400 acres, the district gives companies the right to deploy semi- and fully autonomous vehicles along roadways in the freight corridor, supporting next-generation logistics and automation. Regulatory barriers and heavy-haul freight permits have also been eased to save costs, enhance connectivity, and improve efficiency.

Dallas-based Hillwood, BNSF Railway, and the city of Fort Worth have announced the creation of the Alliance Logistics District, a “first-of-its-kind” mobility logistics hub within the Smart Port at AllianceTexas, Hillwood’s 27,000-acre, master-planned, mixed-use development in north Fort Worth. 

The district—which was officially designated and approved by the Fort Worth City Council on Nov. 11—is designed to deliver tangible operational advantages to any operator or customer within its boundaries, Hillwood said. 

From autonomous vehicles to next-gen automation

The district’s benefits include the right to deploy semi- and fully autonomous vehicles along district roadways in the freight corridor, supporting next-generation logistics and automation.

There is now also a right to use private hostler vehicles without a commercial driver’s license (CDL) to shuttle freight between BNSF’s intermodal facility and district warehouses, increasing operational efficiencies and reducing regulatory barriers, Hillwood said.

In addition, heavy-haul freight movements with loads over 80,000 pounds can now be performed across the district’s roadways without the need for special-use permits, enabling efficient transport of high-density or oversized goods.

By being co-located with one of BNSF’s largest intermodal facilities, operators and customers “can realize significant operational cost savings, enhanced connectivity and improved logistics efficiency,” Hillwood said.

Anchored by North America’s largest inland rail port

Spanning nearly 1,400 acres, the Alliance Logistics District is anchored by BNSF’s Alliance intermodal facility, North America’s largest inland rail port. The district is “the first of its kind” within BNSF’s rail and intermodal ecosystem, Hillwood said, and will “redefine how freight moves through North Texas while reducing traffic on public roads.”

By enabling more efficient and cost-effective cargo transport, the district aims to help customers save “millions of dollars” annually while solidifying North Texas’ position as a national leader in logistics innovation. 

Purpose-built for next-generation industrial development, the district features direct BNSF rail access and flexible logistics infrastructure designed to support manufacturers and shippers handling heavy, dense, or high-value goods—including ceramics, plastics, and auto parts—in a business climate where “speed, efficiency and connectivity are critical,” Hillwood said.

Nicholas Konen, VP of strategic development at Hillwood, said the district “reinforces AllianceTexas’ standing as one of the most connected, forward-thinking logistics ecosystems in the country” by integrating “advanced technology, modern infrastructure, and regulatory flexibility.”

“These advancements reduce costs for customers, improve logistics efficiency and take pressure off public roadways,” Konen added in a statement. “Our long-standing partnerships with BNSF, the city of Fort Worth, and regional transportation leaders are truly a testament to how public-private collaboration sparks innovation, accelerates industrial development and drives economic opportunity.”

Primary port of entry for the Southwest

The inland port at AllianceTexas serves as the “primary port of entry for the southwestern United States,” Hillwood noted, linking global trade directly to the region through intermodal rail connections from ports including Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Houston.

One of only two intermodal logistics hubs in Texas that integrate air, ground and rail transportation, the inland port enables companies to efficiently move goods across all three modes of transit.

Jon Gabriel, BNSF group VP of consumer products, said the district “aligns perfectly with BNSF’s vision to deliver transportation services that consistently meet our customers’ expectations, with these innovations delivering cost savings and additional supply chain value.”

“By enabling the delivery of goods from rail to warehouse in a more efficient way, we’re increasing the traffic that can capitalize on the cost, capacity and sustainability benefits of intermodal while creating a scalable model for the next generation of inland ports,” Gabriel added in a statemet. “This strengthens the region’s freight infrastructure and keeps North Texas at the forefront of global supply chain innovation.”

Texas ports generated $1T in international trade in 2024

Hillwood cited a recently released study by the Texas Comptroller’s office that shows Texas ports generated $1 trillion in international trade in 2024—with AllianceTexas contributing over $834 million of that total. That marks a 550.7% increase since 2016, Hillwood added.

“Through this public-private partnership, Fort Worth continues to lead in smart, sustainable infrastructure that drives our region’s economic vitality,” said Lauren Prieur, Fort Worth’s director of transportation and public works. “The Alliance Logistics District strengthens our position as a global logistics hub while ensuring forward-looking, responsible transportation planning.”

Hillwood’s $20M bridge investment to boost district

Along with the new district’s operational enhancements, Hillwood is making a $20 million investment in a new private heavy-haul bridge over FM-156, saying it will “unlock the district’s true value” by directly linking its 15 million square feet of distribution, logistics, and manufacturing space to BNSF’s Alliance intermodal facility.

Designed to meet TxDOT standards and engineered for 120,000-pound axle loads, the three-lane bridge will enable the efficient movement of heavy-haul freight while reducing truck traffic on public roads, Hillwood said. Construction is slated to be completed by late 2026, the company said.

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Hillwood, BNSF Railway and the City of Fort Worth today announced the creation of the Alliance Logistics District, officially designated and approved by the Fort Worth City Council at its Nov. 11 meeting. Effective immediately, the District will serve as a first-of-its-kind mobility logistics hub within the Smart Port at AllianceTexas, Hillwood’s 27,000-acre, master-planned, mixed-use development in north Fort Worth. 

Benefits for District Operators and Customers

The Alliance Logistics District is designed to deliver tangible operational advantages to any operator or customer within its boundaries. Key benefits include:

• The right to deploy semi- and fully autonomous vehicles along district roadways in the freight corridor, supporting next-generation logistics and automation.
• The right to use private hostler vehicles without a commercial driver’s license (CDL) to shuttle freight between BNSF’s intermodal facility and District warehouses, increasing operational efficiencies and reducing regulatory barriers.
• The right to perform heavy-haul freight movements (loads over 80,000 pounds) across District roadways without the need for special-use permits, enabling efficient transport of high-density or oversized goods.

These benefits are available to all users operating within the District, regardless of prior involvement or technical background, ensuring that the District’s innovative infrastructure and regulatory flexibility are accessible and understandable to both new and existing stakeholders. By being co-located with one of BNSF’s largest intermodal facilities, operators and customers can realize significant operational cost savings, enhanced connectivity and improved logistics efficiency.

District Impact and Vision

Anchored by North America’s largest inland rail port, BNSF’s Alliance intermodal facility, the Alliance Logistics District is the first of its kind within BNSF’s rail and intermodal ecosystem and will redefine how freight moves through North Texas while reducing traffic on public roads. By enabling more efficient and cost-effective cargo transport, including autonomous and semi-autonomous shuttle movements as well as overweight and private heavy-haul vehicles, the District will help customers save millions of dollars annually while solidifying North Texas’ position as a national leader in logistics innovation. 

In its request to the Fort Worth City Council, Hillwood emphasized that the Alliance Logistics District aligns directly with the City’s 2023 Innovation Districts Policy, which encourages concentrated hubs of research, technology and entrepreneurship within defined geographic areas. Surpassing the City’s established criteria, the Alliance Logistics District will support industries including logistics, automation, and advanced manufacturing — anchored by Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport and the BNSF intermodal facility. The District will also advance innovation-driven employment, smart infrastructure and public-private collaboration to strengthen Fort Worth’s role as a global logistics and technology center.

Spanning nearly 1,400 acres, the District is purpose-built for next-generation industrial development, with direct BNSF rail access and flexible logistics infrastructure designed to support manufacturers and shippers handling heavy, dense or high-value goods — such as ceramics, plastics and auto parts — where speed, efficiency and connectivity are critical.

“By integrating advanced technology, modern infrastructure and regulatory flexibility, this initiative reinforces AllianceTexas’ standing as one of the most connected, forward-thinking logistics ecosystems in the country,” said Nicholas Konen, vice president of strategic development at Hillwood. “These advancements reduce costs for customers, improve logistics efficiency and take pressure off public roadways. Our long-standing partnerships with BNSF, the City of Fort Worth and regional transportation leaders are truly a testament to how public-private collaboration sparks innovation, accelerates industrial development and drives economic opportunity.”

The inland port at AllianceTexas serves as the primary port of entry for the southwestern United States, linking global trade directly to the region through intermodal rail connections from ports including Los Angeles, Long Beach and Houston. As one of only two intermodal logistics hubs in Texas that integrate air, ground and rail transportation, companies can efficiently move goods across all three modes of transit.

“The Alliance Logistics District aligns perfectly with BNSF’s vision to deliver transportation services that consistently meet our customers’ expectations, with these innovations delivering cost savings and additional supply chain value,” said Jon Gabriel, BNSF group vice president of consumer products. “By enabling the delivery of goods from rail to warehouse in a more efficient way, we’re increasing the traffic that can capitalize on the cost, capacity and sustainability benefits of intermodal while creating a scalable model for the next generation of inland ports. This strengthens the region’s freight infrastructure and keeps North Texas at the forefront of global supply chain innovation.”

According to a recently released study by the Texas Comptroller’s office, Texas ports generated $1 trillion in international trade in 2024, with AllianceTexas contributing $834.6 million — a 550.7% increase since 2016.

“Through this public-private partnership, Fort Worth continues to lead in smart, sustainable infrastructure that drives our region’s economic vitality,” said Lauren Prieur, Fort Worth’s director of transportation and public works. “The Alliance Logistics District strengthens our position as a global logistics hub while ensuring forward-looking, responsible transportation planning.”

Accompanied by these operational enhancements, Hillwood’s $20 million investment in a private heavy-haul bridge over FM-156 unlocks the District’s true value, directly linking its 15 million square feet of distribution, logistics, and manufacturing space to BNSF’s Alliance intermodal facility. 

Planned to meet TxDOT standards and engineered for 120,000-pound axle loads, the three-lane bridge will enable the efficient movement of heavy-haul freight while reducing truck traffic on public roads. Construction is expected to be completed by late 2026, reinforcing Hillwood’s commitment to next-generation infrastructure that supports industrial growth and regional mobility.

More than seven months after President Donald Trump unveiled his “Liberation Day” tariffs, North Texas businesses should act to mitigate their own import pain if they’re not already, a trade expert said during a Fort Worth business group event.

“There used to be a time to say, ‘Let’s see how much pain this causes us, and we’ll see what we’re going to do,’” said Shane Williams, a Houston-based managing director of global trade at Ernst & Young, the multinational accounting firm.

But heavy import taxes are still in place after months of whirlwind trade announcements made by the president. According to one recent analysis by The New York Times, nearly half of all goods entering the country are now subject to tariffs.

And it’s now in local businesses’ interests to strategize on how best to lower their own costs from the duties, Williams added.

“The time to kind of wait it out and see is kind of over, in all honesty,” he said.

Williams made the comments during an economic impact forum event hosted by the Fort Worth Chamber at the Kimbell Art Museum.

He was joined in the discussion by Joshua Griffith, a development manager at Hillwood who oversees the local real estate giant’s operations at Foreign Trade Zone #196, a specially designated logistics hub operated by Hillwood near Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport.

The discussion was moderated by JR Holcomb, a Hillwood director who leads marketing and communication for the special trade district.

Foreign Trade Zones (FTZs) are locations near U.S. international ports of entry that are designated as outside the normal jurisdiction of U.S. Customs territory for tax purposes, thereby allowing the companies who operate there to save money by paying lower trade duties. Several hundred such locations exist throughout the country; at nearly 10,000 acres, the Fort Worth site is among the largest.

‘Insurance policy’

Much of Tuesday’s discussion aimed to help local companies familiarize themselves with the concept of FTZs, as well as the various other strategies businesses can take to lower tariff-born costs.

Those strategies include potential duty refund programs and the Temporary Importation under Bond program, which allows importers to bring in goods without paying duties as long as the products are subsequently exported.

“Over the past several months you’ve seen a lot of reaction happening with companies with all these trade agreements going on,” said Griffith. But he argued the companies that were already operating within the FTZ were faring better.

“Think of it like an insurance policy, when the trade is fluctuating each and every day, each and every week.”

Griffith added that the strategy discussion was not intended as a political rebuke. “This isn’t ripping a previous administration, a current administration,” he said. “This is part of business. This is Government Economics 101.”

The forum took place as major questions continue to swirl around Trump’s signature economic policy agenda.

Earlier this year the president’s initial announcement of heavy taxes on imports from nearly 100 countries effectively upended the established global trade order and raised fears of widespread economic damage.

Since then Trump has often threatened new levies and also abruptly modified the tariffs frequently, sometimes striking deals to subsequently lower certain rates.

Recently, Trump has said he plans to use revenue from the import taxes to provide middle- and lower-income Americans with a dividend of around $2,000, although experts say the idea is not financially feasible.

Currently, Trump’s tariffs are also the subject of a closely watched case before the Supreme Court, with the justices weighing whether Trump actually had authority under a presidential economic emergency power to impose his sweeping tariff program in the first place.

The U.S. Constitution explicitly gives Congress the authority to impose the duties, although in recent decades multiple presidents have asserted more power over the import levies.

Still, no matter how the current Supreme Court case plays out, most economists expect that relatively high tariff levels are likely to stick around, at least in some form. Williams also suggested as much in his remarks.

“This is just how we’re going to operate, regardless of what happens in three years,” he said, referring to the 2028 presidential election. “Once you start giving the government money, they’re not going to fully give it back.”

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The Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership is gearing up to play offense.

The 2½-year-old nonprofit organization that was formed out of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce to provide a more focused approach to economic development is preparing to target Fortune 500 companies in key Fort Worth target industries such as aerospace, mobility, energy, life sciences, corporate and financial services, and film. 

That effort is the result of the organization’s success over the past two years, said Robert Allen, president and CEO of the Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership. 

“In early 2026, we’ll take that momentum to the next level with the launch of a targeted lead generation campaign built around the key factors companies care about most,” Allen told attendees at the organization’s annual meeting on Oct. 29 at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. 

“We’re going to be proactive, strategic and relentless making Fort Worth’s case,” Allen said. 

Allen said the partnership has helped bring 11,000 jobs and $9.7 billion in capital investment to Fort Worth. That outpaces similar-sized cities such as Jacksonville, Florida, and Nashville, Tennessee.

The organization is continuing to see interest, he said. 

“Our inbound pipeline is strong, processing nearly 200 projects with nearly 50% of those in a target industry for the city of Fort Worth,” Allen said. 

Allen highlighted three projects that were key wins for the city: Siemens, which opened a new $190 million electrical equipment plant in south Fort Worth; Bell, a longtime Fort Worth-based defense and aerospace company that is building a $600 million-plus plant for a future military aircraft; and Wistron, which is building two plants to manufacture artificial intelligence chips, a project valued at $687 million expected to create 888 jobs. 

Those announcements “demonstrate what’s possible when Fort Worth competes to win,” said Allen. 

Mayor Mattie Parker said she was pleased that Fort Worth has gone from trying to figure out how to do economic development effectively, to actually doing it. 

“We’ve got solutions. We know what works,” she said. “We know that this team is effective in partnership with the city of Fort Worth, and we just have to keep doing more of this.” 

The Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership annual meeting included a fireside chat between Hillwood President Mike Berry, who is also president of the board of the partnership, and James Litinsky, chairman and CEO of MP Materials, the company that built a plant to manufacture permanent magnets from rare earth materials. MP Materials magnets are essential components in vehicles, drones, robotics, electronics, and aerospace and defense systems, yet for decades, the U.S. has relied almost entirely on foreign sources for these critical inputs. 

The Fort Worth plant, which opened in 2022 with a commitment from General Motors to purchase its magnets, is the only domestic producer of those critical components. In July, the U.S. Department of Defense invested $400 million in the company to shore up the country’s domestic supply of rare earth minerals and magnets. A week later, computer giant Apple made a $500 million commitment to purchase materials from the company. 

As a result of those deals, MP Materials is expanding production at its Fort Worth plant and is in the process of developing a second plant to meet demand, said Litinsky. 

Litinsky said Fort Worth was not at the top of the list when they were first making a decision on where to build their magnet plant. 

“The key thing at that time was meeting with Ross (Perot Jr.) and it was very clear … that this was a place that not only wanted our business, but believed in our business,” he said. 

Perot was clear that MP Materials would have the full support of not just Hillwood, but from Fort Worth, beyond just tax incentives, Litinsky said. 

“Knowing that the leadership believed in us, that was the determinant factor,” he said. “My belief was we should just partner with great people in a place that wants to do business and believes in our business.” 

Allen came to Fort Worth in 2023 from the Texas Economic Development Corp. in Austin, where he had served as president and CEO since 2017, leading the state’s economic development efforts. Prior to that role, he served as deputy chief of staff to Gov. Greg Abbott. 

Economic Development Partnership leader Allen said the community has been supportive of the organization’s efforts, funding 93% of their $5 million ambitious fundraising goal. 

“The founders of this city dug the deep wells of innovation and progress we still draw from today,” Allen said. “They transformed a small town on the edge of the prairie into a global destination — and it’s on us to keep that spirit alive and push it forward.”

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Innovation in North Texas happens on corporate campuses and at startups, in tech labs and on factory floors—across industries being reimagined for the future.

This year’s finalists for The Innovation Awards 2026 capture that story. They’re proof that innovation has become one of the region’s most powerful economic forces.

Presented by D CEO in a collaboration with Dallas Innovates, the annual program celebrates the people and companies leading the way.

All finalists will be recognized in the January/February issue of D CEO magazine and online at DallasInnovates.com. Winners will be revealed at a private awards event in January.

Inaugural Legacy of Innovation honoree

The 2026 program introduces a new distinction—the Legacy of Innovation Award—honoring leaders who’ve changed the course of North Texas through innovation and impact. The first honoree: Ross Perot Jr.

As founder and chairman of Hillwood, Perot has spent decades shaping the region’s economy through forward-thinking projects like AllianceTexas, the 27,000-acre mixed-use development that evolved from the nation’s first purely industrial airport into a $130 billion economic engine for Dallas-Fort Worth over 35 years.

Today, AllianceTexas integrates industrial and commercial hubs with residential communities across nine municipalities in the region, anchored in northern Fort Worth.

“Every generation of technology”

Perot has said AllianceTexas has been able to “ride every generation of technology.” One relatively early milestone was the $2 billion Facebook data-center deal. In 2025, Dallas Innovates reported Wistron planning two AI supercomputing facilities, Torc Robotics establishing its new autonomous truck operation, and aerospace manufacturer Embraer committing up to $70 million for a regional jet facility—all within AllianceTexas.

A short list of other major companies and brands located at AllianceTexas includes Amazon, BNSF, FedEx, Meta, UPS, Fidelity Investments, Charles Schwab, Deloitte, with manufacturers like MP Materials, which produces rare-earth magnets for companies like Apple and General Motors.

A testbed for mobility tech

Perot aims to position North Texas as “the mobility innovation zone in the entire world.”  Through Hillwood’s Mobility Innovation Zone (MIZ), AllianceTexas has become a testbed for emerging air and surface mobility technologies. Dallas Innovates has chronicled its rise as a hub for autonomous trucking, drone logistics, and next-generation air operations, including a recent simulation that saw autonomous helicopters and drones coordinate over Perot Field in a wildfire-response exercise. 

The vision extends beyond technology and mobility. A recent Hillwood partnership with Taylor Sheridan brought Texas’s largest film-production campus, SGS Studios, to AllianceTexas.

Perot is also chairman of The Perot Group, co-founder of the venture capital firm Perot Jain, and co-founder of Perot Systems Corporation, which was acquired by Dell in 2009.

His influence extends well beyond the region. In June 2025,  he was named board chair of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he helps set national policy priorities focused on growth and innovation.

Perot’s impact spans decades. The 80 finalists for The Innovation Awards 2026 show how that spirit of innovation continues across North Texas. 

The Innovation Awards 2026 Finalists:

Legacy of Innovation Award

Ross Perot Jr., Hillwood and The Perot Group

Innovation in Manufacturing and Consumer Goods

Adom Industries, led by John Lauer

MP Materials, led by James Litinsky

SecureFoundry, led by Lex Keen

Trotter, led by Victor Trotter

Innovation in Real Estate and Hospitality

AllianceTexas x SGS Studios, led by Mike Berry

Billee.ai, led by John Hinckley

FlexEtc, led by Shawn Gault

Rogers O’Brien, led by Justin McAfee

Stonethrow, led by Nick Clark

Innovation in Transportation

Mozee, led by Shawn Taikratoke

MW Logistics, led by Mitchell Ward

Torc, led by John Marinaro

Toyota Connected North America, led by James George

View Full List of Finalists 

As president of Hillwood, Mike Berry oversees the 27,000-acre development known as AllianceTexas in far north Fort Worth. He said his job has changed vastly since he started working with the company and its founder, Ross Perot Jr., in July 1988. For starters, back then no one knew who they were or what they were trying to do.

“Mr. Perot’s name was obviously a well-known name in U.S. business circles, but really, no one knew of our organization, at least in the role that we were trying to establish our brand and our identity, and more importantly, we were building a project that had never been built before,” Berry said.

That project became Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport, the world’s first industrial airport, which opened in 1989 and was designed specifically for cargo and corporate aviation. The public-private partnership between Hillwood, the Federal Aviation Administration and the City of Fort Worth has totaled $16.3 billion in investment, with $15.2 billion from the private sector and $1.1 billion from the public sector, according to a new report from the Texas comptroller.

Alliance generated $10.21 billion last year in economic impact and $130 billion since 1990, according to a report from Hillwood. The area is a major inland port, home to the airport as well as BNSF’s Alliance Intermodal Facility, and accounted for $834.6 million in trade in Texas in 2024. Major companies that have invested there range from Amazon Air to FedEx, along with Target, Henry Schein and Topgolf Callaway.

Berry’s work was recognized by the North Texas Commission in September, when he received the organization’s top honor: the Dan Petty Regional Visionary Award. The award recognizes leaders who have contributed significantly to the economic vitality of North Texas.

While Berry still says his work revolves around building relationships and sharing the potential of Alliance, he is also focused on the future of the region as a whole. Dallas Business Journal spoke with Berry to talk about his priorities and what’s next for AllianceTexas. This conversation has been edited lightly for grammar, length and clarity.

DBJ: How has your job overseeing Alliance changed over the decades?

Berry: When I started … no one really knew who we were. Mr. Perot’s name was obviously a well-known name in U.S. business circles, but really, no one knew of our organization, at least in the role that we were trying to establish our brand and our identity, and more importantly, we were building a project that had never been built before: an industrial airport. There had never been one like it built, and certainly not one built led by the private sector. … Really my job was spent for at least the first decade … just establishing relationships, telling the story and the capabilities of North Texas and Alliance to companies in all different sectors: aviation, aerospace, logistics and transportation.

Over the years we were able to, fortunately, win some big projects and bring in a variety of big companies. And that sort of set the stage for us to grow up to the present. Now my job is more about strategy and growth. How do we build? How do we future-proof not just Alliance but really the whole North Texas area? How do we continue to build infrastructure? How do we continue to maintain a competitive housing affordability, supply? How do we address energy long term? How do we address roads and mobility? How do we address education and workforce development? Because all of those things play a huge role in in our development of 27,000 acres. We can’t continue to be successful if the region’s not leading and successful.

One of the big announcements made last year was a $262 million project to advance logistics in Alliance. What is the next milestone for the Smart Port initiative?

We accomplished two milestones. We received an $80 million Smart Port grant from the federal government, which we’re now moving forward in implementing, which will allow basically connector lanes to be built directly from the intermodal center out to I-35 and State Highway 170, which will free up the flow of of goods. Then the other thing, which was just approved by the commissioners at the Texas Department of Transportation, is an agreement on a lease to allow us to build a private bridge from the intermodal hub over Highway 156 and tie it into our Westport development, which opens up direct access to all that freight into an area where we can build about 15 million square feet of future industrial space. Neither of them are under construction. We’ve still got a few things to do, but we’ve gotten all the approvals.

I’m curious if there are any new industries that you’re targeting?

So the project that we announced recently with Wistron and Nvidia, that is an advanced manufacturing project where actually Wistron, who’s the contract manufacturer for Nvidia, will be building the servers, supercomputers with the Nvidia AI chips that go in them that will basically run a lot of these new data centers that are being built. With that project, we’re now also seeing other related suppliers, other related manufacturers coming in as a result of that announcement. So I think we’re going to see more advanced manufacturing activity happen that we really haven’t seen before focused in on that tech and supercomputer manufacturing sector.

The other one that we really never anticipated is the movie studio activity. We just completed building out 450,000 square feet of sound stages inside two of our spec buildings at Alliance. So we basically took our standard spec industrial business and converted it into sound stages, and they’re already full, and we just finished them literally. So [four] of the Paramount Taylor Sheridan shows … are being filmed there. We’re now looking at, how do we grow? How do we expand? Where can we build more of a full campus that would include not just the sound stages, but then also all the post-production support that needs to be around these sound stages? So that’s a whole industry sector that we think there’s real growth around that.

With what’s happening, both with the film incentives that were passed by the legislature this summer and with the workforce development training programs that are in place, I think you’re going to see a lot of growth, not just at Alliance, but I think the whole state is going to begin to see a lot of projects spring up around the production industry.

Then lastly, mobility innovation. We created a few years ago a Mobility Innovation Zone at Alliance to attract a lot of the freight mobility leaders who are doing autonomous trucking and freight movement with autonomy both both surface and air, drones and trucks. And we just announced recently a new company [Torc Robotics] located here at Alliance. They have an autonomous truck that actually is running on the roads today, but they are one of several of the autonomous companies that are starting to locate here. So I think there’s a real opportunity for us to grow that sector as well.

How are you navigating tariffs when it comes to whether to build the next big industrial space?

They’re cutting both ways. In certain industries they are causing people to pause. But the tariff issue is causing some companies, particularly offshore or foreign-owned companies, to accelerate manufacturing activity in the U.S. Wistron is Taiwanese. We’re seeing interest from more Taiwanese companies. We’re seeing Korean companies. We’re seeing activity out of Europe, some European manufacturing companies.

In certain cases, the tariff impact is actually accelerating capital investment, particularly by foreign-owned manufacturers in the U.S., and that’s why we are continuing to build spec in this environment, because we think there is a wave of activity that actually will accelerate because of the tariffs.

Are tariffs raising construction costs for you? And are these companies that are trying to move forward, are they willing to pay new prices?

When the tariffs started to first roll out, we did a big analysis internally about how we would be impacted. Our big materials [are] steel, concrete and lumber. And for the most part, we source our big materials domestically. So to date, we haven’t been greatly impacted by the tariffs on our big shell construction costs. Where the tariffs are impacting are on certain finish-out items. One is lighting fixtures, specialty finishes, things like that that you’re having to buy overseas. But as a percentage … of total cost, we’re not seeing huge impact from the tariffs.

Most of our big costs, we’re able to source it domestically. And hopefully that continues. There’s a little bit of a dip in construction right now, at least in North Texas, in both industrial and multifamily. Those are two of our largest product lines. So I think we might be … helped a little bit by that little bit of softening in the market.

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The world’s third-largest commercial airplane manufacturer is expanding its footprint in far north Fort Worth. Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer broke ground Monday on its second maintenance hangar in AllianceTexas.

The company opened its facility in an existing hangar at Perot Field in June, but the new one will expand the Embraer’s maintenance, repair and overhaul capacity by 53%, president and CEO Francisco Gomes Neto told a crowd of about 100 people at a ceremony celebrating the groundbreaking.

The hangar is expected to open in early 2027. The company is investing $70 million to build the hangar, which it says will create 250 new jobs.

“We’re not just building infrastructure. We’re building futures,” Neto said. He thanked the city of Fort Worth for its partnership to bring the hangar to fruition.

The company signed an economic development agreement with the city in October 2024 whereby the city would forgive 50% of the company’s real estate and business property taxes for seven years provided Embraer meets conditions around investment, jobs, and salaries.

Those conditions include the creation of 250 jobs with an average salary of $67,000, along with investing a minimum of $57 million in the construction.

When AllianceTexas got started more than 35 years ago, the goal was to attract the best brands and companies from around the world, Hillwood chairman Ross Perot Jr. said at Monday’s event.

“To have Embraer on this program is very special for us because you are one of the great global brands,” Perot said.

He also noted the company’s role as one of the largest suppliers of domestic aircraft in the United States along with its partnerships developing airplanes for the military.

“Our goal here is to help you continue to grow,” Perot said while emphasizing Fort Worth and the state of Texas’ commitment to what he called economic freedom.

Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker called Monday’s groundbreaking an exciting milestone for the North Texas region. “The airport continues to serve as a hub of innovation and economic opportunity, and Embraer’s expansion further strengthens Fort Worth’s position as a global leader in aviation and advanced manufacturing,” Parker said in a press releases celebrating the event.

Embraer’s expansion is not only bringing high quality jobs, but highlights the strength of Fort Worth’s business environment and talent of the city’s local workforce, she said. Embraer has been amazed with the speed it took to get the first hangar up and running to serve clients, said Carlos Naufel, president and CEO of Embraer’s support division, speaking to reporters after the groundbreaking.

A day after opening its first Fort Worth hangar, the company signed an agreement with domestic carrier CommuteAir, which operates a fleet of 59 Embraer ERJ145s primarily for United Airlines.

“We’ve already delivered some aircraft to our customers. Our hangar is full, and we’ll probably see this in the future hangar,” Naufel said.

The new hangar will also focus on maintenance for Embraer’s commercial aviation fleet.

Embraer has about 18,000 employees and is a leading manufacturer of commercial airplanes with up to 150 seats. The company’s aircraft transport roughly 150 million passengers per year, and on average one of its aircraft takes off every 10 seconds, according to company statistics.

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More than 90 years ago, civic leaders in Fort Worth and Dallas picked up a dream of predecessors of turning the Trinity River into a navigable waterway connecting the North Texas region to the Gulf of Mexico.

Or Gulf of America. Or whatever.

The idea actually began in Dallas in the 19-teens.

By 1930, Amon Carter wanted a piece of the action for Fort Worth. He and John Carpenter of Dallas were the driving forces in forming the Trinity Improvement Association to push for canalization of the river.

Carter and his Dallas counterparts kept the canal dream alive through the mid-20th century.

Their sons, Ben Carpenter and Amon Carter Jr., carried the torch through the 1950s and ’60s as the Trinity Improvement Association and the Trinity River Authority pressed Congress for funding.

By 1965, thanks in part to the support of President Lyndon B. Johnson and Congressman Jim Wright of Fort Worth, the Trinity River Project was officially authorized for construction. (LBJ, in fact, used the issue to try to force Amon Jr., by then publisher of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, to fire reporter Bascom Timmons, according to historian Robert Caro. They agreed to a phasing out of Bascom Timmons.)

It’s no wonder Houston leaders — especially Roy Hofheinz — were so insistent about keeping major league baseball out of North Texas, given all the commerce DFW had tried to take from them. (Of course, that had nothing to do with the canal.)

The ambitious $1.6 billion canal plan envisioned a 200-foot-wide, nine-foot-deep barge canal stretching from the Gulf to Dallas–Fort Worth, complete with 21 locks, three dams, and raised bridges to accommodate barge traffic, as well as lots and lots more mosquitos.

The plan eventually died on the vine in the mid-1970s.

Fort Worth and Dallas, however, eventually got their port of entry in the form of an industrial airport.

Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport has been everything and more that its visionaries anticipated more than 35 years ago, becoming the dominant logistics hub for the southwestern U.S.

That’s all part of a report released this week by the Texas Comptroller’s Office, which showed that AllianceTexas accounted for $834.6 million in trade in 2024, up 550.7% from 2016.

This vast inland port serves as a vital link in the nation’s supply chain, channeling freight from Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Houston via intermodal rail to Mexico’s nearshoring operations — and moving more than half of all U.S. freight tonnage that passes through Texas.

Since its inception, AllianceTexas has attracted $16.3 billion in total investment — $15.2 billion from the private sector and $1.1 billion from the public sector — and has supported approximately 137,000 jobs statewide.

The project has also generated $4.17 billion in cumulative property taxes since 1990, including nearly $344 million in 2024 alone, benefiting cities, counties, and school districts across Tarrant and Denton counties.

AllianceTexas is among 32 official ports of entry in Texas that serve as critical gateways to global trade. Ports of entry within the state of Texas accounted for $1 trillion in international trade in 2024, according to the study.

“Ports are key to Texas’ economic strength — they power trade, jobs and innovation,” said acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock on a stop Monday at AllianceTexas during his “Good for Texas Tour: Ports Edition.”

“AllianceTexas is a clear example of how forward-thinking infrastructure keeps our economy strong and competitive worldwide.”

Hancock, a Fort Worth native and former state senator, was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott as acting comptroller this summer after Glenn Hegar resigned to become chancellor of Texas A&M.

As the state’s chief financial officer, the comptroller oversees the state treasury, collects taxes, and provides accurate revenue estimates to guide the biennial legislative budgeting process.

Hancock is running for election to the full-time post, a four-year term, next year.

According to the report, the top export commodities by value from AllianceTexas in 2024 were machinery and mechanical appliances ($324.8 million), electric machinery and equipment ($276.6 million) and aircraft and spacecraft equipment ($116 million). The top import to the port was special classification provisions ($46.2 million) — commodities that have been returned after they have been exported, such as items used for exhibitions.

Alliance began as a bold experiment in public-private partnerships.

Hillwood, working with the FAA and the City of Fort Worth, launched AllianceTexas in 1989 around Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport — the world’s first industrial airport. The 27,000-acre master-planned development now spans northern Fort Worth and nearby cities, home to more than 500 global companies including FedEx, Amazon Air, MP Materials, Embraer, Gulfstream, Target, Henry Schein, and Topgolf Callaway Brands.

Hillwood Chairman Ross Perot Jr. and its president, Mike Berry, were also in attendance on Monday. 

All of this area was akin to the wild frontier 40 years ago, all of it, except for cattle and horses, sound asleep seven days a week.

Today it’s an international economic hub, one of Texas’ two intermodal logistics facilities connecting air, ground, and rail.

That is, trade via three modes of transportation, except, notably, water.

It all worked out in the end. Amazing how that happens.

And there is a lot more meat on this bone. 

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Far north Fort Worth has the largest industrial real estate construction pipeline in the country, according to data from CoStar Group.

This area, home to Hillwood’s 27,000-acre AllianceTexas, has 7.7 million square feet in the pipeline, with 20 ongoing projects.

That leads the country, followed by the suburbs north of Austin where Samsung has a huge new semiconductor fab in Taylor and a major data center campus is underway in Hutto.

Cody Gibbs, CoStar’s director of market analytics in Dallas-Fort Worth, said DFW overall leads the country in industrial tenant demand with 22.3 million square feet of absorption in the past 12 months and that Alliance is the largest submarket in the region.

“I think the development is going to be pretty steady, so long as the land and appetite is still out there,” he said.

The construction pipeline consists mostly of pre-leased and built-to-suit projects, according to CoStar, the largest being a 1.25 million-square-foot site in the Intermodal Logistics Center by NorthPoint Development. The company is building two buildings amounting to 1.95 million square feet.

Gibbs said there’s no denying Hillwood has a large influence on the area. Two of the three other top projects in the pipeline belong to Hillwood — the 1.15 million-square-foot Westport 24 and the 767,000-square-foot Alliance Westport 14, which Wistron Corp. purchased this summer. More is on the way: Hillwood plans to break ground on 1.1 million square feet between two projects in 2026.

Mike Berry, president of Hillwood and the man in charge of Alliance, said he is seeing more activity following Wistron’s announcement of locating its supercomputer production facility in coordination with Nvidia in north Fort Worth.

“I think we’re going to see more advanced manufacturing activity happen that we really haven’t seen before,” he said, noting a focus on technology, semiconductors and server/supercomputer manufacturing.

But Berry also said an unexpected sector growing in the area is film. Hillwood partnered with Taylor Sheridan to convert 450,000 square feet in Alliance to soundstages, which Paramount is using to film shows such as Sheridan’s “Landman.”

North Fort Worth also stands out as a major inland port, attracting many companies that move and distribute goods. AllianceTexas is home to the Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport and the BNSF Railway intermodal facility. AllianceTexas accounted for $834.6 million in trade in Texas in 2024, according to an Oct. 13 economic report from the Texas comptroller. AllianceTexas’ top exports in 2024 were machinery and mechanical appliances, electric machinery and equipment and aircraft and spacecraft equipment.

Alliance generated $10.21 billion last year in economic impact and $130 billion since 1990, according to a report from Hillwood.

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