In 2024, the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the city government invited a ULI Advisory Services Panel—a team of ULI member leaders and volunteers—to help address mounting displacement pressures on the Northside, a predominantly Latino neighborhood shaped by generations of culture, small business ownership, and community pride. Rising property values, major development nearby, and concerns about cultural displacement had reached a turning point.
What began as a local request for support quickly evolved into a comprehensive, education-centered effort to empower residents and business leaders to play a more active role in shaping the future of their neighborhood.
Northside, situated near two major development engines—the 190-acre (77 ha) Panther Island project and the rapidly expanding Fort Worth Stockyards, experienced a dramatic 60 percent spike in property values from 2016 to 2021. Although investment has brought opportunity, long-time residents, about 80 percent of whom identify as Hispanic or Latino, faced mounting affordability pressures.
With a median household income of roughly $45,000, far below the citywide average of roughly $72,000, many Northside households risked being priced out of the place they call home. Recognizing these challenges, the chamber and the city led an ambitious community-engagement effort ahead of the panel’s arrival. They hosted multiple bilingual meetings to ensure that residents, particularly ones historically excluded from planning processes, could shape the neighborhood’s future.
“The displacement concerns were something we were really trying to wrap our heads around,” said Dee Lara O’Neal, Main Street project manager at the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “We asked [residents], how do we do this? So many doors and opportunities to work together have opened since then.”
A key early step to address these pressures was the introduction of UrbanPlan, ULI’s immersive real estate development and education program that teaches participants to think critically about the fundamentals of real estate and the development process. Through UrbanPlan, the chamber and ULI Dallas–Fort Worth aimed to help community members—especially small business owners and local leaders—understand how development decisions are made, what trade-offs they involve, and how to engage more effectively with the city’s planning processes.
This foundation made the subsequent Advisory Services Panel even more impactful. After listening to residents and stakeholders, the panel delivered a set of recommendations that catalyzed unprecedented coordination. Central among them was creating a “community action committee” to serve as an advisory and outreach group.
Thanks to a grant from the North Texas Community Foundation’s BEACON Fund, members of the community action committee will receive stipends to ensure equitable compensation for time and leadership. The chamber is also applying to the North Texas Community Foundation’s Fund for Good to support capacity-building and to conduct the ULI-recommended Missing Middle Housing study. Reflecting on the process, O’Neal noted, “The panel was transformative in shaping how we envision moving this work forward—it’s relational, requires trust, and builds impact at every step.”
Implementation faces several challenges, however, particularly around funding and maintaining leadership continuity. “So often, it comes down to funds,” said Omar Gonzalez, the panel chair and Oxbow Development Group director of development. He added that “leadership is probably more important than funding, because good leaders can find funding.”
Recognizing these challenges, ULI Dallas–Fort Worth took an unusual step by committing $45,000 in implementation funding. This early investment unlocked match-restricted Main Street America funds and accelerated multiple projects. “We wanted to ensure that the Advisory Services Panel’s recommendations don’t just sit on the shelf,” said ULI Dallas–Fort Worth’s executive director, Tamela Thornton.
The chamber, in partnership with ULI Dallas–Fort Worth, responded by hosting a public panel discussion to share findings, launching a strategic planning process, and advancing implementation. New initiatives include district branding, conservation district planning, design guidelines, zoning refinements for North Main Street, and a forthcoming cultural asset mapping effort. The chamber also began working on design guidelines for the commercial corridor, which is seen as the community’s front porch.
“We’re working to create a landmark district in the corridor, corresponding to the National Register of Historic Places and two conservation districts at the northern and southern ends. We contracted a design firm to help with the guidelines, in partnership with the city and our supportive council member,” O’Neal said. “We’re meeting with neighborhood residents and stakeholders to include them in the process, elevating resident voice, which was a core recommendation of the ULI panel. Our goal is to encourage development that respects the character of the Northside and streamlines development aligned with that character.”
On a parallel track, community engagement has flourished, as well. The recent Tamal and Atole Festival, celebrating local businesses, food traditions, and cultural identity, drew crowds from across the Metroplex and reinforced the momentum created by the ULI process.
The chamber also followed through on a key panel recommendation by securing legal aid from Texas A&M and the Texas Immigration Law Council. That aid addressed a critical community need by helping residents navigate property ownership and tax challenges so they can stay in their homes. As O’Neal emphasized, “Dialogue, meeting neighbors, and finding common ground is our secret sauce. We are committed to continuing this work for years to come.”
Regarding the process, Fernando Costa, Fort Worth’s assistant city manager at the time of the panel, emphasized the importance of getting ahead of development pressures rather than simply reacting to them. The development at Panther Island and the Stockyards represents “a kind of tsunami,” he said. “We need to be proactive, and that’s what the ULI panel has helped us understand. We need to get ahead of this wave that’s approaching the Northside.”
With resident engagement and coordinated efforts, the Historic Northside is now better equipped to manage growth pressures. The ULI panel’s recommendations focus on channeling development to benefit, rather than displace, the longstanding community.
This panel was made possible through the generous support of the ULI Foundation.
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