Fort Worth City Council plans to reject proposed warehouses near Gateway Park
The Fort Worth city council is expected to reject two proposed east Fort Worth warehouses over community objections to the project.
Dallas-based Scannell Properties is requesting that the council rezone 31.06 acres at the 100-500 blocks of Beach Street from residential to industrial to make way for the warehouses.
Some in the community perceive east Fort Worth is a dumping ground, but that’s not what this project would have been, said District 4 council member Cary Moon.
The project would have been an office space and distribution warehouse, Moon said, adding that these kinds of projects have been well integrated into residential neighborhoods across the city.
He argued that rezoning for such a warehouse is the land’s highest best use.
This case initially went before the council in November 2021, but had been continued several times to give the developer more time to address concerns in the community.
“I don’t see the sentiment changing with the neighborhood. There’s just no way to get to yes,” Moon said.
The site’s proximity to Gateway Park was a huge concern for residents, said George Felan, a Realtor and former school teacher who lives in the area.
The city has plans to expand Gateway Park on both sides of Beach Street that would eventually encompass the proposed warehouse location, according to Felan.
The city’s Gateway Park Master Plan does show the park expanding across Beach Street, but the expansion would be limited to the area around the oxbow portion of the West Fork of the Trinity River.
The proposed warehouse location would have been at the intersection of Beach Street and East 1st Street, which is outside the proposed park expansion.
“When all is said and done, our park would be the biggest park in the United States. Bigger than New York’s Central Park,” he said.
Gateway Park currently encompasses about 635 acres according to the city of Fort Worth. Central Park covers about 840 acres.
The vote will take place at 6 p.m. Tuesday during the council’s regularly scheduled zoning meeting.
This story was originally published March 7, 2022 at 6:57 PM.
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