ULI East Fort Worth Tour

The Historic Southside neighborhood and Evans & Rosedale Urban Village is a vibrant district located less than five minutes southeast of Downtown Fort Worth, and 10 minutes away from most attractions in Fort Worth.

Investment is pouring into this neighborhood, with many new homes and developments coming online. This includes the $70 million Evans & Rosedale project, featuring 295+ units of new multi-family space, retail opportunities, live-work units, and townhomes; and the completely solar-powered Connex Building – a micro-retailer and office space.

The area of Historic Southside located right off of I-35 South is partially included in the booming Near Southside district and TIF. A former hub of Black commerce, the Historic Southside has housed many of the Fort Worth's (and even the nation's) first black entrepreneurs – including William McDonald, the first black millionaire in Texas. That rich history also includes modern icon, Ms. Opal Lee, whose building is the future site of the National Juneteenth Museum. This neighborhood and commercial district is an extremely important part of Fort Worth's history, and the City of Fort Worth is looking to attract new development that supports or partners with locally-grown entrepreneurs while honoring the area's historic legacy.

Fast facts

Demographics (ESRI)

Key investments / points of interest

Evans & Rosedale Urban Village

Summary: Streetscape projects, heritage features, public art Urban Village Demographic Report (My Sidewalk) $15.9 million in total funding secured (Prior to 2005) $1.5 million - EDI $7.5 million - Section 108 $1.2 million - EDA $0.8 million - Bond funds $3.7 million CDBG $1.2 million - CDBG and HOME

Evans & Rosedale Development with Hoque Global

Summary: Over several years, the City of Fort Worth acquired more than 30 parcels of land within the Historic Southside and the Evans & Rosedale Urban Village. Hoque Global was selected as the master developer of the project through a community and City RFEI process. The project will consist of 295+ multi-family units, live-work units, townhomes, and retail – including Neighborhood Brew (a coffee/brew pub concept by Hoque) and grocery spec space set to break ground in early 2023. Investment: $70 million Learn more.

Connex - Three story, zero-energy micro-office

Summary: Connex is a micro office and retail venue made out of 40 shipping containers. The units are stacked in an architectural interesting way, creating public and private spaces. The building is a zero-energy, meaning that all the power needed to operate it is generated by a 21.5KW solar array on the roof. Connex also has a "live roof" covered in vegetation, as well as permeable paving in the parking lot. The building strives to be as energy and environmentally-friendly as possible. Investment: ~$1 million (+ public investment) Learn more.

National Juneteenth Museum with Performance Hall & Business Incubator

Summary: The National Juneteenth Museum project has gained national attention, with fundraising efforts ongoing for a two-story museum, restaurant, business incubator and 250-seat amphitheater that celebrates Black history, culture, and the historic date of Juneteenth. The museum will sit on a site owned by Nobel Prize-nominee Ms. Opal Lee, who is most well-known for walking to Washington D.C. to successfully get Juneteenth recognized as a federal holiday. The project will include three adjacent residential buildings with 55 residences. The City of Fort Worth has already committed $15 million in ARPA funds towards this project. Investment: $70 million+ Learn more.

East Lancaster – also known as Historic Highway 180 – used to be the main connector between Fort Worth and Dallas before the creation of I-30, and still serves as a major artery into East Fort Worth with many great opportunities for redevelopment. The addition of the East Lancaster Public Improvement District (PID) 20 has also been a tremendous success, having improved the area's safety by reducing crime issues along the corridor (with contacts from the PID's Safety & Security team dropping 90% in two years.) The PID also shows a commitment from the property owners to collectively work together towards making the corridor beautiful, safe, and a vibrant hub of commercial activity.

The City of Fort Worth, Trinity Metro, and NCTCOG are currently working on Phase II of the Transit Oriented Development plan to invest in rapid transit and drive transit-oriented economic development along East Lancaster's six-lanes, which boast a number of greenfield and prime redevelopment sites. East Fort Worth, commonly known for having "the city out your front door, and nature out your back door," has multiple large acreage parks and open space within walking distance from East Lancaster. With quick access to the surrounding metroplex, the area is one of the Fort Worth's greatest redevelopment opportunities for high-density, high-quality urban walkable and public transit living.

Fast facts

Demographics & Market Reports (Retail Coach)

Key investments / points of interest

Near East Urban Village

Summary: New pedestrian and street-level lighting, road resurfacing and striping, improved sidewalks, drainage improvements and public art banners were all added by March 2014, for a total of $843,693 in investment. Urban Village Demographic Report (My Sidewalk) Learn more.

Oakland Corners Urban Village

Summary: A few years ago, this village was awarded a $50,000 grant to undertake a community-driven planning process to address various issues, including development opportunities, transportation needs and priorities, design guidelines and more. Urban Village Demographic Report (My Sidewalk) Learn more.

Historic Parker Browne Building

Summary: Originally a manufacturing plant and warehouse for Parker-Browne Co., producers of carbon dioxide for carbonated beverages, the building changed hands multiple times over the years. The City of Fort Worth recently provided the current developer with a five-year tax abatement through the NEZ, and a $350,000 forgivable loan from the Urban Development Action Grant. It is currently home to Cheyenne Construction Company, who has partnered with local businesses like the Presbyterian Night Shelter and TCC through LegUp to employ and train individuals experiencing homelessness.

Reby Cary Youth Library

Summary: Reby Cary Youth Library is Fort Worth's first and only library designed specifically for children and their caregivers. It was visited 42,000 times in the last year.  Investment: $5.49 million facility, measuring 8,000 square feet Learn more.

Texas Wesleyan University

Summary: TWU has been the anchor and a major factor in the success of Rosedale, East Fort Worth, and Southeast Fort Worth through their major investments in the area, including creating its official entrance along Rosedale and renovating many historical commercial buildings along the avenue. Within the last year, they've also opened The Rosedale – the first of TWU's efforts to provide more student housing. The university has an enrollment of 2,619 undergraduate and graduate students, recently launched a football team, and is in the process of building their new athletic stadium. TWU's strategic plan to transition the university from a commuter model to on-campus model has created a great opportunity for developments to support not only students and teachers, but also game day crowds and tournaments. Learn more.

Advancing East Lancaster Transit-Oriented Development and Hot Corridor

Summary: The City of Fort Worth and other local governmental agencies Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT), North Texas Council of Governments (COG), and Trinity Metro, are moving forward with the development of a “hot corridor” along East Lancaster Avenue. East Lancaster is an older major thoroughfare that begins in downtown and connects to interstates and multiple communities throughout the Greater Fort Worth area. The project focus will also include several parallel roads and a portion of Interstate 30, which is one of the primary traffic connectors between Fort Worth and other DFW cities. Guided by a Transit-Oriented Development Plan, the hot corridor is expected to include alternative transit routing options and modes (such as an articulated bus or street car), a Smart City multimodal network that incorporates fiber and Wi-Fi, EV charging opportunities, and smart traffic signals to monitor and regulate traffic flow; placemaking and pedestrian-oriented development and affordable housing, and a future-proofed design that can be scaled up as the area's population density grows. Learn more.

Sunset at Fash Place (in the Oakland Corners Urban Village)

Summary: This apartment community for seniors boasts brand new, spacious and affordable one and two-bedroom floor plans.  Learn more.

There's much to love about Handley, formerly its own city and stop on the Fort Worth-to-Dallas inter-urban streetcar. An extension of East Lancaster, Handley has seen a recent re-emergence in its historic downtown, thanks to its thriving Handley Wedding District that offers all the resources to plan an incredible event – all within one block. The wedding district alone drew in over 42,000 people last year, with 1,000 of those visitors traveling over 250 miles to sample the area's wares. Handley's local cake shop, recently featured on Food Network, is always booked out half a year in advance.

Two aerospace manufacturing companies, Radius Aerospace and Applied Avionics, are just a couple of blocks away, and a huge industrial hub south of E. Lancaster along the highway attracts a large workforce that travels through the area and fills its one restaurant - Dixie House Cafe. The very active and invested business are known for their neighborhood street festivals, and an annual boutique cigar festival even draw in crowd from across the U.S.

Truly, Handley is a hidden gem and an eastern gateway into Fort Worth. Its location is a bonus – right off of Highway 820, it's only three minutes to I-30, and less than 15 minutes to Downtown, or to Texas Live and AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Multi-million dollar neighborhood Somerset Estates, the prestigious Oakridge School, and multiple employers are less than a five-minute drive, providing major opportunity for those interested in new retail and mixed-use development.

Fast facts

Demographics (Placer.ai)

Key investments / points of interest

Historic Handley Urban Village Plan & Public Funding

Summary: The City of Fort Worth utilized grant funding to begin implementing the Urban Village Plans with streetscape improvements including decorative bollards, seating, brick sidewalk improvements, parallel parking with protective curb bulb-outs. They also added it to our Neighborhood Empowerment Zone that offer tax-abatements and fee waivers to those making housing and commercial improvements*. Investment: $1.9 million $0.3 million CMAQ Land Use/Transportation Joint Venture Grant $1.2 million CDBG and HOME $0.4 million TCSP Learn more.

Handley Wedding District

Summary: In addition to its historic charm, the Handley area is becoming renowned for its number of shops and small businesses that are all affiliated with the wedding industry. Handley's one block of wedding vendors attracted 42,000 visits last year, with an average dwell time of 73 minutes. Visitors' average home location was between 10-30 miles from the district, but as many as 1.1k visitors lived over 250 miles away (Data courtesy of Placer.ai, Oct. 2021-Sept. 2022). These high-end wedding vendors are staples in the DFW wedding industry, toting Food Network and wedding vendor awards, which is starting to drive additional interest and investment in the area. Learn more.

Advancing East Lancaster Transit-Oriented Development Plan

Summary: The City of Fort Worth and other local governmental agencies Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT), North Texas Council of Governments (COG), and Trinity Metro, are moving forward with the development of a “hot corridor” along East Lancaster Avenue. East Lancaster is an older major thoroughfare that begins in downtown and connects to interstates and multiple communities throughout the Greater Fort Worth area. The project focus will also include several parallel roads and a portion of Interstate 30, which is one of the primary traffic connectors between Fort Worth and other DFW cities. Guided by a Transit-Oriented Development Plan, the hot corridor is expected to include alternative transit routing options and modes (such as an articulated bus or street car), a Smart City multimodal network that incorporates fiber and Wi-Fi, EV charging opportunities, and smart traffic signals to monitor and regulate traffic flow; placemaking and pedestrian-oriented development and affordable housing, and a future-proofed design that can be scaled up as the area's population density grows. Investment: Both the City and NCTCOG have funds committed for implementation of this plan, updated form-based code, smart-city infrastructure, etc. Learn more.

Somerset Estates

Summary: This multi-million dollar neighborhood in the Handley area is less than 5-minutes from the commercial corridor. Learn more.

Positioned strategically along I-30, Highway 820 and the Lake Arlington shoreline, Stop Six is named for its stop on the old inter-urban street car line that connected Downtown Fort Worth to Dallas. The area was once a thriving African American community.

Now, after years of disinvestment and with the help of both federal and local funds and some focused attention, Stop Six is once again on the rise. A big push is being made through the Stop Six Choice Neighborhood Project – a multi-year effort developed by residents, community leaders and stakeholders to transform this historic neighborhood in Southeast Fort Worth into a vibrant, safe and sustainable community with access to quality education, healthcare, services and amenities – a “neighborhood of choice.”

The effort is guided by a 2019 Transformation Plan, which calls for six phases of new mixed-income housing, commercial space, neighborhood improvements and a multi-purpose community hub and aquatics center. The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) seeded the transformation with a $35 million Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grant, which was awarded to Fort Worth Housing Solutions and the City of Fort Worth in 2020. Overall, the initial HUD grant is expected to trigger more than $345 million in investment and improvements for the Stop Six community.

Fast facts

Demographics (ESRI)

Key investments / points of interest

Neighborhood Improvement Strategy (2016-2017)

Summary: Stop Six was selected as the City of Fort Worth's first Neighborhood Improvement Strategy target area. A first-of-its-kind project, the pilot program will use funds set aside by City Council to improve neighborhood vitality and give residents paths to self-sufficiency. To help address the area's needs, $2.56 million was allocated in the city's 2017 budget to put towards initiatives in the community. Investment: $3 million Learn more.

Stop Six Choice Neighborhood Initiative

Summary: This landmark revitalization effort and transformation plan was seeded by a $35 million HUD Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grant that is expected to leverage $345 million in community investment with the creation of a 28,000 square foot community hub, about 1,000 new units of mixed-income housing, and 12,000 square feet of new commercial space. Investment: $41.9 million Learn more.

Stop Six Initiative: Cowan Place Senior Living

Summary: This new facility has 174 units under construction, with leasing beginning in 2023. It is 100% affordable for households at 80% or less AMI, with top-of-the-line amenties including in- unit washer/dryer, a community library/theatre, a fitness studio, a salon, billiards, crafts and private meeting rooms with healthcare professionals and other service providers. Investment: $35.3 million Learn more.

Stop Six Initiative: Hughes House

Summary: This mixed-use development at East Rosedale and Amanda includes 210 rental units, ranking from apartments to townhomes with various levels of affordability. The complex also contains 12,000 square feet of commercial space designed around walkability, with a community swimming pool and splash pad, a fitness center, and a dog park. Learn more.

Stop Six Initiative: Cavile Place

Summary: This project began with public meetings held in Stop Six during the summer of 2019. The project's foundation is a $35 million HUD Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grant, which provides funds for targeted investments in housing, supportive services and critical community improvements – all aimed at comprehensively transforming dis-invested neighborhoods. Investment: $35.3 million Learn more.

Industrial Hub Along Highway 820

Summary: Highway 820 through Stop Six and along Lake Arlington has a large hub of industrial and manufacturing, with a robust daytime workforce. This workforce is located in a retail desert, specifically for food and restaurants. Learn more.

Chùa Hương Đạo

Summary: The upcoming expansion of the Huong Dao Buddhist Temple will consist of 840 large and small stupas that will be constructed of granite and steel. They will be built on a 14-acre site in the vicinity of the temple, which is located at 4717 E. Rosedale St. The stupas will house various Buddhist teachings that will be translated into the languages of six countries. Some stupas will stand as high as 40 meters, making them visible far beyond the temple. Investment: $100 million+ Learn more.

Polytechnic Heights – or "Poly", for short – is located in the southeast side of Fort Worth. The neighborhood is approximately three miles southeast of Downtown Fort Worth and approximately three miles north of Interstate 30. Its main roadway is E. Rosedale St., with Vaughn Boulevard serving as a north-south connector for both the neighborhood and the business community.

Poly has been experiencing a renaissance since Texas Wesleyan University (TWU) built its official university entrance along Rosedale, while simultaneously developing and renovating nearby storefronts, a building and event center, and creating brand new student housing (The Rosemont) across the street. The area is a hub of popular, local small businesses, and recently Southeast Fort Worth Inc. was selected as one of two districts to partner with Main Street America and the City of Fort Worth as part of Fort Worth's Main Street Pilot program. This will provide $320,000 worth of grant funding for training, strategy, staffing, and to implement the area's transformation strategy, which will be developed alongside the community. With Vaughn Blvd. as a connecting thoroughfare to Renaissance Heights, and with the record enrollment at TWU, this neighborhood is expected to continue its transformation into a vibrant hub of diverse business activity.

Fast facts

Demographics (ESRI)

Key investments / points of interest

Polytechnic/Wesleyan Urban Village

Summary: Streetscape improvements were recently made on East Rosedale between Nashville and Collard, funded through $1,875,000 worth of investment. Urban Village Demographic Report (My Sidewalk) Investment: $7.7 million total $0.7 million EDI $0.2 million EDI $6 million CDBG and HOME

Fort Worth Main Street Pilot Program

Summary: The City of Fort Worth selected Southeast Fort Worth Inc. and Polytechnic neighborhood to pilot its new three-year commercial corridor place-based redevelopment grant that offers $50,000 worth of training and $270,000 worth of grants to focus on improving design, economic vitality, promotion and organization of the commercial corridor and its businesses. The City of Fort Worth hopes to see greater placemaking, beautification, redevelopment and more as the project launches this fall. The funding is meant to spur additional private investment and attention to the area- SEFW Inc. has already secured an additional $75,000 worth of funding for the work that was announced August 2022. Investment: $320,000 Learn more.

Texas Wesleyan University (TWU)

Summary: With an enrollment of 2,619 undergrad and graduate students, TWU has been the anchor and a major factor in the success of Rosedale, East and Southeast Fort Worth through major investment, including placing the university's official entrance along Rosedale, purchasing and renovating many historical commercial buildings along Rosedale, and more. They have also launched a football team and began building their new athletic stadium. TWU's strategic plan calls for transitioning the university from a commuter model to on-campus model, and its enrollment continues to grow, creating great opportunity for supporting development – not just for students and teachers, but for tournaments and game-day activities. The university's new student center has also provided Southeast Fort Worth with a sophisticated meeting and conference space - something previously not possible. TWU continues to expand and think creatively about its roll as an economic developer and community partner, so more great things are expected to come soon. Learn more.

TWU Stadium

Summary: The anticipated completion date for Phase I of the 5,500-6,000 seat stadium is Summer 2023. Phase II is anticipated to be completed during Summer 2024. Investment: $16.5 million Learn more.

The Rosedale

Summary: Officially opened in 2022, TWU partnered with a private developer in a unique agreement for the developer to build and operate this apartment-style residence hall that houses 101 students exclusively – including upperclassmen, graduate students, and students with spouses or dependents. Learn more.