The latest addition to downtown Fort Worth, Texas, not only adds luxury living to the city's skyline as the first tower of its kind to rise in the area in the past 30 years. It also extends the latest commercial real estate development surge in the former cattle hub.

Southern Land Co. marked opening this week of the Deco, a 27-story, 302-unit luxury apartment tower. The $150 million project is the Nashville, Tennessee-based privately held development firm's first foray into Fort Worth — a city Southern Land's founder and CEO Tim Downey said he's been trying to gain a foothold in for nearly two decades.

With much of the city's downtown owned by the Bass family, one of the richest families in the United States with $13.3 billion in net worth, according to Forbes, it was difficult for Southern Land to find the site it needed. It wasn't until ExxonMobil's XTO Energy began putting its real estate holdings on the market that Southern Land was able to nab the site at 969 Commerce St. in 2017 for the project.

The luxury tower brings a type of apartment to downtown Fort Worth that hasn't existed and will set the tone for luxury living here, Downey told CoStar News. So far, leasing velocity at the Deco is beating expectations, as the tower is about 15% leased to date with rents at $3 per square foot, he said.

The addition of Deco to Fort Worth comes as the city has been booming with real estate development. Some big projects in the works include Crescent Real Estate adding another office building at its namesake mixed-use hub in Fort Worth's Cultural District, and the historic Fort Worth Stockyards getting $630 million of new real estate in a move expected to nearly double the size of the city's entertainment district with hundreds of hotel rooms, apartments, new commercial space and parking garages.

Fort Worth, also known as Cowtown, served as a 19th-century departure point for Texans headed north in search of better prices for millions of cattle. It has since been transformed into a modern region that's the 12th largest city in the United States with a population of 978,468 residents.

Fort Worth is part of Dallas-Fort Worth, the nation's fourth-largest metropolitan area that has more than 8.1 million residents. Some experts wonder whether Fort Worth could overtake Austin, the state's capital, as the nation's 11th most populated city. Austin's most recent population count was 979,882.

Construction on the Deco is completed except for the four top floors earmarked for penthouse units. Rent for the tower's six penthouses, ranging from 1,157 square feet to 2,793 square feet, starts at just over $6,000 a month to upward of $13,400. Downey said he has some potential residents for the penthouse units who want to tour the completed units before committing to them.

The monthly cost of a one-, two- or three-bedroom unit begins at $2,080. The first residents of the Deco moved into the initial phase of apartments in mid-April.

The Deco's amenities, architectural finishes that nod to the art deco designs seen in historic Fort Worth, upscale hospitality with a security team that doubles as doormen and a beverage service offering everything from coffee to soft drinks to wine between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., is helping to beat leasing expectations, Southern Land executives said. To date, the tower has 28 residents.

The multilevel amenity deck includes an outdoor resort-style pool and spa that can be heated in the cold seasons on the 24th floor, as well as a fully equipped demonstration kitchen with a bar, billiards and views of downtown Fort Worth. There also is a poolside bar and lounge, as well as a 180-inch poolside jumbotron to watch games and events. The 25th-floor outdoor greenspace has a dual-facing fire pit and gathering spaces.

The tower has a fitness center with a studio, athletic equipment, Peloton bikes, weights and an Echelon mirror, as well as a dog grooming spa, lobby lounge with a social bar and bicycle repair shop.

Additional concierge services, such as dry cleaning, car detailing and teaming up with fitness facilities to bring on-site training to the building, add to the ease of living that Deco aims to provide. The building has no specified target demographic for renters, but business professionals and individuals who travel and want a second home in Fort Worth have already signed leases.

The Deco offers hospitality-like services such as a standing Monday happy hour, casual breakfasts on Friday and cooking demonstrations. The social aspect appears to be a big selling point helping to push leasing velocity ahead of expectations, said Ronan Kearney, a senior vice president and head of property management at Southern Land.

"The current leasing velocity is exceeding expectations, and it manifests in the level of architectural and design details we have in the building and getting the right people to make a mark on hospitality and bring that level of service to the community," Kearney told CoStar News.

The first eight floors of the Deco make up the above-ground parking garage; the ninth floor is the first floor of the 27-story tower dedicated to resident living. The garage has electric vehicle charging stations.

The ground floor of the Deco will have an 8,500-square-foot restaurant, called Broadway 10 Bar & Chophouse, which is expected to pay homage to Cowtown's cattle-driven legacy, officials said. The menu is also expected to offer seafood with hand-rolled sushi. The restaurant is scheduled to open in early 2025.

Andy Taft, president of Downtown Fort Worth Inc., said Deco brings a new era of downtown Fort Worth living to the city, setting the bar higher than it has ever been for premier living.