Fort Worth: Reclaiming
Land and History
. t
Fort Worth, Texas
. ort Worth has made a commitment to redeveloping brownfields
around the city into lively business and cultural centers as well as vital
greenspace. With the help of a $200,000 EPA Brownfields Assessment
Pilot grant, the city, together with private developers, business
groups, and neighborhood associations, is working to revitalize older
commercial districts into vibrant urban villages.
Historically known for its cattle industry, Fort Worth has grown into
a 308-square-mile business center, with prosperous manufacturing,
distribution, and technology sectors and a burgeoning population of
more than 535,000. Urban sprawl has left the older city areas fallow
due to the vast amounts of undeveloped and relatively cheap real
estate, making it more attractive for developers to utilize greenfields.
As a result, whole sections of roads along commercial corridors
within the central city area are marred by abandoned gas stations, dry
cleaners, and other commercial facilities.
Particularly hard hit by Fort Worth's investment and development
trends is the 25-acre Evans and Rosedale neighborhood, which
was a prosperous hub of African-American commerce and culture
in the 1930s and 1940s. A quiet, upscale neighborhood filled with
professionals and thriving businesses, crowds once flocked to the
area to see big band greats like Lionel Hampton play the Zanzibar
nightclub or to eat at the Red and White Cafe. Today, it is one of the
city's few remaining original African-American neighborhoods and has
fallen into disrepair, with many buildings in need of serious structural
assistance and businesses in need of a jump-start.
With assistance from the EPA Brownfields Assessment Pilot grant,
Fort Worth is working to revitalize this neighborhood to create the new
"Evans and Rosedale Business and Culture District." The renovated
district will include an African-American marketplace and cultural
center that will attract residents from around the city as well as visitors
who come to Fort Worth. Plans for the district include restaurants,
jazz venues, a central park and plaza, medical facilities, mixed-use
residential buildings, new anchor businesses, and expansion of some
existing local businesses.
A view of the public plaza across from
Evans Avenue.
JUST THE FACTS:
• Through EPA brownfields grant funds,
the city completed an environmental site
assessment of the Evans and Rosedale
neighborhood, covering approximately
110 industrial, commercial, and
residential lots or parcels.
• The Evans and Rosedale project has
leveraged more than $13 million
in federal funding from the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban
Development and the U.S. Economic
Development Administration.
• The city developed an innovative "Bust
a Brownfield" program to identify other
brownfields around Fort Worth. To date,
residents have nominated more than 424
possible properties to be targeted for
environmental assessment.
"This project has been a real
opportunity to teach people how
much environmental assessment and
redevelopment can contribute to the
economic vitality of a neighborhood."
- City Councilman Ralph
McCloud, Chair of the Evans and
Rosedale Advisory Committee
continued
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In December 2000, using EPA brownfields grant funds, the city completed an environmental site
assessment of the area, covering approximately 110 industrial, commercial, and residential lots or parcels
The initial site assessments included a review of fire insurance maps going back to 1911, city telephone
directories as old as 1940, historical aerial photographs, and regulatory records of the EPA and the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality. Additional assessments were conducted in 2001 through city and
EPA brownfields grant funds. Cleanup activities included the removal of more than 8,000 cubic yards of
contaminated soil and asbestos removal in 20 buildings. Ground water monitoring at various
properties continues. With the exception of one property previously cleaned up to
industrial standards, the entire project area will meet Texas Risk Reduction Program
residential standards, enabling mixed-use redevelopment of the entire area.
Cleanup costs to date at Evans and Rosedale have totaled approximately $150,000
for soil remediation and $131,000 for asbestos removal, all funded by the city.
The construction on the central park and plaza and reconstruction of Evans
Avenue was completed in June 2004. This area was designed to create a
pedestrian-friendly environment that includes brick sidewalks, landscaped
parkways, monuments, pedestrian and street lighting, and a public plaza with
a fountain. Leveraged funding for the project includes a $1.5 million Economic
Development Initiative grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD), a $7.5 million HUD
CONTACTS:
For more information contact
U.S. EPA REGION 6
(214)665-6444
Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
\
Section 8 loan, a $1.2 million U.S. Economic
Development Administration grant, and a $3.25
million HUD Community Development Block Grant. The
plaza dedication was held on June 10, the anniversary of
the day that Texas slaves learned of their emancipation.
Engraved along the plaza is a timeline of significant events
that shaped Fort Worth's African-American community,
along with tributes to historic figures from the neighborhood
and inspirational quotes.
One of the historical markers in the brick
sidewalks along Evans Avenue.
The mayor appointed an advisory committee comprised of
community leaders to help the city develop redevelopment strategies
for rebuilding the area into a key commercial center and focal point
of African-American culture. The plan recommended strategies and implementation steps according to
three key elements: economic development, historic and cultural preservation, and urban design. Said
City Councilman Ralph McCloud, who chairs the Evans and Rosedale Advisory Committee, "This project
has been a real opportunity to teach people how much environmental assessment and redevelopment can
contribute to the economic vitality of a neighborhood."
To identify other brownfields around Fort Worth, the city developed an innovative "Bust a Brownfield"
program through which residents can recommend that an abandoned industrial facility, dry cleaners,
service station, or other commercial establishment be a target for environmental assessment. To date,
the citizens of Fort Worth have nominated more than 424 possible properties, and the city's Brownfields
Program has profiled 341 of these properties in a database that tracks the associated locations, sizes,
former uses, and existing structures.
Through each of these initiatives, the City of Fort Worth has demonstrated its commitment to
redeveloping brownfields, with a commitment to preserving historical connections and a focus on
community involvement and participation.
Brownfields Success Story
Fort Worth, Texas
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA-560-F-06-234
August 2006
www. epa. gov/brownfields/
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