Evans & Rosedale project moves forward; survey informs next steps

Evans & Rosedale project moves forward; survey informs next steps

Published on February 11, 2024

The Evans & Rosedale project in Fort Worth's Historic Southside is moving forward once more, with several city leaders reiterating Fort Worth's commitment to the development and to the community during a recent public meeting.

District 8 Councilmember Chris Nettles provided welcoming remarks, confirming his goal to ensure that development takes place soon on six acres of land located around 916 Evans Ave., near the Ella Mae Shamblee Library.

"I know there may be uncertainty here tonight," Nettles said. "But we're here to make things move forward."

Why it matters: Robert Sturns, director of Economic Development, gave a short overview of the City of Fort Worth's efforts to redevelop the area since the late 1990s, resulting in more than $30 million in public investments and community planning efforts. He stressed the need for a project that does credit to the legacy of the historic neighborhood and reflects its goals for the future.

"Over the years, we could have done any number of things at this site, but it is important to get the fit right," Sturns said. "We understand the history of this area and its long legacy of Black-owned business development, and we want to make sure anything we bring out here is a complement to that history and a complement to the community."

What's next: Since the City terminated the contract with the area's former development team in December 2023, Sturns noted "the phones started ringing and the emails started coming - I think we're up to 14 or 15 developers that have expressed some level of interest in the site."

As a result, the City of Fort Worth will be conducting an abbreviated Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) process to help vet these proposals in a timely manner, informed in part by previous years' planning work and community feedback. Proposals will be reviewed by a selection committee composed of City staff, business organizations and members of the Historic Southside neighborhood.

The timeline for this project is aggressive - the RFEI will be issued later in February, with responses due by mid-March and a recommendation for a new master developer expected by April. The goal is to break ground during 2025, to capitalize on remaining American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds that have been earmarked for the project.

What they're saying: There was also robust community dialogue as part of the public meeting, with statements by James Walker, president of the Historic Southside Neighborhood Association; Johnny Lewis, Opal Lee and several other longtime community members and advocates.

Mayor Mattie Parker provided closing statements, speaking to the importance of the City's history of private-public partnerships.

"I think we do hard things in the city across Fort Worth," Parker said. "Take Dickies Arena, for example, or our beautiful new City Hall, or Stop Six as an example of a transformative project for a community. This project will happen."

She also pointed to the number of city staff present in support of the project - from City Manager David Cooke and Assistant City Manager Fernando Costa, alongside department leadership from Economic Development, Development Services, Neighborhood Services, Diversity & Inclusion, and Communications & Public Engagement - to underscore the organization's commitment to seeing the project through.

Get involved

To help inform the RFEI, residents and stakeholders in the Historic Southside are encouraged to complete the 2024 Evans & Rosedale Community Survey to ensure alignment with previous community feedback and solidify the neighborhood's top priorities for the development.

The survey will remain open until 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 15, and the community's responses will be included as supporting documentation, which will be provided to developers along with survey results from the previous RFEI in 2018.

The results of this survey will also be referenced by the selection committee for judging criteria.

Photo:The City of Fort Worth has worked to redevelop the area since the late 1990s, resulting in more than $30 million in public investments and community planning efforts.

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Tagged as:

• Business & Economy
• District 8