HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 9809 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 9809
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council October 13, 2015
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•a SUBJECT: BUTLER PLACE REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT
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The Fort Worth Housing Authority's 2015-2019 strategic plan contemplates the potential sale and redevelopment of
Butler Place, a 412-unit public housing community located immediately east of Downtown Fort Worth on a 42-acre
site bounded by three freeways: 1-30, 1-35, and U.S. 287. The strategic plan cites high maintenance costs associated
with older housing, the high concentration of poverty at Butler Place, and the site's isolation as primary reasons to
consider redeveloping this property.
On April 14 of this year, Housing Authority President Naomi Byrne briefed the City Council about this initiative and
secured the Council's support for an application to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
to redevelop Butler Place and Cavile Place through HUD's Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program. The
Authority expects to receive notification about HUD's funding decision no later than December of this year but, in any
event, the Authority has affirmed its commitment to redevelop Butler and Cavile with or without RAD support.
Four organizations with direct real estate, operational, and planning stakes in this initiative are the Housing Authority,
the City of Fort Worth, the Fort Worth Independent School District, and Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. (DFWI). These
stakeholders have identified issues and potential opportunities that should be explored in depth, setting the stage for
thoughtful advancement of this undertaking. Accordingly, the Authority has invited the City, the School District, and
DFWI to participate in the Butler Place redevelopment project.
As a first step in the redevelopment planning process, the four sponsoring organizations through DFWI have asked
the Urban Land Institute (ULI) to assemble a panel of real estate development experts who would conduct a five-day
interactive planning workshop on December 6-11, 2015. Through this workshop, the ULI panel would provide
answers to various strategic questions about market potential, development strategies, planning and design, and
implementation. By March of 2016, ULI would publish a final report on the panel's findings and recommendations.
The total cost of this effort would be $125,000, to be shared by the four local sponsors and the ULI Foundation as
follows.
Sponsoring Organization Amount of Contribution
Fort Worth Housing Authority $28,750.00
City of Fort Worth 28,750.00
Fort Worth Independent School District 28,750.00
Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. 28,750.00
ULI Foundation 10,000.00
Total $125,000.00
The Neighborhood Services Department has allocated the City's share of$28,750.00 from administrative funds in the
previously approved fiscal year 2016 Community Development Block Grant budget. The Planning and Development
Department, DFWI, and the Housing Authority have also agreed to support the workshop by preparing an
appropriate briefing book for the ULI panel and by scheduling interviews for panel members.
If you have any questions about the Butler Place redevelopment project, please contact Assistant City Manager
Fernando Costa at 817-392-6122.
David Cooke
City Manager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS