Rendering courtesy of The Texas A&M University System
A plaza at the center will connect the three buildings of Texas A&M's planned downtown campus in Fort Worth.
The Tarrant County Commissioners Court on Tuesday affirmed an intergovernmental agreement with the city of Fort Worth by allocating $2 million over the next four years toward a partnership designed to facilitate the construction of the Texas A&M System Research and Innovation Hub in downtown.
The two entities are partnering with Fort Worth Now, an economic development nonprofit which will serve as the point of coordination between the developer or developers, A&M officials, corporate tenants, and local stakeholders.
The city will match the county’s contribution over the same time period.
Fort Worth Now will be rebranded Fort Worth-Tarrant County Innovation Partnership in January, according to a Commissioners Court memorandum outlining the agreement.
Chancellor John Sharp joined other university system officials last year in announcing its plans to expand in Fort Worth with a three-building research campus anchored by the existing School of Law at 1515 Commerce St. The law school building will get torn down and rebuilt, while two new developments — the Texas A&M System Research and Innovation Center, and Education Alliance Building — will stand along Jones Street on what's currently a parking lot.
The expansion will bring the first Tier One research university to the city. Those are considered elite research institutions, granted that distinction by the Association of American Universities, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, or the Center for Measuring University Performance.
Proponents say the new campus will help accelerate growth in the underdeveloped southeast quadrant of downtown, which is also expected to receive a boost with Phase 1 of the Fort Worth Convention Center renovation, construction of a new convention center hotel along a newly straightened Commerce Street.
The campus is also forecast to stimulate growth along the Lancaster corridor and serve as a bridge between downtown and the Near Southside, something that has perplexed city planners for decades.
The development coincides with evolving plans for Butler Place, just to the north and east.
Texas A&M establishing itself as an anchor institution in Fort Worth is also expected to stimulate economic growth in the form of commercial property taxes and jobs.
“With its more than $1.1 billion in research expenditures and a commitment to partnering with industry to support commercialization, Texas A&M’s campus will allow Fort Worth to offer companies distinct opportunities for research collaboration,” wrote Robert B. Ahdieh, Texas A&M’s vice president for professional schools and programs. “Given lab, research, and office spaces on the campus designed for business co-location, many companies will find that support directly down the hall.
Makerspaces on the campus, as well as facilities for incubators and accelerators, will offer opportunities for startups and early-stage companies, Ahdieh said.
The city and county, in collaboration with Texas A&M, are expected to select a developer for the Gateway Building and Innovation and Research Building early in 2023, according to the county.