UT System
Developments in recent years in higher education caused one staffer in the Fort Worth city manager’s office to quip that the city’s slogan probably should be changed.
Fort Worth: Where Education Begins.
(Put your pitchforks down; she was just joshin’.)
The Aggies have their men and women, and probably a few yell leaders, working feverishly on a campus and innovation district that will reinvent the southeast part of downtown. Texas Wesleyan is making new investments. Tarleton State is expanding its presence here. And, of course, TCU is training doctors in a new facility in the Hospital District.
Then there is the recently announced UTA West, the UT system’s expanded dive into Fort Worth. UT Arlington is planning to build a 51-acre campus in west Fort Worth.
What we didn’t know was how the city of Fort Worth figured into UTA’s plans.
On Tuesday, we found out. The city would contribute up to $4 million for infrastructure improvements associated with the development of UTA West in Walsh Ranch, according to a presentation given to the City Council on Tuesday.
The funds would be derived and transferred from the city’s Economic Development Initiatives Fund, said Robert Sturns, the city’s Economic Development director.
“This is an investment in the future of our talent and workforce,” said Sturns, who said UTA’s play was “critical for us … and would pay significant dividends for us when we think about workforce development and talent development.”
The council will vote on the incentive package next week. There would be no additional burden on the general fund.
UTA plans to open the North Campus in the Fall 2028 with capacity to support 1,000 students and to grow to serve 5,000 students by 2043.
UTA president Jennifer Cowley, said District 5 Councilmember Gyna Bivens, had a “bold vision of expanding the presence in Fort Worth and this certainly is a way to make that happen.
“This is a big deal. I just wish it was in District 5, but it’s close enough.”
The UT System Board of Regents approved a plan to purchase the property in Walsh Ranch through the Permanent University Fund, the unique and enduring golden goose established in the 1876 Texas Constitution.
It will be constructed in phases on North and South parcels.
The North Campus will consist of up to five buildings totaling about 930,000 square feet, parking structures of about 1,589 spaces and all associated infrastructure to support the development, Sturns reported.
The North Campus will be an $800 million development.
It is scheduled to open in Fall 2028 and serve 1,000 students and up to 5,000 students by 2043.
The South Campus could include up to nine buildings and enrollment up to 12,000 students at full build-out.
The expansion aligns with transformative growth taking place in the west.
“The western part of the metroplex has an ever-growing population, a plethora of student talent, and a wide breadth of opportunity for explosive economic advancement,” said Cowley, the UTA president, in a statement last week. “UTA has long been a top supplier of talent to companies across Fort Worth, and this expansion will allow UTA to broaden its impact across our region.”
Walsh, a 7,200-acre development in west Fort Worth where Interstate 20 and Interstate 30 meet, is one of the largest developments underway in the country within minutes of a major city center.
Developers expect that 80,000 people will one day reside between Walsh and the nearby Veale Ranch. In projections generated by the North Central Texas Council of governments, southwest Fort Worth is expected to grow by 90,000 in the developments around the Chisholm Trail Parkway by 2045. Moreover, Parker County's population has boomed to close to 150,000, up from 82,000 in 2000. Weatherford alone has grown to 40,000, up from 19,000 in 2000.
UTA alumni make a $22.7 billion economic impact on the region, according to the school. With 41,000 students, it is one of the largest universities in the state. The university reached Tier 1 status as a research university in 2021.
Once a part of the Texas A&M system, the then Arlington State College joined the UT system in 1965 when administrators at A&M resisted expansion of the school.
UTA’s new campus will expand the university’s footprint in Fort Worth.
In 1986, the UTA Research Institute (UTARI) was established in east Fort Worth. Today, the facility conducts $16 million annually in research focused on advanced controls and sensors, airborne computing networks, automation and intelligent systems, bio-signal processing, biomedical technologies, and predictive performance.
In 2007, the UTA Fort Worth Center was established in downtown Fort Worth. The center, focused on serving working professionals by connecting education with careers, offers high-quality academic programs that meet the needs of students and the 21st-century workforce.
In 2023, the UTA Institute of Urban Studies, the principal research center for the College of Architecture, Planning, and Public Affairs, opened at UTA’s Fort Worth Center. The Institute’s mandated mission is to conduct research and provide technical assistance to city and county governments, governmental agencies, and nonprofit organizations and to offer education and teaching opportunities to individuals either already in or contemplating public service careers.
“UTA West represents a transformative investment in our community’s future,” said Robert Allen, CEO Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership. “By aligning educational resources with the region’s economic needs, UTA is poised to play a pivotal role in shaping a skilled workforce capable of meeting the demands of 21st-century industries.”
Said J.B Milliken, chancellor of the UT System: “Years from now when we look back at major milestones in the life of the Fort Worth region and UT Arlington’s history, this new campus will rise to be among the top. As cities prepare for rapid growth, the presence of great universities contributes immensely to their vibrant transformation, and we applaud the very special relationship between UT Arlington and Fort Worth as they plan for the future in such an insightful and strategic way.”