City of Fort Worth
This approximately four-acre site on East Berry Street is where the City of Fort Worth hopes to build a mixed-used development.
The City of Fort Worth is looking for a developer who can bring a mixed-use project to the Historic Stop Six neighborhood — specifically, an approximately 4-acre site between 5401 and 5425 E. Berry St.
Prospective developers have between now and Feb. 19 to submit ideas for a residential and commercial project to be located in the Lake Arlington/Berry/Stalcup Urban Village, which is owned by the Fort Worth Local Development Corporation. According to the city, the concept must be "inspired by the history of the area and prior site plans, while embracing current market opportunities."
The city expects construction to begin within the next three years.
The project comes on the heels of a $35 million grant that Fort Worth received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) last April, specifically for the purpose of revitalizing the Stop Six area.
But the city has had its eye on Stop Six for a while, making efforts to improve neighborhood infrastructure. Recent developments include the opening of a HUD-designated EnVision Center, meant to help low-income families become self-sufficient; the building of a Fort Worth Police substation and activation of community policing strategies; and a large-scale housing revitalization project headed by Fort Worth Housing Solutions.
"The whole area has seen a lot of investment and is in the process of getting additional investment," says Brenda Hicks-Sorensen, assistant director of economic development at the City of Fort Worth. "It's a really exciting opportunity in an area we really expect to flourish in the next couple of years."
To determine the developer for the East Berry site, a committee of stakeholders will score the responses, and the top three will be presented to the public for comment in mid-to-late March. Then, a final proposal will be recommended to the City of Fort Worth and the Fort Worth Local Development Corporation. The chosen developer will then be contracted as Master Developer for the urban village, working with the city and nearby residents on the project's specifics.
"Folks should not expect to see development happening there in a couple of months — it is a process, but we want to make sure that we are getting the public engaged and having that community input," Hicks-Sorensen says.
More information about the property is available here.
