Date: September 15 – 20, 2024

Location: Fort Worth, Texas

Sponsors: The Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the City of Fort Worth

Panel Chair: Omar Gonzalez, Director of Development, Oxbow Development Group, San Antonio, Texas

While the initial concern lay in the consideration of how Panther Island development will negatively impact the Northside community, the panel shifted its perspective to put the community in the driver’s seat. This paradigm shift instead considers how the Northside community can best benefit from new development and how it can effectively advocate for the benefits it determines will best serve the community.

The panel provided the following recommendations:

Community Engagement:

• Convene a Community Advisory Committee (CAC) to represent the neighborhood’s voice and concerns in the years ahead. Made up of diverse community leaders, the CAC will primarily focus on the potential impacts of Panther Island development on the Northside, helping to prepare the community through capacity building initiatives.
• Focus on community capacity building initiatives to support the economic and political strength of Northside residents and businesses.

Anti-Displacement:

• Pursue programs such as tax relief, tax protest education, legal aid, and home repair assistance that help legacy residents and businesses remain in place. Without intervention, rising development pressures and taxes will put a strain on current residents, leading to displacement.
• Develop a neighborhood masterplan for the Northside to help promote development and land uses that more closely align with community interests.
• Consider a conservation overlay for the Northside neighborhood, to help protect the community’s character, culture, and historical integrity.

Housing Affordability:

• Support the preservation and production of affordable housing through funding mechanisms like an Affordable Neighborhood Fund and/or Tax Increment Financing.
• Promote gentle density to provide more housing types for a range of incomes. Consider Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) and other strategies for increasing density while preserving neighborhood character.
• On Panther Island, leverage community land trusts, land banks, and/or community benefits agreements to increase affordable housing as the area is redeveloped.

Support for Local Businesses:

• Continue advancing the Near Northside Main Street Initiative to promote economic development and business retention/attraction in the neighborhood.
• Provide resources such as trainings, workshops, and other supports to ensure locally owned businesses can thrive.
• Upgrade the built environment through streetscape improvements and added residential units to better support business success.

Celebrate Arts & Culture:

• Restart the cultural mapping initiative that was paused prior to the ASP. This exercise has the potential to strengthen community ties, inform strategic investments, and promote a vibrant cultural landscape.
• Invest in key cultural assets such as the historic Artes de la Rosa Cultural Center for the Arts and Marine Park to celebrate the heritage of the Northside.

Conclusion:

The efforts outlined by the panel will take time—as will the development of Panther Island. Work should begin today, however, to form the CAC and build and strengthen the community’s capacity. The CAC will need time to establish trust with one another and with the community as a reliable and serious resource. Once the CAC is established as a firm foundation, the rest of the recommendations for the Northside can be tackled, now better informed by the community, more accurately aligned with their wants and needs, and providing a clearer path for developers wishing to bring new projects to the neighborhood. It starts with a shift: “How will this impact the Northside” now becomes “How can the Northside benefit from… ”