This historic south side Fort Worth building could get new life as a theater and restaurant
An old brick building that once hosted jazz greats, gym classes and Texas Wesleyan basketball games is getting a new life in the Near Southside.
The former Fort Worth Recreation Building at 215 W. Vickery Blvd has been closed since 1982, but a proposal working its way through the city of Fort Worth’s development process would turn the old building into a performance space, according to documents submitted to the city.
An 8,000-square foot building on the northeast corner of the nearly two-acre lot would house a mixed-use retail and restaurant space.
It’ll be a while before exact details of the redevelopment are ironed out, according to Michael Bennett, CEO of the architecture and design firm Bennett Partners, who’s working with building owner Tom Reynolds on the redevelopment.
The project is in the due diligence phase, Bennett said. His firm is working with the city to get a sense of what the building needs in terms of utilities, building codes, and historic preservation, so the developers can have a better sense of the overall costs.
This is not the first time the building has been targeted for redevelopment. Mansfield farmers Caleb and Kayla Back had tried to use the space for an outdoor farmers market, but abandoned the idea after running into challenges bringing the nearly century old building up to modern day code.
Reynolds also had plans to redevelop the building into a performance space in 2009, but ran into problems with financing after the 2008 financial crisis.
The building opened in 1927 and was one of the city’s first recreational centers built at a time of rapid population growth as Fort Worth expanded in the 1920s.
It was needed to address “surplus leisure hours among city dwellers,” according to a Star-Telegram article written just after the building’s opening.
Despite Fort Worth having segregated schools, I. M. Terrell High School was able to hold its basketball games at the Southside Rec, according to its application for the National Register of Historic Places.
The building also served as a concert hall with jazz icons Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker performing there.
It has been on Historic Fort Worth’s list of most endangered places at least twice in 1999 and 2009. Its addition to the National Register of Historic Places in 2014 enables developers to receive both state and federal tax credits for any rehabilitation work.
The developers are scheduled to have their first meeting with city staff on Oct. 17.
This story was originally published September 28, 2023 at 1:47 PM.
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