Near Southside Inc.
With 2023 in motion, our Near Southside, Inc. team’s top priorities include focus on creating new destinations adjacent to Trinity Metro’s current and future rail stations.
For maximum success, plans should incorporate certain ingredients responsible for much of the Near Southside’s revitalization: highly active and engaging streetscapes and public spaces designed with residents, workers, and visitors in mind; innovative business investments that strengthen the regional economy; and new housing options to meet the diverse demand for urban living.
As is the case with all Near Southside projects, these transit-oriented developments will be collaborative efforts among a remarkable group of partners, all committed to a shared vision of opportunity, innovation, and vibrant places throughout the Near Southside.
Two opportunities have been the focus of recent City Council and Tax Increment Financing Board presentations, and we are pleased to share updates. Both proposals are still at an early stage.
For the property at 200 W. Vickery Blvd., immediately south of T&P Station, we are encouraged by discussions between Trinity Metro and a development group working on a project incorporating roughly 320 residential units and over 100,000 square feet of Class A office space in two 10-story towers.
The two buildings frame an outdoor public plaza activated by adjacent ground floor retail, providing a direct connection to the station’s south entrance. Additional features include a pocket park along South Main and enhanced multifunctional Vickery streetscape for bus transfers and bike share riders. Big steps still lie ahead, the most significant being final terms with Trinity Metro, but the project enjoys widespread support, and we are hopeful progress continues.
Near Southside
For the second location, perhaps the most exciting news from 2022 was confirmation of funding for TEXRail’s extension to a new station serving our western Medical District. The platform location is a few hundred feet south of Mistletoe Boulevard, immediately west of Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center.
This TOD site has tremendous potential to establish a new Near Southside destination with many of the ingredients of our most successful urban villages. Over 10 acres of vacant, developable property should evolve as a complement to the Magnolia and South Main villages, similarly serving as an activity hub with strong connections to surrounding businesses, institutions, and neighborhoods.
While still preliminary, a concept plan vision is emerging for the site, with our Near Southside team working closely with Baylor Scott & White All Saints, Trinity Metro’s TEXRail team, surrounding neighborhood and city leaders, and an experienced transit-oriented development consultant team.
Creating a circulation network to serve the station well and set the stage for desirable development has been a primary focus of initial planning. New connections to Rosedale Street, Eighth Avenue, and Park Place, in addition to Mistletoe Boulevard, will be essential in maximizing accessibility. In addition, Leslie Creek’s meander into the site could allow a large, attractive, and multifunctional public space serving as a community asset and critical drainage infrastructure.
Many steps lie ahead, and final plans will certainly change from details of the preliminary concept. That said, we are inspired by the vision and collaboration among partners. With that strong foundation, we’ll continue working to create a mixed-use innovation hub that takes the Near Southside and Trinity Metro’s rail transit system to new heights.
Mike Brennan is president of Near Southside, Inc., the nonprofit economic and community development organization leading the revitalization of Fort Worth’s historic Near Southside.