This dilapidated former school building in Fort Worth is one step closer to new life
The city of Fort Worth has agreed to sell the dilapidated former R. Vickery School property on East Vickery Boulevard to a group that wants to renovate the property and use it for programs to bolster the community.
The City Council agreed during a Dec. 10 meeting to sell the R. Vickery School property, at 1905 E. Vickery Blvd., for $1 and about $186,000 in back taxes to the Livingston Community Development Foundation.
The Livingston Community Development Foundation, a nonprofit of the Beta Tau Lambda chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, began moving to acquire the property last year.
The group wants to rehabilitate the school building and turn the property into an economic catalyst for the Historic Southside community. It will be a place to provide such things as mentoring, college preparation and workforce development programs, public health clinic or an event space.
Glen Harmon, a member of Beta Tau Lambda chapter and a part of Livingston Community Development Foundation, said the group is thrilled that the city has agreed to sell them the property.
Harmon and the foundation must complete a few more tasks before the purchase is complete.
The foundation is waiting to hear back from the city on a survey of the interior of the building to make sure it doesn’t contain carcinogens and other contaminants. The group is also analyzing whether it needs to purchase other lots around the building and exploring insurance and security options.
“We want to make sure that we know what we’re purchasing, and that there is no confusion on our part of what we’re going to have so that we can move forward appropriately,” Harmon said.
Harmon says his organization hopes to have the work done by the end of January.
The R. Vickery School was built in 1910 by Richard Vickery and was shut down in 1985. It later had multiple uses, including as a nightclub that closed in 2004. It was then used by a photo ID and laminating service until the city of Fort Worth seized the property in 2007 in a tax foreclosure. It has since been abandoned, used as a homeless camp, and had half a dozen fires last year.
The school landed on Historic Fort Worth’s 2024 Most Endangered Places List, which aims to draw attention to the need to preserve historic places through restoration or preservation.
The Vickery school property is in the 76104 ZIP code, which in 2019 had the lowest life expectancy in the state, according to a study by UT Southwestern Medical Center. Residents in the ZIP code struggle with access to health care, a lack of transportation, and access to healthy food, among other things.
The estimated price of renovating the building will be around $12 million. The fraternity plans to hold fundraisers and find help from donors to cover the renovation expenses.
This story was originally published December 19, 2024 at 12:11 PM.
