The Stockyards National Historic District-a popular attraction in town-also has received a facelift that will enhance the experience for groups in the area with the addition of the 200-room Hotel Drover, a Marriott Autograph Collection hotel with 40,000 square feet of unique indoor and outdoor event space. The property-which opened in 2021-anchors the Stockyards Heritage Development Co.'s multi-million-dollar renovation of historic Mule Alley in the Fort Worth Stockyards which includes shops, eateries, creative workplaces and live entertainment venues.
The Hotel Drover in historic Fort Worth, Texas is a unique property that reinterprets rustic Lone Star style with an elegant twist. The high-profile property is the most recent addition to California-based Majestic Realty's redevelopment project in Fort Worth's historic entertainment district. The company first partnered with Hickman Cos. of Fort Worth on the project in 2014, when real estate icon Holt Hickman was starting to craft a legacy plan for the 70 acres he owned in the Stockyards.
His son and daughter wanted to do more than typical preservation, and they sought Cavileer's help. A public-private partnership was formed between Majestic, Stockyards Heritage Development Co., and the City of Fort Worth to take the project to the next level.
Tom Ruzika, of The Ruzika Company, lead the lighting design team for the Mule Alley renovation and Hotel Drover exterior lighting design.

 
As guests walk thru the streets that the cattle once were driven down, they are welcomed with tree lined pathways illuminated with a combination of lighting from Targetti's KEPLERO ZOOM. The in-ground fixture provides the ideal solution with a unique dynamic optical system that can change at any time to adjust to an ever-changing landscape. With KEPLERO ZOOM the beam optic can changed at any time thanks to its revolutionary optical system with four set optics - Spot, Flood, Medium Wide Flood, and Wide Flood. The KEPLERO ZOOM projectors are recessed in the tree grates at the head of the main street in front of the old coliseum and public walkways of the renovated Fort Worth Stockyards. Careful planning of the fixture location and installation was noted by the design team to ensure proper placement of the KEPLERO fixtures to allow ample room for root growth.
Team List:
Lighting Design: The Ruzika Company
Architect: HKS
General Contractor: Commerce Construction
Mechanical Engineer: Blum Consulting Engineers
Photography: Ruehle Photography | Xueying Chen | The Ruzika Company

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