Fort Worth is now home to 1 million people, just one of 13 U.S. cities to ever cross the threshold, according to census figures released Thursday. Here’s everything you need to know about Cowtown’s new spot as the 11th largest city in the U.S.
Fort Worth’s rise to a city where people are flocking didn’t happen quickly, easily or by accident. News from the U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday that the city has surpassed 1 million residents is a testament to the visionaries who did decades of hard work. They planned in advance for affordable housing, annexing land with an eye to future growth. They collaborated to build a dominant regional airport and one in particular, Ross Perot Jr., created an entire boomtown with the development of Alliance Airport.
Countless others thought ahead to needs such as a business-friendly climate, ample water supply and even investment in the arts. To accommodate the next million Fort Worthians, we’ll need similar vision and an embrace of risk. Rapid growth is straining the region and the city, but it’s not stopping anytime soon. Getting the most out of it requires a new commitment to education, public transport, business recruitment and quality-of-life concerns. It also demands a determination to spread opportunity around more. Growth has understandably been concentrated in certain areas, including Alliance and west Fort Worth. We can’t leave the rest of the city behind.
A COMMITMENT TO BETTER SCHOOLS — IN FORT WORTH ISD AND BEYOND
Fort Worth leaders have been talking more honestly about the state of our schools for nearly a year, spurred by Mayor Mattie Parker’s demand for a renewed focus on literacy in the Fort Worth district.
Those long-languishing schools have been the focus. But student achievement is slipping in suburban districts, too. We can’t continue with the pattern where families cram their way into Northwest, Aledo, Keller or Eagle Mountain-Saginaw schools. Fort Worth ISD, Crowley, White Settlement and others around the city must step up so that more neighborhoods can benefit from growth.
A promising workforce pipeline is a must for recruiting and retaining businesses, which will be the backbone of improvements in the tax base and the city’s overall economic fortune. Every district needs to make big leaps in reading, math and science. Leaders often talk about the unfortunate nature of the city’s property tax base, where residents bear a bigger burden than commercial interests. Changing that requires creating a climate that businesses find irresistible, and no company plants its flag in a place where it will have trouble finding qualified workers.
PUBLIC TRANSIT PROJECTS THAT ENTICE RIDERSHIP
On transportation, it’s hard to see a mature city adding a huge project like a vast rail network. But we can focus on smaller improvements that still move the needle, such as getting people around the Stockyards and downtown to ease the traffic and parking issues there. Leaders should also try to identify projects that will entice workers. It’s harder in the era of remote work and a decentralized workforce, but good transit options can drive people to change their habits.
If we want people to keep coming but also want to stay, quality-of-life issues will be crucial. Across Texas, housing affordability is nearing a crisis. Some market issues are beyond the city’s capacity; state lawmakers, for instance, have to address the skyrocketing cost of insurance. But Fort Worth must encourage responsible, sustainable development that keeps pace with need.
There must also be a balance with amenities that make life here more pleasant. The city has taken steps recently to preserve greenspace. National economic uncertainty may make for budget challenges in the next year or more, but maintaining and expanding parks and recreational facilities are important to making life here satisfying for more than just economic reasons.
As luck would have it, Fort Worth can brag about the population milestone just as it welcomes visitors over the next few weeks for two signature events: the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial golf tournament and the Cliburn international piano competition. Fort Worth’s calling card for tourists has long been cowboys and culture. There’s no reason to let either slip. Our history provides an identity that Fort Worthians can take pride in, but having world-class art museums and performance venues ensures a diversity of attractions.
If current trends continue, Fort Worth will pass Dallas in size — perhaps sooner than most realize. We’ve long known life was better here; let’s make sure, as the city grows ever bigger, that stays true.
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The weather forecast for the week of May 11th in Fort Worth was clear and hot, unlike the week before. The week of May 4th, the skies were darkened by massive storms, dropping almost two inches of rain in a day. On the 11th, the high temperature was 75, and on the 12th, it was 79. But on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, the day Torc cut the ribbon on its newest location – its first autonomous trucking hub – it was a sweltering 97.
Welcome to DFW, everyone said. It’s spring but summer is coming. This is just the beginning.
And they’re right. This is indeed just the beginning. After 20 years in the robotics business, and six years of software research and development, Torc officially opened the company’s first commercial hub on that hot Tuesday morning, preparing to get their self-driving trucks hauling commercial freight on the I-35 corridor.
As we embark on this next phase, we are more excited than ever to be part of this community, to innovate alongside you, and to continue our mission to Drive the Future of Freight with purpose and passion. – Peter Vaughan Schmidt, CEO
Torc welcomed local dignitaries, government officials, first responders, partners, neighbors from Hillwood’s AllianceTexas development, and many local community members and vendors. Tours were provided through the building, highlighting Torc’s story and history, path to commercialization, job creation, and how the autonomous yard flow will work.
The Hub features a customer experience center, offices, and dedicated control centers for fleet management and operations. It is located on I-35, the major freight route between Dallas and Laredo, Texas. Laredo is the largest economic port of entry in the US, with more than 15,000 truck crossings per day and $320B in total trade in 2024, and Fort Worth is a major distribution point to the rest of the country.
The Brains of the Operation
One of the stops on the tour was inside the brain of Torc’s Hub, the Mission Management room. Dominated by a movie-theater sized screen with multiple tracking visuals playing simultaneously, the Mission Management room will track the lifecycle of each autonomous mission. Guests learned about the different parts of the mission, from the rigid pre-trip checklist through to the arrival transmissions at the end of a journey. Questions asked and answered included details on job creation over the next year through to customer success models and long-term plans for additional routes.
This hub represents more than just logistics. It represents years of relentless planning and prioritization, input from industry experts, and the dedication and tireless effort of Torc’s teams. It’s the realization of a bold vision—where autonomous trucks revolutionize the freight industry by making it more efficient, cost-effective, safe and reliable. – Andrew Culhane, CCO
The Embodiment of Torc’s Commercialization Era
In the afternoon, after the official guests had toured the facility, Torc’rs welcomed their families and friends in to see their new offices. Everyone played corn hole and giant Connect 4, and ate spicy tacos and snow cones. Our safety drivers introduced their toddlers to their colleagues. Kids and families sat in the truck cab for pictures. People fanned themselves with Torc fans and escaped back inside for the A/C. Together, everyone watched a screening of Torc’s newest video, The Road Rises, playing on Mission Management’s screen. It focuses on the people behind the technology, and celebrates the accomplishments of hundreds of individuals, working together as one Torc team.
The few remaining empty hub offices will soon be filled by new Torc’rs. It will become more bustling, even more energetic. There will be more long hours and longer days, and then it’ll become a 24-hour a day facility. But May 13th was about celebrating getting to this point. It was opening the doors.
The road to Torc’s 2027 market entry is paved with groundbreaking advancements, and a lot of that pavement is in Fort Worth and Texas now. Keep following Torc as we continue to drive the future of freight.
Today isn’t just about opening a new location for Torc — it’s about opening doors to the future. – Peter Vaughan Schmidt
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As one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities, Fort Worth is attracting new businesses and residents through its proximity in the middle of the country, bolstered by its civic pride, Western heritage, tourism, higher education institutions, transportation and technology hubs, and — of course — lots of wide open spaces.
“It’s an incredible time to be in Fort Worth, Texas,” Steve Montgomery, president and CEO of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, said during the organization’s State of Economic Impact: Work, Play, Stay series of panel discussions May 13 at the Kimbell Art Museum’s Renzo Piano Pavilion.
The Fort Worth chamber, Montgomery said, helps expand prosperity and enable companies that call the city home to not only stay here but prosper and grow.
“Retention and expansion are the core of our mission,” he said.
Fort Worth, he said, is a special place with people interested in getting to know their neighbors and developing personal and business relationships.
“We’re just cresting 1 million folks and we still have that authenticity that makes Fort Worth special,” Montgomery said.
Fort Worth’s strong aviation and aerospace industries are among the main catalysts for city growth since Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport are nationally known transportation hubs for both passengers and freight.
DFW Airport announced two weeks ago that it will expand its new Terminal F from a 15-gate, $1.6 billion facility to become a 31-gate, $4 billion passenger hub. The new vision for Terminal F will supplement the airport’s $12 billion capital plan to rebuild and modernize facilities and infrastructure.
“There’s a lot going on at DFW,” said Ken Buchanan, the airport’s executive vice president for revenue management and customer experience.
Buchanan said new air routes to Hong Kong and Taiwan will have impacts of $400 million each since those services connect to the world’s largest financial markets.
“The good news is that we have both of those flights coming here,” he said in a presentation.
Manufacturing, health care, energy and transportation are also key industries aiding in growth.
Robert Allen, president and CEO of the Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership, said the organization is tasked with recruiting businesses to relocate to the city.
“We want to bring business to Fort Worth,” he said. “We want to help it, help businesses work through the process. So we’ve got to go find it.”
Growth potential in the nation’s 11th largest city seems limitless, Montgomery said.
“As the mayor (Mattie Parker) likes to say, roughly 350 square miles, half of which is not yet developed,” he said. “So we’ve got contiguous acreage close to transit, …. close to rail, close to air cargo and transportation, close to (the) business district.”
People, culture set Cowtown apart in impact
There are countless examples of successful businesses throughout the city, Allen said, citing defense contractors Bell Textron Inc. and Lockheed Martin Corp. and their work to provide aircraft for military defense.
The difference that brings companies to Fort Worth and makes them successful, he said, are the countless “doers” who make an impact.
“You can go to a city, you can set up a shiny new building, right, and go to work and do what you want to do. But at the end of the day, are you truly positively moving the needle forward in that community? Are you making an impact?” Allen said. “Fort Worth is a city where you can still make an impact. That’s our single greatest proposition, second only to our people.”
Montgomery said Fort Worth is a pro-business city, tackling challenges such as homelessness, for which the chamber created a toolbox for local businesses.
That’s one of the reasons why North Texas is No. 1 for corporate relocations, in addition to the easy access that business executives have to national and global travel through DFW.
Culture is also important to Fort Worth and its economic future, according to an arts institution leader who addressed the audience.
Jacques Marquis, president and CEO of the Van Cliburn Foundation, said the globally recognized Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, to be held May 21 to June 7 at TCU, “is a diamond here in Fort Worth.”
The competition, which awards cash prizes and career management packages every four years, is recognized as one of the top two piano competitions in the world.
“We bring the eyes of the world to Fort Worth,” he said during a presentation.
The Van Cliburn, he said, brings a direct economic impact of $15 million to $20 million to Fort Worth.
Transit, workforce development could bring further growth
Holly Schroeder, vice president of external affairs for DrinkPak, a leading manufacturer of premium alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, said her company expanded its operations in North Texas, because “we knew we wanted to be in the center of the country.”
The company is spending $200 million to open a new location in the Fort Worth area. The facility is at Carter Park East in south Fort Worth and will employ 400 people.
About half of the company’s products stay in Texas, she said.
Higher education plays a role in workforce development to retain businesses, Renee Parker, interim business services director at Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County, said.
Fort Worth received a $1.2 million skills development fund grant, the largest in the state, she said. The grant supported 600 people.
Tarrant County College “is at the front line of that,” she said.
In his presentation, Richard Andreski, president and CEO of Trinity Metro, said the transit agency’s infrastructure investments “are producing results.”
The TEXRail passenger train has been successful with a booming transit-oriented development in downtown Grapevine. Businesses close to the station are seeing a big impact in customer sales, he added.
The agency’s Blue Line route will debut June 8 to transport tourists and others around downtown Fort Worth. More investments are needed to bolster the city’s transit routes, he said.
“We’re just beginning to scratch the surface,” Andreski said.
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Now here’s an innovative way to fly cargo across the country: by hitching a ride with a plane that’s going your way.
That’s the idea behind Aerocart, an automated towed cargo glider from Southlake-based Aerolane. The company’s solution may look futuristic, but it’s actually based on the same principles the 82nd Airborne used to tow cargo and soldiers into France on D-Day in World War II.
This week, Aerolane announced that it’s opening a flight operations headquarters at Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport. It’s slated to be “a critical testing ground” for Aerolane’s ongoing FAA Supplemental Type Certification process, with a mission of helping the startup launch its first Aerocart cargo glider system for commercial service “later this year.”
“We’re excited to locate our flight operations headquarters at AllianceTexas,” Aerolane Co-Founder and CEO Todd Graetz said in a statement. “It’s a great privilege to operate in one of the nation’s most critical intermodal cargo hubs.”
Leveraging patented technology
Aerolane’s patented Aerocart technology is being built into a series of autonomous towed cargo glider systems “that boost the capacity of existing planes while requiring only a marginally higher fuel burn,” the startup said. To date, the company has flown a range of prototype Aerocarts across “a wide swath” of Texas and Florida since 2022.
The company notes that aviation is entering its second century. Its proposition for what’s next?
“We make it affordable, ubiquitous and clean.”
To achieve that, Aerolane says it started with one big question: Is it possible to enable the capabilites and speed of air at the cost of ground transportation?
Aerocart, it says, is the answer. The company says its autonomous cargo glider “instantly boosts the payload capacity of any flight—with minimal fuel requirements.” A key Aerolane goal is to transform airline asset and crew productivity and network agility, while leading the industry in overall cost savings.
Perot Field is a key part of The MIZ
The world’s first industrial airport, Perot Field offers a wide array of flight services, including air cargo, corporate, and government aviation. It’s the cornerstone of Dallas-based Hillwood’s 27,000-acre AllianceTexas development.
And Aerolane’s pursuit of FAA certification seems to have landed in the ideal place: The airport was born out of a collaboration between Hillwood, the city of Fort Worth, and the FAA itself.
Perot Field is also a key part of the AllianceTexas Mobility Innovation Zone (The MIZ). The MIZ is a testing and proving ground for all kinds of next-gen aviation solutions, from delivery drones to electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and more.
“We’re excited to welcome Aerolane as an operator at Perot Field and the AllianceTexas Mobility Innovation Zone, where they can scale and commercialize logistics innovation in one of the world’s most unique multimodal transportation environments,” Christopher Ash, SVP of aviation business development for Hillwood, said in a statement. “At Hillwood, our focus continues to be on bringing innovative supply chain technologies to North Texas while providing next-level amenities to our customers.”
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Aerolane, a Texas-based startup bringing revolutionary productivity and efficiency gains to existing aircraft, is opening a flight operations headquarters at Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport. The location will provide a critical testing ground for Aerolane’s ongoing FAA supplemental type certification (STC) process, and help Aerolane launch a first Aerocart cargo glider system for commercial service later this year.
Aerolane is the pioneer of the patented Aerocart technology, a series of autonomous towed cargo glider systems that boost the capacity of existing planes while requiring only a marginally higher fuel burn. Inspired by the scaled deployment of cargo gliders during World War II, Aerolane has flown a range of prototype Aerocarts across a wide swath of Texas and Florida since 2022.
Aerolane is launching its flight operations center at Perot Field due to the airport’s unique and critical role in America’s logistics networks.
The world’s first industrial airport, Perot Field, offers a vast array of flight services, including air cargo, corporate, and government aviation, and serves as the cornerstone for the 27,000-acre AllianceTexas development, the nation’s most successful public-private partnership. Born out of a collaboration between Hillwood, the City of Fort Worth and the FAA, Perot Field is now a key part of the AllianceTexas Mobility Innovation Zone (MIZ). The MIZ is an unparalleled ecosystem with comprehensive supply chain capabilities that provides mobility innovators with the infrastructure and strategic partnerships needed to scale and commercialize new technologies, propelling transformational mobility solutions.
AllianceTexas is home to one of the nation’s largest multimodal transportation systems, connecting air (Perot Field), 160+ miles of roads (I-35W/SH-170), and rail (BNSF Alliance Intermodal Facility).
“We are excited to locate our flight operations headquarters at AllianceTexas,” said Todd Graetz, Co-Founder and CEO of Aerolane. “It is a great privilege to operate in one of the nation’s most critical intermodal cargo hubs.”
Hillwood, the developer of AllianceTexas and operator of Perot Field, has also played a crucial role in fostering advancements in mobility, logistics, and aviation. The airport and its co-located intermodal facilities serve as a center of excellence for logistics and transportation technologies, including autonomous trucking and advanced aerial mobility. Combined, this provides an excellent environment for mobility tech companies to test, validate, and scale their products.
“We’re excited to welcome Aerolane as an operator at Perot Field and the AllianceTexas Mobility Innovation Zone, where they can scale and commercialize logistics innovation in one of the world’s most unique multimodal transportation environments,” said Christopher Ash, senior vice president of aviation business development for Hillwood. “At Hillwood, our focus continues to be on bringing innovative supply chain technologies to North Texas while providing next-level amenities to our customers.”
With test flight operations, FAA certification efforts, and future product development centered at Perot Field, Aerolane is positioning itself alongside a distinguished roster of industry leaders shaping the future of logistics and transportation.
About Aerolane
Aerolane is an advanced aviation technology company based in Fort Worth, Texas. It is pioneering the use of towed flight to dramatically reduce the cost and boost the capabilities of existing airplanes. Aerolane was founded in 2021, inspired by the cargo gliders flown by Allied Forces in World War II. Employing modern aviation technologies, Aerolane has proven that towed flight can be used to safely move enormous payloads with dramatically less fuel than standard flight.
Aerolane’s team includes former senior executives at Amazon and BNSF, and the company is backed by leading private investors with deep experience across the logistics & energy sectors. See more: www.aerolane.com
About Hillwood
Hillwood, a Perot company, is a premier commercial and residential real estate developer, investor, and advisor of properties throughout North America and Europe. With a diverse portfolio of properties and home to many of the world’s leading companies, Hillwood is committed to bringing long-term value to our customers, partners, and the communities we serve.?For more information, please visit www.hillwood.com.
Hillwood Properties, based in Fort Worth, is a leading real estate developer specializing in industrial-logistics, corporate office, and retail mixed-use development, as well as airport and property management. With a commitment to excellence and innovation, Hillwood has established a reputation for quality development that drives economic growth for communities throughout North Texas. Signature developments include AllianceTexas, Circle T Ranch and Frisco Station. To date, Hillwood Properties has developed and acquired 32 million square feet of industrial, 3.6 million square feet of retail and office and over 4,000 multifamily units. For more information on Hillwood Properties’ flagship development, AllianceTexas, please visit www.alliancetexas.com.
About Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport
Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport (AFW) is the world’s first industrial airport designed for cargo and corporate aviation traffic. AFW features a vast array of flight services, including air cargo, corporate, private, and military aviation, and is the cornerstone for the nation’s fastest-growing industrial complex and the AllianceTexas Mobility Innovation Zone. Owned by the City of Fort Worth and managed by privately held Alliance Air Services, AFW provides state-of-the-art infrastructure and an award-winning FAA air traffic control tower. The attached FBO has been ranked among the finest in the U.S. by industry publications and fuel service providers. For more information, please visit www.perotfield.com.
Torc Robotics is building its autonomous trucking hub at AllianceTexas to serve as the firm’s testing grounds, customer experience center, and fleet management control. The location will serve as a hub for Torc’s plans to commercialize its technology in 2027.
Torc is a Virginia-based independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG, founded in 2005, focused on self-driving technology. It is led by CEO Peter Vaughan Schmidt. Alliance has long been known as a magnet for transportation and autonomous driving operations, with a multi-modal port, nearly endless warehouse square footage, and plenty of space to train and test self-driving technology.
Torc joins companies like Aurora, Clevon, Kodiak, and others that have worked with Alliance to launch and develop autonomous transportation products. Torc targeted DFW for its connection on I-35 to Laredo, which is the largest economic port of entry in the U.S. and represented $320 billion in total trade last year, amongst 15,000 truck crossings. The property at Alliance will be built out this year and include a 17-acre facility and 22,000 square feet of office space.
“We had been wanting to work with Torc for a long time, and we finally found a way to work together,” says Ian Kinne, director of logistics innovation at Hillwood. “They’re trying to hit the gas pedal and start commercializing this into a business, and we don’t want just to continue to be a place for testing. We want to be a place for innovators to commercialize their businesses.”
For Schmidt, Alliance met the company’s physical space and technology needs. “I was super impressed to see how many warehouses are up there, and the infrastructure is good for Class A trucking,” he says. “The quality of cable and fiber is important for us because we need to transfer a lot of data from our test hubs. It could be also a cool sandbox to try different operations models.”
Torc is currently in a transition phase as its operations hub moves from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Alliance. Torc had 20 to 25 trucks in operation between Oklahoma City and Phoenix before the move. Torc is scrapping its old fleet as it prepares for commercialization and will launch a new fleet with the move to DFW. Rather than developmental, retro-fitted trucks, the new vehicles will be produced in the factory equipped with all the sensors and technology to operate without a human driver. The plan is to work with the parent company, Daimler, to create a scalable product rather than a hand-built, expensive truck that isn’t ready for mass distribution.
“If you order one truck, you get one. If you order 100, you will get 100,” Schmidt says. “It comes out of an assembly line and is a different quality than everything you see today.”
Schmidt noted that 70 percent of the Torc employees in Albuquerque decided to move to Dallas with the company, demonstrating the employees’ commitment to the mission of the company and DFW’s desirability as a place to live. With operations in Virginia, Michigan, Canada, and other locations, Torc’s trucks are built in Mexico, Cleveland, and North Carolina. Though it owns and operates the vehicles today, Torc doesn’t want to own the trucks when commercialization arrives. It intends to enable the Schneiders and JBLs of the world to do their business more efficiently. With demand for trucking increasing while driver supply dwindles, the technology is essential to the health of the American economy. “We want to win together. We want to progress together. We want to elevate the industry,” Schmidt says.
The move to Texas is all about commercialization. With friendly regulation, miles of highway, and a suitable and experienced partner in Alliance, Torc is poised for a commercial autonomous trucking explosion in 2027. Schmidt sees Torc’s differentiators in its scalability, return on investment, and pricing from the company’s experience in the industry. “We come from the industry and understand trucking well, and we have by far the best price points in terms of hardware and operations,” he says. “In the end, that’s what matters for a fleet. What is the cost of the truck that is autonomous ready? What’s the cost of their software subscription, and what are the other costs to operate it? We have a phenomenal product designed for scalability that will provide clients a payback of less than a year, which is unique.”
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Stock exchange operator Nasdaq Inc. is locating a new regional headquarters in the Dallas area, another sign of how the traditional heavyweights of finance are racing to ramp up in North Texas.
At a press conference with Gov. Greg Abbott and Hillwood Chairman Ross Perot Jr., Nasdaq announced March 18 that it will put its second U.S. headquarters in the Dallas area. Nasdaq states it generates more than $750 million in revenue in Texas and the southeast region of the U.S. and 800 of the exchange’s 2,000 companies are based in Texas. The news comes as the New York Stock Exchange and Texas Stock Exchange prepare to set up shop in Dallas.
“The space will be a hub to Nasdaq clients and to the wider community, and will serve as a community space to celebrate the leaders, the entrepreneurs and innovators that call Texas home,” Nasdaq chair and CEO Adena Friedman said in during the event, held at the Crescent in Uptown Dallas.
It’s unclear where in the Dallas area the regional headquarters will be located. Nasdaq, which is based in New York, announced last September it would place one of its three regional listing divisions in Irving, in an existing office at 503 Riverside Dr.
Perot, who was involved in the deal to secure the regional headquarters and was coincidentally honored with Nasdaq’s lifetime achievement award at this week’s event, said the location is still undetermined. Hillwood last year bought multiple office buildings in Irving from UBS. Hillwood is also partially responsible for developing the new Goldman Sachs campus in Dallas, along with Hunt Realty Investments.
“Everybody wants to be close to Goldman,” Perot said in an interview with Dallas Business Journal. “In financial services, Goldman is a major magnet. And a lot of the clients I call up call up now say, ‘Look, we just want to be over near Goldman.'”
Perot said he’s been working with Abbott for four or five years on bringing more Nasdaq presence to Texas.
“These things take awhile. Goldman took four or five years,” he said. “With all of them, you work with a client, you bring them in, you stay on them, they watch the state, they make a decision. As I mentioned there, hopefully there are a lot more coming.”
Perot was honored by Nasdaq with a lifetime achievement award on the day of the new regional headquarters announcement. Perot heads Hillwood, which has been an economic powerhouse for the region with the 27,000-acre AllianceTexas hub north of Fort Worth and landing several corporate headquarters such as Charles Schwab and Fidelity Investments. Since 1990, it’s estimated that AllianceTexas has generated $130 billion in economic impact. Hillwood also developed Victory Park in Dallas and its residential division is responsible for multiple master-planed communities across the Metroplex.
Abbott called Perot the “Derek Harper of economic development,” referring to a former player with the Dallas Mavericks who is the top all-time assist leader for the team with 5,111, according to the NBA.
Despite concerns about the impact of tariffs on raising overall prices for development, Perot said the pipeline is still strong.
“We’ve got a lot of really great space, built pre-tariff,” he said. “I think it’s going to help fill up a lot of our space. That’s for us short term, then long term, buildings are going to cost more and it’ll be less competitive, but hopefully whatever fights we’re trying to have will get resolved.”
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Aircraft Spruce & Specialty Co. and its sister company Aero Performance recently celebrated the grand opening of its new 38,000-square-foot distribution center inside AllianceTexas, Hillwood’s 27,000-acre master planned development.
Aircraft Spruce & Specialty Co. has been the go-to supplier for aircraft builders, owners, pilots and aviation businesses since 1965. Aero Performance, founded in 2002, is a leading distributor for aviation product manufacturers. This includes parts to corporate operators, flight schools, military and government customers nationwide.
Hillwood Construction Services was the general contractor on the new distribution center, and the project was completed in late 2024. The new facility replaces a 10,000-square-foot facility in Fort Worth where the company operated since 2014.
Roanoke Mayor Carl E. “Scooter” Gierisch joined Hillwood Chairman Ross Perot, Jr., Aircraft Spruce President Jim Irwin and Vice Presidents Nanci, Mike, Jeff and Rob Irwin at an event on Saturday, March 8. In addition, more than 400 Aircraft Spruce and Aero Performance customers, leaders and guests gathered to cut the ribbon and tour the company’s newest distribution center.
For more information, see the company websites at www.aircraftspruce.com and www.aeroperformance.com.
QUOTES:
“We’re honored to be in the aviation hotbed that is AllianceTexas. My parents founded Aircraft Spruce in the basement of our family home in 1965, selling only aircraft grade spruce. I grew up in the business, and in 1980, Nanci and I assumed leadership of the company, which had 25 employees in Fullerton, Calif. It has been a very rewarding journey, and our three sons now represent the third generation of Irwin family management at Aircraft Spruce.” — Jim Irwin, President of Aircraft Spruce & Specialty Co.
“North Texas has long been synonymous with aviation and aerospace excellence, with major industry players such as Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Bell Textron, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Boeing’s Global Services all calling Dallas-Fort Worth home. And it’s great to see a family-owned company like Aircraft Spruce continuing its growth at AllianceTexas.” — Ross Perot, Jr., Chairman of Hillwood
“We are thrilled to welcome another outstanding family-owned business to the City of Roanoke, Texas! Aircraft Spruce and Aero Performance are leading distributors in the general aviation industry and are celebrating 60 years of success. We are confident they will bring excellent opportunities to our rapidly growing region.” — Carl E. “Scooter” Gierisch, Roanoke mayor
About Aircraft Spruce & Specialty Co.
Aircraft Spruce & Specialty Co. has been the supplier that aircraft builders, owners, pilots and aviation businesses have depended on since 1965. We carry a wide selection of aircraft parts, building materials, avionics, and pilot supplies, which are offered on our website and in the famous Aircraft Spruce catalog.
Aircraft Spruce supplies components for a wide variety of homebuilt aircraft including the Lancair, Vans Aircraft, and Cozy, as well as factory built parts for Cessna, Piper, Beech, and Mooney. Products include: Garmin avionics, tools, charts, propellers, spruce, software, instruments, aircraft engines and parts, aviation headsets, landing gear components, and aircraft batteries. We also carry a full line of aviation grade hardware, covering supplies, composite materials, airframe parts, electrical components, and steel and aluminum. For airplane parts and pilot supplies. Aircraft Spruce has over 300 employees in 10 locations in the U.S., Canada and Australia.
About Hillwood
Hillwood, a Perot company, is a premier commercial and residential real estate developer, investor, and advisor of properties throughout North America and Europe. With a diverse portfolio of properties and home to many of the world’s leading companies, Hillwood is committed to bringing long-term value to our customers, partners, and the communities we serve.?For more information, please visit www.hillwood.com.
Hillwood Properties, based in Fort Worth, is a leading real estate developer specializing in industrial-logistics, corporate office, and retail mixed-use development, as well as airport and property management. With a commitment to excellence and innovation, Hillwood has established a reputation for quality development that drives economic growth for communities throughout North Texas. Signature developments include AllianceTexas, Circle T Ranch and Frisco Station. To date, Hillwood Properties has developed and acquired 32 million square feet of industrial, 3.6 million square feet of retail and office and over 4,000 multifamily units. For more information on Hillwood Properties’ flagship development, AllianceTexas, please visit www.alliancetexas.com.
his year, MP Materials will become the first company in a generation to make rare-earth magnets in the United States, threatening one of China’s ace cards in the escalating trade war. And it’s doing it right here in North Texas.
MP Materials’ contribution to rebuilding a domestic rare-earth supply chain shows that savvy business sense and quiet enterprise can achieve more in the economic rivalry with China than self-destructive protectionist policies or berating heads of state in the Oval Office.
A bad bet
Eight years ago, James Litinsky, a Chicago hedge fund manager who specialized in distressed assets, found himself deep underwater on a junk bond bet tied to the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine. Mountain Pass is in a barren desert where Interstate 15 from San Diego to Las Vegas crosses the California-Nevada line. Opened just after World War II, the mine had led the world in production of these elements from the 1960s to the 1980s, particularly neodymium. Once refined and magnetized, this metal is made into neodymium-iron-boron alloy, used to produce NdFeB magnets, an essential component of many electrical machines.
The neodymium produced in Mountain Pass was made into this alloy by a joint venture between General Motors and the Japanese corporation Sumitomo in Michigan, before production shifted to Asia in the 1990s.
Mountain Pass was long past its peak when Litinsky visited in 2017. Rare-earth refining was no longer much of a thing in the U.S. The mothballed mine was maintained by a skeleton crew of eight people. A multibillion dollar effort to restart production had failed. There was even talk of Mountain Pass losing its licenses to operate from federal and state agencies, which would have reduced it to ghost-town status.
Even among distressed investors who specialize in buying into long-shot turnaround stories, the best move at this stage would have been to cut losses, write off the investment, and start picking through the other “fallen angels” on stock and bond markets.
A strategic asset
It’s possible Litinsky would have just taken the hit and moved on, if the Mountain Pass mine produced some other commodity. But rare earth minerals may be the closest thing on the planet to vibranium, the near-magic element in Marvel movies. Modern superpowers of communications, electric transportation and defense depend on these metals.
An extensive Commerce Department review of rare earth metals’ significance to the U.S. economy and defense was unequivocal. “NdFeB magnets are essential to U.S. national security,” the study found. “NdFeB magnets are currently irreplaceable in key defense applications such as fighter aircraft and missile guidance systems.”
That makes these minerals a strategic geopolitical asset, as President Donald Trump’s recent attempt at a deal with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last month illustrates. Trump is escalating a trade war with China, which controls about 95% of rare-earth production, according to Reuters. In 2021, the United States imported 75% of its NdFeB magnet supply from China, the Commerce Department reported. That makes the need to source these minerals elsewhere even more urgent.
And it’s not just Trump’s trade war that threatens America’s position. The U.S. could lose access to the strategic mineral for any number of reasons, including pandemics or natural disasters.
Honey, I bought a mine
The conventional wisdom about rare earth metals on the internet is that they are not rare at all. This is true, to a certain extent, said MP Materials spokesman Matt Sloustcher. It’s relatively common to find traces of these metals in the soil, he said. But it’s extremely rare to find them in a great enough concentration to make mining economical.
There are only a few major mines in the world outside of Mountain Pass. One is in China, another is in war-torn Myanmar and another is in Australia.
Litinsky recognized that having a “single point of failure” in the rare-earth supply chain was a dangerous thing for U.S. manufacturers, and for the U.S. military, said Sloustcher.
Some men at Litinsky’s stage of life buy boats. A Matt Damon character famously bought a zoo. With Litinsky, it was a case of, “Honey, I bought a strategically important global asset.”
Litinsky raised money from investors, and eventually from the U.S. Department of Defense, and formed MP Materials to buy the mine outright.
“When he acquired the mine, there was no rare-earth production domestically,” said Sloutscher, a spokesman. “There was no mining, no separation or refining, and certainly no alloy magnet production.”
Making Fort Worth home
When it came to production, MP Materials decided on a site owned by the Perot family near Alliance Airport in Fort Worth. North Texas was one of the few areas nationwide the company was confident it could rapidly recruit hundreds of workers with the requisite engineering expertise. MP Materials now has more than 100 employees in Fort Worth, and has started trial production. Close relationships with the University of Texas at Arlington and Texas A&M University have helped the company with its recruiting.
The attraction to working with MP Materials is partly an intellectual one for some employees, such as Sloustcher.
“Magnets are these things you play with … in childhood, these kind-of magical things, and then you put them down and don’t really think about them again … until you do,” Sloustcher said.
The reason an EV motor can outrun a Ferrari but remains the size of a watermelon? Rare-earth magnets. And it’s not just EVs. Once Sloutscher started working at MP, he came to realize “they’re everywhere. … They’re in consumer drones. They’re in ABS brakes, in your phone, even in your electric toothbrush,” he said.
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Tarrant County College this morning celebrated the move of its aviation and logistics and supply chain management programs a decade ago to a 163,500-square-foot facility next to what’s now Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport.
More than a building, the Erma C. Johnson Hadley Northwest Center of Excellence for Aviation, Transportation and Logistics is a talent magnet, drawing some of the brightest minds in Texas to train for high-demand, aerospace-focused professions.
In a video shown at today’s 10-year milestone celebration, remarks by the center’s namesake (TCC chancellor, 2010-2015) capture the spirit behind the pull: “We don’t do things halfway. If we’re going to do something, we want it to be first class.”
Expert faculty teach from their own true-to-career experience, combining their real world knowledge and skills to amplify student success. State-of-the-art classrooms and labs, industry-recognized simulators and advanced technology, fully operational hangars and the latest equipment ensure graduates are day-one job ready.
Head count over the years exceeds 6,000, with almost 1,200 graduates. Enrollment is growing.
Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker applauded the College’s commitment to workforce development, calling the center a launchpad to achievement.
“Here thousands of students have gained the skills and opportunities to build successful careers,” she said, “and our local businesses have gained a highly skilled workforce that keeps our city thriving.”
Tarrant County College Chancellor Elva LeBlanc, who was TCC Northwest president at the time, recounted the facility purchase from Bell Helicopter before the center opened in 2014. Hillwood, developer of the mixed-use AllianceTexas north of downtown, aided negotiations.
“In doing their due diligence, our Board of Trustees met with key influencers in the Alliance business community. They held special board meetings where the community made a strong case for Tarrant County College being here,” Dr. LeBlanc said. “To our many business partners, Hillwood in particular, my profound appreciation.”
“TCC’s name is synonymous with aviation, transportation and logistics,” added Christopher Ash, senior vice president of aviation development for the Alliance Aviation Companies at Hillwood.
A TCC Northwest alumnus, he noted that Trailblazers are among Hillwood’s top performers, whether in customer service, airport operations or on the flight line.
One of those top performers is Isaiah Eilander. He had an employment offer before he finished his Associate of Applied Science in nondestructive inspection, testing and evaluation — the only program of its kind in Texas. He now fills a vital role as NDT inspector at Mayday Manufacturing.
“Even though I’m only about three years into my career, I feel successful,” he said. “It is a success I can attribute to my hard work and my education.”
Current TCC Northwest President Zarina Blankenbaker: “The success of our graduates strengthens companies, drives economic development and fuels the innovation that keeps Texas and our country thriving. The Erma C. Johnson Hadley Northwest Center of Excellence for Aviation, Transportation and Logistics is a shining example of what happens when vision, collaboration and commitment come together.”
A tribute to Chancellor Hadley concluded this morning’s video. After a lengthy meeting June 20, 2013, the TCC Board of Trustees returned from its closed session just before 10:30 p.m. to announce final approval to purchase the Horizon Drive property from Bell Helicopter.
Called to the microphone by Chancellor Hadley, Dr. LeBlanc said, “It makes quantum sense for Tarrant County College to be here when you see the enormous growth along the Alliance Corridor. When you see the outcome, you won’t be disappointed.”
That was the cue for Hadley to burst into her favorite song for all occasions, “It’s a Wonderful Day in the Neighborhood.”
Chancellor LeBlanc: “It’s still a wonderful day in the neighborhood. We have much to celebrate. Our horizon is clear, unlimited and expansive. Our progress is definitive. And the best is yet to come.”
Learn more about program offerings at the Erma C. Johnson Northwest Center of Excellence for Aviation, Transportation and Logistics. Watch this morning’s video and tribute to Chancellor Hadley.