The Trammell Crow staff had occupied its 27th floor Bank One space for slightly more than two years. It's not been easy going for those tenants who have continued to occupy space in the damaged structure. Just Friday, more windows had toppled into the street and had forced a temporary detour. The March 28, 2000, tornado caused an estimated $500 million in damages to Ft. Worth's Downtown and shattered 3,200 of the 35-story Bank One's 3,400 windows.

Owner Loutex Fort Worth has been under city pressure to do something about the damaged building and has told remaining tenants to vacate by the end of this month. Loutex initially had planned to rehab the building, but later had concluded that the cost is too exorbitant. When Trammell Crow nixed its buyout plans, Loutex said there were additional purchase offers. Those deals have not materialized. Equally costly as the window replacement is the vital upgrade to the mechanical system. Damaging molds have taken hold in the HVAC units and spread throughout the 27-year-old glass octagon tower. Now, the game plan is to tear it down.

The rehabbing cost doesn't appear to be a worry for the Reata restaurant, which is seeking an injunction to block its eviction while battling to gain title to the 487,000-sf structure. The court will hear the injunction case March 12. Reata invested about $1 million to reopen its top floor eatery after the tornado ripped through the Downtown and decimated its prestigious location.