Help Fort Worth Decide Which Project Should Go Into Portion of Historic Stop 6

A historic part of Fort Worth is getting closer and closer to a major transformation.

Back in January, the city put a call out for developers to send in ideas for a four-acre patch of land at the corner of Berry and Stalcup streets in a key part of the Stop 6 neighborhood.

City leaders have now narrowed down the submissions to three different proposals and they want the community to help them decide which one to pick.

The proposals are all posted on the city's website. People in Fort Worth, especially those who live in the Stop 6 neighborhood, are invited to fill out an online survey to share their thoughts on each proposal.

The deadline to fill out the survey is April 14 at 11:59 p.m.

Here’s a summary of each project proposal:

Option 1: Innovan Neighborhoods, LLC

The first proposal is courtesy of Innovan Neighborhoods, LLC, which has more than 30 years of real estate development experience in DFW and a portfolio of more than $2.5 billion in real estate projects in the region.

Their proposed project is 41 townhomes, a portion of which would expand options for affordable housing in the area. The units would be available to families at 80% of the area’s median income.

Another portion of the townhomes would be live/work townhomes, with living space above and retail space on the ground floor for neighborhood-based businesses to grow. The development would prioritize community-oriented open space and include a linear park, a community garden, a play area, and a ball field.

Innovan Neighborhoods has spearheaded the Southside Master Plan in Dallas, and plans to partner with groups like Bennett Benner Partners, who are involved in the revitalization of Cowan Place in Stop Six and who helped develop the master plan for Crockett Row at West 7^th in Fort Worth.

Click here to view the proposal.

Option 2: Legacy Construction Solutions

The second proposal comes from Legacy Construction Solutions, whose co-founder and head developer has a family history in the area dating back over 63 years.

Their proposed project is a multi-family/commercial mixed-use development that offers residential units, office/retail space, a sports field house, and a multi-court gym/training facility that will allow high-caliber athletes to train at a professional level.

Legacy Construction Solutions would partner with RPGA Design and HRM Construction to work on this development. RPGA Design is known for a variety of mixed-use multifamily and senior housing developments in cities throughout Texas.

Click here to view the proposal.

Option 3: Rollins East Fort Worth Development Team

The third proposal is courtesy of Rollins East Fort Worth Development Team, a full-service real estate development and investment organization that brings 110 years of management experience and large company expertise to the table.

Their proposed project can include housing and retail, food services, a training center, a community services center, a medical/wellness center and a walking trail.

Rollins East Fort Worth Development Team is a joint venture between RPMG and Hazel Lewis Wiltz Ltd., comprised of other professional real estate contractors and engineers. Previous projects include performing early-stage planning for a 156-acre single-family development at Clear Creek Village in Fort Worth, and complete construction plans for a 32-acre single-family development at Wichita Estates in Highland Village.

Click here to view the proposal.

City officials said each of these projects prioritizes a different approach to community needs.

“I do think it’s really positive that so many of the proposals have some sort of live/workspace and multi-family housing that has a retail component to it," said Andrea Duffie with the Fort Worth Economic Development Department. "Because I think that’s really going to help some of the density over there and provide people with both places to live and work in a smaller area."

This activity is just the latest in a string of investments and interest that has been building in the Stop Six for years.

“We are really excited about it. We think the timing is just really fantastic. In the last 10 years or so, there’s been over $120 million of public investment in the area,” Brenda Hicks-Sorensen, assistant director of the Fort Worth Economic Development department, told NBC 5 in January.

In April 2020, the city of Fort Worth won a $35 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to use toward the Stop Six Neighborhood Choice Initiative. Before that, HUD opened an EnVision center in 2019 to help low-income families. The Fort Worth police department has also built a substation there.

In recent years, there have also been a number of old buildings being torn down and vacant land being prepared for construction. It’s part of the work of Fort Worth Housing Solutions to assemble vacant land to use for large-scale housing revitalization.

Currently, demolition of the 1950s-era J.A. Cavile Place public housing community in Stop Six has been underway this spring. City leaders said the property will be the future home of three phases of mixed-income housing as part of the development plans.

Aside from modern and affordable housing, future projects in the initiative include an aquatics center, a community center and a senior living community.

Construction of the first development, the Cowan Place senior living community located at the intersection of Rosedale Street and Stalcup Road, is scheduled to begin in spring 2021.

“It is such a historic and important neighborhood,” said Hicks-Sorensen. “The folks that continue to live there are incredibly passionate about their neighbors and their community. So to be able to see this kind of investment into the community is really something that I think is definitely needed -- and it’s things that a lot of folks are really looking forward to and embracing.”

The Stop Six Choice Neighborhood Initiative is a collaboration between Fort Worth Housing Solutions, the City of Fort Worth, Fort Worth ISD, McCormack Baron Salazar and Urban Strategies Inc., with support from area agencies.