Housing development set for former shuttle lot downtown

March 4,2015

FORT WORTH
A parking lot on East Weatherford Street in downtown Fort Worth that was once a hub for bus service to Dallas/Fort Worth Airport may become a mixed-income project for the Fort Worth Housing Authority.

On Tuesday, the City Council approved spending nearly $2.2 million in Community Development Block Grant funds to buy the 2.2-acre lot at 904 E. Weatherford St. from the Fort Worth Transportation Authority.

The money will be provided to the Fort Worth Housing Finance Corp., which will partner with the Fort Worth Housing Authority on the project.

Cynthia Garcia, assistant general manager of the Housing Finance Corp. and interim director of the city’s Neighborhood Services Department, which includes housing development, said the agency will put the property under contract with a six-month option period. It expects to close the deal at the end of the six months, with construction beginning six months later, she said.

“This property is so perfect for a mixed-income development near downtown,” Garcia said. “We’d like to get an option on the property.”

The Yellow Checker Shuttle Airporter Service, which allowed travelers to park their cars and ride to the airport, stopped operating from the lot on June 21, according to the transportation authority.

The housing authority has issued a request for qualifications for a project developer and will hire an architect, Garcia said.

According to the request, the four-story project will have 125 to 175 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, with 51 percent as affordable units for households earning at or below 80 percent of the area’s median income. Ten units will be leased to tenants with low to very low incomes.

Sandra Baker, 817-390-7727

Twitter: @SandraBakerFWST