An economic development project to erect a 34-acre mixed-use complex at University Drive and White Settlement Road will see the former Fort Worth ISD headquarters destroyed.
The Fort Worth ISD administrative offices that once sat at 100 N. University Dr. will be demolished to make way for the continued growth of the West 7th and Cultural District neighborhoods. The new mixed-use development that will take its place — and will include other properties in the vicinity — is valued at approximately $50 million.
The 4-acre site of Fort Worth ISD’s former headquarters was sold for $4.96 million in 2020 and is now owned by FW Westside Investors LLC, which has spearheaded the new development project. Alongside commercial and office spaces spread across 10 different buildings, the complex is slated to have around 1,000 housing units.
As previously covered by The Dallas Express, Fort Worth is the country’s fastest-growing city and is rapidly positioning itself as the dominant real estate market in North Texas. Its population surged in 2022, adding 19,170 people, and it continues to grow at a swift rate of 4.1%. To accommodate this growth and the accompanying rise in demand for property, several development projects have been announced on the west side of the city.
“We’re in a very tight vacancy market downtown with about 13% vacancy,” Todd Burnette, executive managing director for the real estate firm JLL Fort Worth, said, according to KERA. “And there’s not a lot of contiguous space, so if a company wants to relocate to several floors of a building, it’s not easy to find.”
“Right now, if someone wants to come to the central city with a large relocation, Fort Worth can’t accommodate it because of the tight vacancy rate,” he added.
Fort Worth ISD, which now runs its administrative affairs from facilities at 7060 Camp Bowie Blvd., has not bloomed alongside the city. As extensively covered by The Dallas Express, the district is grappling with a considerable decline in student enrollment figures, with 48 of its 140 schools recently reported as below 70% capacity.
While several North Texas public school districts have come up short lately due to competition from area charters, demographic shifts, rising housing costs, and more, Fort Worth ISD has had lackluster academic results.
Just 32% of Fort Worth ISD students scored at grade level on the STAAR during the 2021-2022 school year, and its on-time graduation rate was 85.7%, according to the latest Texas Education Agency accountability report.
For comparison, nearby Dallas ISD saw only 41% of students meet grade level on the STAAR exam that same school year, while almost 20% of the district’s graduating Class of 2022 did not graduate within four years.
