Rodger Mallison Trinity Metro
Trinity Metro
What do Fort Worth business owners and managers really want — in addition to more business? Fort Worth has seen the exodus of so many business leaders these past few years because their companies were sold or because they couldn’t keep up with the times.
Today, there are only two Fortune 500 company headquarters on this side of the Trinity River, but 32 on the Dallas side. Unfortunately, our patron families, who have given so much, won’t leave the legacies of structural leadership.
The millennials and Gen Xers just don’t view Fort Worth as an appealing place to live. We will grow in population for sure, thanks to DFW Airport and the leadership of 50 years ago. We are a sunbelt city with 350 square miles of really cheap land to develop, but will we be the city our business leaders envision? And, what is that?
Let’s face it. Statistically, we are a suburb of Dallas. Twenty-five years ago, our residential tax base was 40%. Today it is well over 60%. It should be the reverse for economic viability.
We have a race and culture problem that our new mayor is earnestly trying to address, but 80% of our ISD students receive free or reduced-rate lunches. It’s imperative businesses address the perception in Fort Worth that we are not open to diversity. Just maybe the Fort Worth City Council should consider adopting the Race & Culture Committee recommendations and not pick and choose the least objectionable suggestions.
And then there’s public transportation. It’s an investment in our human infrastructure with which we can literally get people out of poverty and to colleges, jobs, churches, doctors, and grocery stores. And, unlike our peer cities of Austin, Charlotte, Nashville, Columbus, and others which have embraced transit to energize their economies, Fort Worth leaders refuse to address this critical tool.
The City of Fort Worth’s “Transit Moves Fort Worth” study is an excellent blueprint for building a multimodal system, and maybe our new City Council should consider adopting and implementing those recommendations as well. But then, Fort Worth has had a habit of putting important initiatives on the proverbial shelf.
Right now, development occurs many miles from the urban core because land gets cheaper the further out you go.
Is that what Fort Worth wants? We have to provide water and sewer, police and fire protection, and streets that will need replacement before the bonds are paid that have built the streets. Our investment is dramatically negative in both dollars and cents and lost opportunities to build out our city where millennials would choose to live, work, and play.
Fort Worth’s greatest attribute is its people, both in business and in the community. Most of the folks I encounter on a daily basis love Fort Worth because it’s an awesome place to raise a family, and our museum district, Western heritage, and neighborhoods make all of us proud.
The Southside has organically evolved into a real cultural phenomenon. Some would say that is enough. But great cities embrace and lift everyone up, great cities leverage their assets with purpose, and great cities have the hard discussions it takes to really be the kind of inclusive city that provides an environment for the future growth businesses and our community leaders want. So, what do our business leaders want?