Cottage-style village redevelopment facilitates home ownership in south Fort Worth
A 1950s-era housing village in south Fort Worth is getting a fresh look as buildings are being redeveloped as for-sale units.
Carroll Park — a collection of cottage-style duplex buildings on more than 15 acres that once housed military personnel and later seminary students — is the first Fort Worth Community Land Trust project done in partnership with the city, Rainwater Charitable Foundation and the nonprofit Housing Channel.
The affordable housing community is launching sales of renovated duplexes with a series of open house events scheduled through October. Rezoning for the development, which includes the 4000 block of Lubbock, Merida, Sandage and McCart avenues, was approved by the City Council on Aug. 12.
“The cheapest housing is the one that already exists,” said Becky Gligo, executive director of the land trust. “We are working to renovate these buildings. It’s a nice rehab project.”
The program offers units for sale at a reduced price — starting at about $135,000 — since the land trust will retain ownership of the land for 99 years. Owners can resell their homes, but those sales are kept at controlled prices to keep the units affordable for future generations. The homes are intended to be owner occupied.
The land trust plans to restore 54 of the original 142 units formerly owned by the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, which purchased the property in 1965 and renamed it for the school’s founding president B.H. Carroll. The Fort Worth Housing Finance Corp. bought the property in 2023 in hopes of having it owned and managed by the community land trust.
Some buildings will be demolished because they are structurally unsound, but new townhomes and single-family houses will be built at those sites. Homes are restricted to two stories and share a common green space since there are no individual yards.
Officials opened a two-bedroom, one-bathroom model unit at 4092 Merida Ave. on Sept. 24. The 625-square-foot duplex, which features original maple hardwood floors, was renovated with modern touches, including demolishing a wall between the living space and kitchen to create an open-concept area.
“There’s a lot of charm here,” Gligo said.
Homes will have up to 1,380 square feet of living space with up to three bedrooms. They are freshly painted and upgraded with new stainless-steel appliances, cabinets, countertops, roofs, and heating and cooling systems. Energy efficient water heaters replaced older models and take up less space in the homes, she said.
The development will feature a mix of architectural styles and offer three choices of colors for buildings and doors.
Buyers must have a household income of between 60% to 120% of the area median income, which ranges from $59,750 for one person to $112,700 for a family of eight. For example, a family of four with an income of $64,020 would qualify. Some may be eligible for up to $25,000 in down payment assistance from the city, officials said.
There are a lot of renters in the Rosemont area neighborhood, so residents have the potential to save money through home ownership, Gligo said.
Donna VanNess, president of Housing Channel, said the nonprofit worked with contractors to remodel units and retain some original touches, such as the original maple hardwood floors.
“We refurnished those,” she said, “They’re beautiful.”
VanNess said the project will aid families struggling to buy homes, many of whom now spend 30% to 40% of their monthly household income on rent.
“Carroll Park’s innovative land trust model offers below-market pricing, combined with available down-payment assistance, that helps remove both of these barriers and makes homeownership attainable,” she said.
The development’s opening is a milestone for the Fort Worth Community Land Trust, created in June 2023 through a collaboration with the Rainwater Charitable Foundation.
Gligo said the project — scheduled to be completed and occupied by the end of 2029 — represents a long-term investment in housing stability, community connection and building generational wealth for families.
About a dozen Carroll Park homes will be available by the end of the year. Another batch will be completed by next summer, officials said.
The land trust is heading to southeast Fort Worth for its next project: building up to 240 single-family homes on 27 acres near the Renaissance Square shopping center at East Berry Street and MLK Highway.
“There’s a huge need for affordable housing,” VanNess said. “We’ve been preaching to the choir for so long, and now they’re starting to sing along.”
Open houses, homebuying information
Open house events for potential homebuyers are scheduled through mid-October. Events will be held 2-5 p.m. Sept. 27; 4:30-6 p.m. Oct. 8; and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Oct. 18. Spanish speakers will be on-site at each event.
Homebuyers are required to attend an information session. The first session will be held at 11 a.m. Sept. 27 at Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, 5565 Truman Drive in Fort Worth. Other sessions will be held online through Zoom, with the first at 10 a.m. on Oct. 7 and a second virtual event for Spanish speakers at 10 a.m. on Oct. 21.
To begin the ownership process, would-be buyers can register for a required Zoom information session and an eight-hour Housing and Urban Development-approved homebuyer education course offered through a community partner. Program providers include the Housing Channel, Hispanic Real Estate Brokers Association and Housing Opportunities of Fort Worth.
To learn more about Carroll Park, visit fortworthclt.org.
Eric E. Garcia is a senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org.
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