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19 October 2003, 10:07 PM
City hopes to revitalize southeast area
By Anna M. Tinsley - Star-Telegram Staff Writer
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/local/7051484.htm
FORT WORTH - A vacant, dirt-laden lot in a quiet southeast neighborhood is reawakening old dreams of an African-American business and cultural district.
That land, at Evans Avenue and Verbena Street, is the proposed starting point for development designed to bring businesses, tourism -- and people -- back to this neighborhood east of Interstate 35W.
"We want a rebirth of what was once there," said Glenn Forbes, president of Southeast Fort Worth Inc. "This area has continually been vacant of the growth and development activity we see through the rest of Fort Worth.
"This area is due for development," he said. "It's critical."
The Evans/Rosedale area once was a booming African-American corridor that in the 1930s and 1940s featured jazz clubs, small grocery stores, dry cleaners and restaurants.
But many families moved out and businesses closed, leaving behind a neighborhood that grew increasingly depressed economically.
City officials say they believe they've finally found the right plan to turn around the neighborhood, which has been the focus of redevelopment efforts for years.
The first step, they say, is a proposed three-fold development:
• Renovating the abandoned 4,800-square-foot Tommy Tucker building, which once housed the predominantly African-American Our Mother of Mercy Catholic School.
• Relocating the Shamblee Library branch from the Southside Multi-Purpose Center to Evans Avenue and Verbena Street. An 8,000-square-foot building would be constructed to connect with the Tommy Tucker building, one lot away.
• Constructing a new 30,000-square-foot Public Health Department facility on the lot behind the Tommy Tucker building. City officials need to relocate the department from 1800 University Drive because they agreed to lease that land to the Botanical Research Institute of Texas for construction of a research and conservation facility.
"We saw this as an opportunity to create an African-American Cultural Center, and combine it with the health department to create some synergy," Assistant City Manager Joe Paniagua said.
Those three buildings alone could bring more than 100,000 visitors a year to the area, he said.
And that could generate foot traffic needed to entice businesses -- grocery stores, dry cleaners, restaurants -- to set up shop.
"This is a chicken-and-egg thing," said Mayor Pro Tem Ralph McCloud, whose district includes the area. "What comes first? The development or the foot traffic?
"We're trying to go back to the future, get back to what was there -- entertainment, businesses and activity," he said. "These three buildings will bring people here for different reasons. Once folks are there, hopefully they will take advantage of the businesses that will be there as well."
The proposed development would go hand in hand with more than $2.5 million of work already under way.
Evans Avenue is being rebuilt as a two-lane concrete street from East Rosedale Street to Terrell Avenue featuring head-in and parallel parking. New street lights are being added, along with benches and trash receptacles, and the water and sewage systems have been improved, according to the city.
The biggest addition will be a plaza, now under construction, where historical markers will honor the history of the community and the people who lived there. Limestone, granite and bronze plaques will be embedded in the sidewalks and plaza.
Work on the road and plaza is expected to be finished in December.
"This plaza will be a place for reflection, for gathering, and a place where African-Americans' contributions to Fort Worth will be recognized," said Shirley Lewis, director of the Near Southeast Community Development Corp.
Lewis, who has worked with other community leaders for years to redevelop the area, said she has heard few details of the three-fold development plan.
But she's interested in learning more.
"We all want to see something happen at Evans and Rosedale," Lewis said. "We haven't been able to determine if this is in fact the economic engine the city says it is.
"It's very important to get development into the area. But it must be community-driven, community-supported," she said.
Paniagua said the plan is still evolving and is expected to be presented to the City Council in coming weeks. At that time, the council could consider asking the federal government to redirect grant funds to the project.
Under the development plan, the buildings would be developed in 18 to 24 months, but only after adequate community feedback and public meetings.
This isn't the first grand plan for the area.
In 1998-99, officials considered building a small, business-class hotel at East Rosedale Street and I-35W. At the time, plans for the project called for the hotel to be the anchor to draw restaurants and shops to the area.
But some residents were concerned that he hotel could have a negative effect on the neighborhood. Without continued investment, critics argued, the hotel could quickly deteriorate and become a hub for crime.
"The people in the neighborhood didn't want this here," Lewis said. "They weren't convinced it would be the right economic generator."
The current proposal to build and redevelop the three buildings -- the public health building, Shamblee Library and Tommy Tucker building -- is a $10.8 million project, Paniagua said.
City officials are still working on funding details, but say that money could come through a mix of federal grants, a low-interest federal loan and the sale of unnamed property.
Under the hotel proposal, the city was granted federal loans and federal grants. But because the proposal has changed, the city must reapply and detail the new proposal by March to try to receive the money again, Paniagua said.
Lewis said she believes that great things are in store for the area.
"This once was a gorgeous place, with tree-lined streets, wonderful homes, businesses that supported the neighborhood," she said. "But with suburbanization, industries and businesses moved out.
"The thing that was left is the people," she said. "There are fine folks here who remember the days when the neighborhood was at its finest -- and want to see it that way again."
By Anna M. Tinsley - Star-Telegram Staff Writer
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/local/7051484.htm
FORT WORTH - A vacant, dirt-laden lot in a quiet southeast neighborhood is reawakening old dreams of an African-American business and cultural district.
That land, at Evans Avenue and Verbena Street, is the proposed starting point for development designed to bring businesses, tourism -- and people -- back to this neighborhood east of Interstate 35W.
"We want a rebirth of what was once there," said Glenn Forbes, president of Southeast Fort Worth Inc. "This area has continually been vacant of the growth and development activity we see through the rest of Fort Worth.
"This area is due for development," he said. "It's critical."
The Evans/Rosedale area once was a booming African-American corridor that in the 1930s and 1940s featured jazz clubs, small grocery stores, dry cleaners and restaurants.
But many families moved out and businesses closed, leaving behind a neighborhood that grew increasingly depressed economically.
City officials say they believe they've finally found the right plan to turn around the neighborhood, which has been the focus of redevelopment efforts for years.
The first step, they say, is a proposed three-fold development:
• Renovating the abandoned 4,800-square-foot Tommy Tucker building, which once housed the predominantly African-American Our Mother of Mercy Catholic School.
• Relocating the Shamblee Library branch from the Southside Multi-Purpose Center to Evans Avenue and Verbena Street. An 8,000-square-foot building would be constructed to connect with the Tommy Tucker building, one lot away.
• Constructing a new 30,000-square-foot Public Health Department facility on the lot behind the Tommy Tucker building. City officials need to relocate the department from 1800 University Drive because they agreed to lease that land to the Botanical Research Institute of Texas for construction of a research and conservation facility.
"We saw this as an opportunity to create an African-American Cultural Center, and combine it with the health department to create some synergy," Assistant City Manager Joe Paniagua said.
Those three buildings alone could bring more than 100,000 visitors a year to the area, he said.
And that could generate foot traffic needed to entice businesses -- grocery stores, dry cleaners, restaurants -- to set up shop.
"This is a chicken-and-egg thing," said Mayor Pro Tem Ralph McCloud, whose district includes the area. "What comes first? The development or the foot traffic?
"We're trying to go back to the future, get back to what was there -- entertainment, businesses and activity," he said. "These three buildings will bring people here for different reasons. Once folks are there, hopefully they will take advantage of the businesses that will be there as well."
The proposed development would go hand in hand with more than $2.5 million of work already under way.
Evans Avenue is being rebuilt as a two-lane concrete street from East Rosedale Street to Terrell Avenue featuring head-in and parallel parking. New street lights are being added, along with benches and trash receptacles, and the water and sewage systems have been improved, according to the city.
The biggest addition will be a plaza, now under construction, where historical markers will honor the history of the community and the people who lived there. Limestone, granite and bronze plaques will be embedded in the sidewalks and plaza.
Work on the road and plaza is expected to be finished in December.
"This plaza will be a place for reflection, for gathering, and a place where African-Americans' contributions to Fort Worth will be recognized," said Shirley Lewis, director of the Near Southeast Community Development Corp.
Lewis, who has worked with other community leaders for years to redevelop the area, said she has heard few details of the three-fold development plan.
But she's interested in learning more.
"We all want to see something happen at Evans and Rosedale," Lewis said. "We haven't been able to determine if this is in fact the economic engine the city says it is.
"It's very important to get development into the area. But it must be community-driven, community-supported," she said.
Paniagua said the plan is still evolving and is expected to be presented to the City Council in coming weeks. At that time, the council could consider asking the federal government to redirect grant funds to the project.
Under the development plan, the buildings would be developed in 18 to 24 months, but only after adequate community feedback and public meetings.
This isn't the first grand plan for the area.
In 1998-99, officials considered building a small, business-class hotel at East Rosedale Street and I-35W. At the time, plans for the project called for the hotel to be the anchor to draw restaurants and shops to the area.
But some residents were concerned that he hotel could have a negative effect on the neighborhood. Without continued investment, critics argued, the hotel could quickly deteriorate and become a hub for crime.
"The people in the neighborhood didn't want this here," Lewis said. "They weren't convinced it would be the right economic generator."
The current proposal to build and redevelop the three buildings -- the public health building, Shamblee Library and Tommy Tucker building -- is a $10.8 million project, Paniagua said.
City officials are still working on funding details, but say that money could come through a mix of federal grants, a low-interest federal loan and the sale of unnamed property.
Under the hotel proposal, the city was granted federal loans and federal grants. But because the proposal has changed, the city must reapply and detail the new proposal by March to try to receive the money again, Paniagua said.
Lewis said she believes that great things are in store for the area.
"This once was a gorgeous place, with tree-lined streets, wonderful homes, businesses that supported the neighborhood," she said. "But with suburbanization, industries and businesses moved out.
"The thing that was left is the people," she said. "There are fine folks here who remember the days when the neighborhood was at its finest -- and want to see it that way again."