Tarrant college isn’t blocking retail deal. It’s keeping land it needs | Opinion
The city of North Richland Hills recently approached Tarrant County College about purchasing 20-25 acres of our Northeast campus to accommodate a retail development. I am a huge supporter of the business community. However, as chancellor of Tarrant County College, my responsibility to the taxpayers and to our students is to do what is best for our college.
When viewed from the perspective of the college, it is not hard to see why the right answer for us is to say no to the city of North Richland Hills. Let me explain why.
First, college officials did not engage in the negotiations. The city negotiated with the retailer about college-owned land before ever consulting us. Imagine if someone tried to strike a deal to sell part of the lot your house sits on and you weren’t involved. How likely would you be to accept the offer? Not likely at all. To this day, we still haven’t received a formal purchase offer from the retailer.
Second, the numbers alone tell a troubling story. The city of North Richland Hills values the property between $11 million and $13 million, yet recent comparable appraisals suggest it’s worth closer to $20 million. Meanwhile, the projected annual tax revenue for the college is a mere $28,697. That wouldn’t begin to offset the costs we’d incur from increased security needs, stormwater management challenges and lost opportunities.
Third, we need the land. The TCC Northeast campus uses 63.5% of its 173 acres — significantly higher than the typical 20%-40% development ratio at other Texas community colleges. We’ve already identified and sold truly surplus land through a rigorous evaluation conducted in 2018. What remains isn’t excess; it’s essential. As our student population continues to grow, we need flexibility to adjust and perhaps add on to our current campus. In fact, this process is already happening.
Construction of a new Science Building begins this year, with this acreage designated for staging and support. We’re exploring childcare facilities to help student parents succeed — a critical service as young families struggle with affordable care. And within 10 years, we’ll need expanded workforce training facilities for defense manufacturing and cybersecurity programs that don’t even exist yet. Simply put, we are going to need the land.
Selling this land would betray commitments we’ve made to taxpayers who approved our bond projects. It would eliminate the one-mile jogging trail and soccer fields that students and community members have enjoyed for 60 years. And it would reduce green space on a 100% commuter campus that already struggles with parking capacity.
I recognize that retail development would bring jobs and tax revenue to North Richland Hills. As a committed partner to local economic development, we want to see the northeast corridor thrive. But not at the expense of our core mission: preparing a skilled workforce for Tarrant County’s future.
Community colleges nationwide are struggling to maintain adequate land for phased growth as enrollment patterns shift and new educational models emerge. Once we sell this acreage, it’s gone forever. We can’t buy it back when future workforce programs need expansion or when partnership opportunities with local school districts require space we no longer have. We are growing now and will continue to do so in the future, so it makes no sense to sell land that we know we will need.
From the college’s perspective, long-term costs and lost opportunities far outweigh any short-term financial gain. Maintaining ownership of this land is essential to sustaining TCC’s focus on academic excellence, student success, economic impact and service to the community.
Some decisions can’t be unmade. This is one of them. That’s why Tarrant County College must say no to selling the land and yes to protecting our future.
Dr. Elva LeBlanc serves as chancellor of Tarrant County College.
