‘A game changer.’ UT Arlington plans new campus in this booming Fort Worth development

The University of Texas at Arlington is staking a claim in far west Fort Worth.

The University of Texas System Board of Regents approved a plan Monday to purchase 51 acres in the Walsh development to build its “UTA West” campus just south of the the intersection of Walsh Ranch Parkway and Interstate 30.

The $150 million campus will serve more 10,000 students, and could begin offering classes as early as fall 2028. Its focus will be on fostering economic development, while meeting the educational needs of one of the fastest growing areas of the country.

Fort Worth’s city and business leaders agreed the new campus will have a catalytic impact on the far west making it easier to attract companies while providing educational resources close to a growing population center.

The new campus — with its thousands of students, faculty and employees — is also likely to be transformative for Parker County and the nearby city of Aledo, whose population has grown 98% since 2010. The campus property is just inside the Parker County line.

This would be UTA’s third campus in Fort Worth after the research center in east Fort Worth and its satellite campus downtown. With 41,000 students, the university is one of the largest in the state. Roughly 162,000 alumni live in North Texas contributing $22.7 billion in economic impact, according to university statistics.

UTA achieved Tier One status as a research university in 2021 when it surpassed benchmarks set by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The school has also been recognized as the No. 1 public school in the Metroplex by the Wall Street Journal and the No. 3 university in Texas for advancing social mobility, according to U.S. News and World Report.

“It’s a game changer for us,” said Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker in an interview with the Star-Telegram.

Corporations looking to move to Fort Worth are always impressed with the city’s academic offerings, but to have a major university anchored in the far west will be an economic engine for that part of the city, she said.

This would be the latest in a string of high profile educational institutions building new campuses in Fort Worth.

Tarleton State University’s campus off the Chisholm Trail Parkway opened in 2019 with a focus on education and health care as part of its 60 undergraduate programs. It is expected to have 6,000 students by 2030.

TCU’s Burnett School of Medicine opens in September in the Near Southside, and Texas A&M Fort Worth is building a campus with a new law school and research and innovation building in downtown Fort Worth. Its first building is scheduled to open in 2026.

When you talk about workforce development, there’s no better tool than an academic institution, said Robert Allen, president and CEO of the Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership.

“It gives you the ability to really think through with employers their workforce needs on the ground close to a potential development,” Allen said.

Walsh was in the running to house a factory from electric truck maker Rivian, however, the company chose suburban Atlanta, citing the availability of workforce training facilities at the Technical College System of Georgia.

UTA President Jennifer Cowley called the campus a major economic investment in the Metroplex.

“Having a high-quality UTA education in close proximity will be a key contributing factor for companies deciding to call Fort Worth home,” she wrote in an OpEd published Monday in the Star-Telegram. “UTA West will prioritize areas of study, such as our top-ranked engineering programs, that ensure students are prepared for the career opportunities that await.

“As the region grows, UTA West will grow alongside it, bringing key academic programs that support economic progress,” Cowley wrote.

She describes the property as more than 50 acres of rolling hills dotted with wildflowers and live oaks, with a small lake that will be waterfront park. Cowley says the area around UTA West has the potential to add 1 million new residents.

“This isn’t a matter of, ‘If you build it, they will come,’” she wrote in an OpEd published Monday in the Star-Telegram. “They’re already there, and more are coming. UTA West will be there to serve them.”

Most of the area surrounding the proposed campus is former ranch land, but developers expect the area to house roughly 80,000 people between the Walsh and Veale Ranch developments.

Walsh, just north off Interstate 30, is a 7,200-acre development that will eventually be home to 50,000 residents. Homes costs run from $400,000 to the millions. Veale Ranch, south of Interstate 20, used to be 3,800 acres of ranch land. It was sold to a developer in 2021 and will potentially house 30,000 people once houses are built out.

Southwest Fort Worth surrounding the Chisholm Trail Parkway is projected to have the most growth in the Metroplex with 90,000 residents expected by 2045, according to data from the North Central Texas Council of governments.

Anytime you can put academic offerings close to where people live is exciting, said Fort Worth City council member Michael Crain, whose district includes the proposed campus.

“We have to continue across the board in all parts of Fort Worth to make sure we have the academic support for people, so we can continue to invest in our workforce,” Crain said.

This story was originally published August 5, 2024 at 2:00 PM.

Harrison Mantas

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

817-390-7040

Harrison Mantas has covered Fort Worth city government, agencies and people since September 2021. He likes to live tweet city hall meetings, and help his fellow Fort Worthians figure out what’s going on.