Fort Worth will spend $8 million to fix up these south side neighborhoods
The Fort Worth City Council made it official Tuesday when it voted unanimously to allocate roughly $8 million to help improve two neighborhoods in the city’s south side.
The Worth Heights and Seminary neighborhoods will split the funds to fix roads, clean up litter, install street lights and improve safety. The city will also hear from residents on things like new parks, community centers, libraries, and greenery.
Worth Heights in particular has been vocal about wanting a new library branch. Some residents said the new location in the La Gran Plaza shopping center does not meet the community’s needs.
Both neighborhoods are south of downtown and just west of Interstate 35W. They border the Rosemont neighborhood, which got $3.1 million from the city in 2020.
The city updated its selection process for 2024 to include a scoring criteria laid out in its neighborhood conservation plan. It looked at factors such as income, education, crime rates, missing sidewalks and concentration of residents paying more than 30% of their income on housing.
The median household income in Worth Heights is $40,625, according to the Census Bureau. That’s more than $30,000 less than the city as a whole.
The median household income in the Seminary neighborhood is $48,292, but the poverty rate is more than double the city’s at 29.6%.
District 9 council member Elizabeth Beck, whose district includes the Seminary neighborhood, praised the decision at a Dec. 5 city council work session. She said it is a way to build on the investment the city made in Rosemont.
District 11 council member Jeanette Martinez, whose district includes Worth Heights, said it is important the for the city to focus resources where they’re most needed.
It’s the first time the city has chosen two neighborhoods as part of the annual improvement program.
The city added money in its 2024 budget to expand the program after seeing successes in Como, Stop Six and Northside.
Those neighborhoods all saw decreased crime rates and an increase in new home construction, according to a city presentation.
This story was originally published December 13, 2023 at 2:55 PM.
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