Historic Fort Worth football stadium, and other properties, will soon be on the market
Fort Worth school officials are gearing up to put the iconic Farrington Field — and 17 other school-owned properties they say are underused — on the market.
Some of the properties that are vacant buildings or undeveloped land could be listed for sale in the coming weeks.
Farrington Field, the most well-known property hitting the block, may take a little longer, but still should be listed for sale next year, said Clint Bond, a spokesman with the Fort Worth school district.
“The thing to understand is that ... there are no hard timelines for any of this,” Bond said.
There are certain steps officials are taking now, ranging from running surveys and title reports to ramping up the district’s marketing campaign.
And if tremendous offers come in quickly, the school district could sell properties quickly and make plans to lease them back for whatever time frame is needed. School officials have committed that, no matter what, the next two football seasons will be played at Farrington Field.
“We want to get the absolute best deal for our taxpayers,” said Barbara Griffith, a spokeswoman for the school district.
School officials announced last month that they were considering selling these properties, including the district’s administration building, and that all of them could generate at least $60 million to build a new administration building and potentially two new football stadiums.
The district is now moving forward and, already, some inquiries have come in from potential buyers. Those were sent to the Fort Worth office of the JLL real estate company, which has worked on a strategic real estate plan for these properties over the past year.
Ultimately, JLL and school officials will review and analyze the offers before the school board weighs in on any proposals.
Farrington Field
School officials say they’ve gotten some feedback on the proposed sale, particularly regarding Farrington Field, which they maintain is too big and needs $20 million in repairs for new turf, ADA requirements, HVAC repairs, locker rooms and more.
Some talk about their memories at the 80-year-old central city field.
“Others say, ‘I’m sad but understand the inevitability of this,’” Griffith said.
School officials say some parts of Farrington Field such as the Farrington frieze and columns, as well as the oak trees lining University Drive and Lancaster Avenue, would have some protections and be required to be preserved.
But the bulk of it could be torn down to make way for new development in a highly desirable part of town, potentially creating a mixed-use technology and business center.
The nearby Billingsley Field House, which officials say is near the end of its lifespan and would cost about $10 million to repair, could be the site of the future school district administration building.
Officials stress that events will still be held at Farrington Field — from middle school track meets to high school football games — for the next 18 months to two years even if a plan to sell the facility is approved.
After that, if the property has been sold, events would be shifted to Clark Stadium, Scarborough-Handley Field and new stadiums that would be built on the north and west sides of the district. There would no longer be a stadium in the central part of the school district.
Coming up
School officials say they want to be transparent about the process of selling these properties.
Here’s a look at some of the next steps that need to be taken to move forward with selling these properties, Bond and Griffith said.
▪ Make sure that any Open Enrollment Charter School in the Fort Worth school district boundaries know they can offer to buy, use or lease facilities.
▪ Compile and order needed paperwork such as title reports, surveys and more.
▪ Seek an opinion from the Attorney General’s office ensuring that the district legally may sell property and lease it back, if needed.
▪ Ramp up the marketing campaign, post listings of the properties online and publish notices in the local newspaper regarding the prospective sales. For Sale signs will soon be put on some of the buildings.
On the market
Fort Worth officials have said these are the school-owned buildings that should soon be on the market:
▪ The school district’s main administration building, 100 N. University Dr.
▪ An administration warehouse, 2901 Shotts St.
▪ Administration security parking lot, 3000 Shotts St.
▪ Service center and maintenance building and service center parking lot, 2808 Tillar St.
▪ CIP and technology building, lot and maintenance additional office and lot, 2801 Cullen St.
▪ Metro Opportunity High School building, 2720 Cullen St.
▪ Professional Development Center, a former department store, 3150 McCart Ave.
▪ Service center food service facility, 509/601 E. Northside Dr.
▪ Service center facility, 1300 Rockwood Lane.
▪ Student placement center, 999 N. University Dr.
▪ Surplus land at northwest corner of Wichita and Interstate 20.
▪ Farrington Athletic Complex, 1501 S. University Dr.
▪ Billingsley Field House, 1400 Foch St.
▪ The vacant Magnolia Building, 1066 W. Magnolia Ave.
▪ Undeveloped land south of the Lowery Road Elementary School, 840 Cooks Lane.
▪ Boulevard Heights Transition Center, including the original Arlington Heights High School building, 5100 El Campo Ave.
