Historic Fort Worth tower, formerly XTO Energy, will be converted into $33M hotel

Matt Leclercq

A historic downtown office tower that was one of Fort Worth’s first skyscrapers and most recently was home to XTO Energy headquarters will be converted into an extended stay hotel, according to records filed Thursday.

The 11-story Bob R. Simpson Building at 110 W. Seventh St. will be overhauled into a Residence Inn, a $33 million construction job that begins in March and will take about a year.

Irving-based hotel company Icon Lodging purchased the building in March 2022. Icon’s other projects include the Fairfield Inn & Suites downtown, the TownePlace Suites at 3450 W. Vickery Blvd., and a Hampton Inn & Suites in Colleyville.

The Bob R. Simpson Building on the corner of West Seventh and Houston streets in downtown Fort Worth.
The Bob R. Simpson Building on the corner of West Seventh and Houston streets in downtown Fort Worth.

The Beaux Arts building at the corner of West Seventh and Houston streets dates to 1910 and was originally designed for First National Bank of Fort Worth. It has been extensively remodeled over the years, including additions, and was known as the Baker Building in the 1960s.

XTO bought the tower in 2003; after a 2005 restoration, the 100,000-square-foot building was renamed after Simpson, the XTO CEO.

In this May 2003 photo, Bob Simpson, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of XTO Energy in Fort Worth, stands in front of the Baker Building after the company purchased the property.
In this May 2003 photo, Bob Simpson, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of XTO Energy in Fort Worth, stands in front of the Baker Building after the company purchased the property.
The side entrance of the Bob R. Simpson Building, on the corner of West Seventh and Houston streets in downtown Fort Worth.
The side entrance of the Bob R. Simpson Building, on the corner of West Seventh and Houston streets in downtown Fort Worth.

XTO Energy was formerly a major force in downtown. Founded in Fort Worth in 1986 by Simpson, Steve Palko and Jon Brumley as Cross Timbers Oil, it was credited with contributing to the rebirth of downtown by buying and rehabilitating a number of old office buildings. The oil and gas producer gradually emerged as a top downtown employer as other Fort Worth companies such as RadioShack declined.

Exxon Mobil acquired XTO in 2010 but kept a significant workforce in Cowtown. But in 2017, Exxon announced it would move its 1,600 workers here to Houston.

The property was listed for sale for more than $12 million in early 2022.

Simpson bought the Texas Rangers with Dallas oilman Ray Davis after the XTO sale to Exxon.

The new Residence Inn will share the block with the luxury Kimpton Harper Hotel, which opened in spring 2021 in another historic tower formerly owned by XTO.

XTO also owned the Waggoner Building at 810 Houston St., which was converted into the Sandman Signature Hotel that opened in April.

This 1911 photo shows the First National Bank building designed by architects Sanguinet and Staats in 1910 at the corner of Houston and Seventh streets downtown. In 1926 Wyatt C. Hedrick designed an addition built just to the north (left) which doubled the size of the building, adding three more bays to the Houston Street facade. The bank moved to a new site in 1961. In 1967, two years after it was sold to E.L. Baker Sr., a renovation added concrete panels to the street-level facade. XTO Energy bought the building in 2003.

Advertisement