New student housing brings ‘renaissance’ to this east Fort Worth neighborhood
_fitted.jpeg "A $10.5 million building will house 100 student and sits across the street from Texas Wesleyan University’s main campus.")
Students attending Texas Wesleyan University have a hip new housing option as the school officially cut the ribbon Wednesday on “the Rosedale” — a $10.5 million, 59-unit apartment style student housing complex.
It’s the latest phase of the “Rosedale Renaissance,” a plan by the city of Fort Worth and the university to invest in the Polytechnic neighborhood in southeast Fort Worth.
It’s the kind of investment the Polytechnic neighborhood has needed for a long time, said Glenn Lewis, chair of Texas Wesleyan’s board of trustees.
“We’re not done yet,” he said.
The building, across from Texas Wesleyan’s campus at the intersection of East Rosedale Street and Collard Street, has a study area and fitness center.
The 59 units are split between two buildings
Yiyan Zhang, a senior studying marketing at Texas Wesleyan, lives in the building, and said the location cut down on his commute time and connect him to university resources.
Zhang said he used to have to wake up at 6 a.m. to catch a bus in order to make it to 8 a.m. classes.
“I have better access to the library, and I have better access to everything,” he said.
Sawako Miyama, president and COO of Dallas-based developer Miyama USA Texas, said the project is only a part of her company’s commitment to invest in the community surrounding Texas Wesleyan.
She noted the area’s lack of retail and restaurant options, saying her company was committed to working with the university and the community to add those amenities.
Stacy Marshall, who heads up economic development nonprofit Southeast Fort Worth Inc., said the new student housing is a pebble in the water that’s going to create a ripple of development in the area.
Developments like the Rosedale will bring people into the area, show them how safe it is around the university, and convince them to invest in the neighborhood, Marshall said.
Southeast Fort Worth Inc. was one of two Fort Worth neighborhood organizations to receive $270,000 in grant funding from the economic development program Main Streets America.
Marshall said the neighborhood needs more mom and pop small businesses. He said his organization is looking to partner with developers looking to make a long term investment in the community.
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