With affordable housing out, more townhouses will come to popular Fort Worth district
Townhouses are planned for a partially vacant stretch of lots in one of Fort Worth’s most popular districts, which had been slated for affordable housing.
Last year a developer of affordable housing wanted to build an 80-unit complex aimed at working class renters at the northwest corner of Carroll Street and Azalea Avenue, across from Montgomery Plaza in the West Seventh Street area. Though the City Council approved a resolution supporting a state tax credit for affordable housing, the council later denied a zoning change after Linwood residents voiced concern about the project’s density.
The City Council on Tuesday approved a zoning change for a significantly smaller project.
Property owner Panther City Holding Company plans to build 17 townhouses on four of the vacant lots between 2712 and 2724 Azalea Avenue. The proposal includes public green space facing Azalea, valet trash service and on-street parking tucked away from the lane of travel.
The vacant lot immediately on the corner, which is zoned for housing and commercials space, is not a part of this concept.
Speaking on behalf of the property owner, Darin Norman told the council Tuesday the concept had been hashed out with the Linwood Neighborhood Association in detail and the property owner had worked with residents to address concerns about parking and green space.
The four lots in question were zoned for single family homes while most of Linwood is zoned under the denser urban residential. A few boarded up houses remain on the lots. With urban residential, up to 40 units would be allowed per acre, but the zoning approved Tuesday limits the density to 24 units per acre. The site must be town homes, not multi-family, Norman said.
This project avoided the controversy seen over the affordable housing apartments because the property owner collaborated with the Linwood neighborhood to “create a wonderful project that fits properly,” Norman said.
No one from Linwood spoke on the zoning change Tuesday and there was no opposition. Meetings last year drew dozens of speakers both for and against the affordable housing concept.
City planning staff had marked the apartment project for approval, noting the location is within walking distance to the Target, two bus lines and potential employment opportunities.
Proponents of the previous project said it would open the door to lower income residents to live in the popular West 7th corridor. At least 10% of those units would be set aside for households making at or below 30% of the median household income.
Opponents of the apartment project said they weren’t practicing NIMBYism (Not In My Back Yard) and weren’t opposed to affordable housing in general. They just didn’t want it in their neighborhood, they said, instead suggesting the city approve tax credits for an affordable housing concept off Jacksboro Highway, removed from both Linwood and easy access to transit and amenities. They worried the apartment complex would clog narrow Azalea Avenue.
Linwood is a small neighborhood in Fort Worth’s popular Cultural District to the west of downtown. Homes there were heavily damaged by a tornado in 2000, but in the past few years it has seen a boom in residential redevelopment, growing from about 150 homes to more than 600, according to a neighborhood association assessment. The neighborhood is bound by White Settlement Road to the north, West Seventh Street to the south, Carroll Street to the east and University Drive to the east.
This story was originally published March 23, 2021 at 12:36 PM.
