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by Bob Francis, Fort Worth Report
December 28, 2025

ONM Living has started leasing for nearly 850 cottage-style homes for rent in Fort Worth, Anna and Lavon. 

“With sticky interest rates, dynamic renter expectations and continued population growth, many North Texans are increasingly turning to new ways to enjoy the single-family lifestyle,” said Ty Robinson, president of ONM Living.

In Tarrant County, the Cottages at Deer Creek community, located less than a mile from Interstate 35 in south Fort Worth at 1127 Eloise Drive, includes 378 homes.

As of early 2025, Fort Worth led the North Texas region with more than 1,800 build-to-rent units in the pipeline, accounting for nearly one-eighth of the state’s approximately 22,000 build-to-rent units on tap and more than one-fifth of those planned for Dallas-Fort Worth.

All three ONM Living communities feature a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom homes ranging from approximately 350 square feet to nearly 1,400 square feet with rents averaging roughly $1,700 per month. 

Amenities at each development include community-wide Wi-Fi, a fitness center, a resort-style swimming pool, pickleball courts, an outdoor gaming area and grilling station, game room, a dog park and walking trails.

ONM Living developed the three projects in partnership with its sister company, Jabez Development. The company plans to deliver almost 700 new rental homes across all three communities before the end of the year, and an additional 760 rental homes in 2026 across four other North Texas ONM Living communities.

Since its founding in 2019, ONM Living’s portfolio has grown to include nearly 2,000 homes representing more than $450 million in capital across 13 communities in North Texas and Houston.

Build-to-rent homes share of all single-family construction has slightly  decreased recently, according to a September report from Arbor Realty Trust.

Over the year ending in the second quarter of 2025, build-to-rent homes accounted for 7.2% of all single-family construction starts — down from 8.4% during the prior quarter and 9% in the third quarter of 2024. 

The report says trends continue to support the growth of build-to-rent homes. The median U.S. household needs to devote 43% of its income to housing payments to buy a home, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. With demand up, the occupancy rate for build-to-rent homes edged higher in the second quarter, according to the report. 

Systems integrator partnership 

Fort Worth-based Advanced Intralogistics, a technology solution provider and systems integrator, and AlphaOne Robotics, an advanced robotics and automation company, have announced a strategic business relationship to modernize inbound receiving and trailer unloading across North America.

The partnership is focused on the deployment of AlphaOne Robotics Sigma Unloader. Advanced Intralogistics will serve as a preferred integrator for the Sigma Unloader with engineered layouts, conveyor and palletizer integration, and Advanced Intralogistics’s full aftermarket service suite.

Trademark in Celina 

Old Celina and G-Man Development are pleased to announce they have partnered with Fort Worth-based Trademark Property Co. and Terry Montesi to lead the development of their 150-acre, master-planned Shawnee Trail project in Celina.

Vari sells one VariSpace location 

Vari has sold its VariSpace Las Colinas location so it can further invest in its existing locations in Southlake and Coppell and accelerate future investments in its workplace products and service business. VariSpace provides fully furnished, flexible, and customizable office campuses with amenities for enterprise tenants. 

“This sale unlocks new opportunities to innovate faster, scale our VariSpace footprint, and continue leading the future of work from right here in North Texas,” Jason McCann, co-founder and CEO of Vari, said in a news release.   

Cushman and Wakefield served as Vari’s broker partners in completing thistransaction.

Do you have something for the Bob on Business column? Email Bob Francis, business editor for the Fort Worth Report, at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org.At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

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NEW YORK — When the MetroCard replaced the New York City subway token in 1994, the swipeable plastic card infused much-needed modernity into one of the world’s oldest and largest transit systems.

Now, more than three decades later, the gold-hued fare card and its notoriously finicky magnetic strip are following the token into retirement.

The last day to buy or refill a MetroCard is Dec. 31, 2025, as the transit system fully transitions to OMNY, a contactless payment system that allows riders to tap their credit card, phone or other smart device to pay fares, much like they do for other everyday purchases.

Transit officials say more than 90% of subway and bus trips are now paid using the tap-and-go system, introduced in 2019.

Major cities around the world, including London and Singapore, have long used similar contactless systems. In the U.S., San Francisco launched a pay-go system earlier this year, joining Chicago and others.

MetroCards upended how New Yorkers commute

The humble MetroCard may have outlasted its useful life, but in its day it was revolutionary, says Jodi Shapiro, curator at the New York Transit Museum in Brooklyn, which opened an exhibit earlier this month reflecting on the MetroCard’s legacy.

Before MetroCards, bus and subway riders relied on tokens, the brass-colored coins introduced in 1953 that were purchased from station booths. When the subway opened in 1904, paper tickets cost just a nickel, or about $1.82 in today’s dollars.

“There was a resistance to change from tokens to something else because tokens work,” Shapiro said on a recent visit to the museum, housed underground in a decommissioned subway station. “MetroCards introduced a whole other level of thinking for New Yorkers.”

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority launched public campaigns to teach commuters how to swipe the originally blue-colored cards correctly, hoping to avoid the dreaded error message or lost fares. Officials even briefly toyed with the idea of an quirky mascot, the Cardvaark, before coming to their senses.

The cards quickly became collectors items as the transit system rolled out special commemorative editions marking major events, such as the “Subway Series” between baseball’s New York Mets and the New York Yankees in the 2000 World Series. At the time, a fare cost $1.50.

Artists from David Bowie and Olivia Rodrigo to seminal New York hip hop acts, such as the Wu-Tang Clan, the Notorious B.I.G. and LL Cool J, have also graced the plastic card over the years, as have iconic New York shows like Seinfeld and Law & Order.

“For me, the most special cards are cards which present New York City to the world,” said Lev Radin, a collector in the Bronx. “Not only photos of landmarks, skylines, but also about people who live and make New York special.”

Perfecting the correct angle and velocity of the MetroCard swipe also became something of a point of pride separating real New Yorkers from those just visiting.

During her failed 2016 presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton, a former U.S. Senator from New York, took an excruciating five swipes at a Bronx turnstile. In fairness, her chief Democratic opponent at the time, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a native Brooklynite, didn’t even appear to realize tokens had been discontinued.

Cost savings and lingering concerns

Unlike the MetroCard rollout, OMNY has required little adjustment.

Riders reluctant to use a credit card or smart device can purchase an OMNY card they can reload, similar to a MetroCard. Existing MetroCards will also continue to work into 2026, allowing riders to use remaining balances.

MTA spokespersons declined to comment, pointing instead to their many public statements as the deadline approaches.

The agency has said the changeover saves at least $20 million annually in MetroCard-related costs.

The new system also allows unlimited free rides within a seven-day period because the fare is capped after 12 rides. It’ll max out at $35 a week once the fare rises to $3 in January.

Still, new changes come with tradeoffs, with some critics raising concerns about data collection and surveillance.

Near Times Square on a recent morning, Ronald Minor was among the dwindling group of “straphangers” still swiping MetroCards.

The 70-year-old Manhattan resident said he’s sad to see them go. He has an OMNY card but found the vending machines to reload it more cumbersome.

“It’s hard for the elders,” Minor said as he caught a train to Brooklyn. “Don’t push us aside and make it like we don’t count. You push these machines away, you push us away.”

John Sacchetti, another MetroCard user at the Port Authority stop, said he likes being able to see his balance as he swipes through a turnstile so he knows how much he’s been spending on rides.

“It’s just like everything else, just something to get used to,” he said as he headed uptown. “Once I get used to it, I think it’ll be okay.”

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