TCU moves forward with plans to build more student housing and parking, growing campus

TCU is moving forward with plans to build new student housing.

TCU filed four zoning change applications with the city on Sept. 3 to have land on the east and south sides of the campus rezoned for “high intensity mixed-use development.”

If approved, some parking lots and existing student housing on the east side of campus could be redeveloped into higher-density housing and a parking garage.

Fort Worth’s zoning commission will consider applications Oct. 9 to rezone a block at Sandage Avenue and West Bowie Street; a large parking lot at the corner of Merida Avenue and West Lowden Street; and part of a block between McCart Avenue and Sandage Avenue. The proposed changes would go before City Council on Nov. 12.

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TCU has also applied to vacate part of Merida Avenue and an alley connecting West Cantey Street to West Lowden Street. A separate application was also filed to vacate Merida and a nearby alley from West Bowie to West Lowden.

Closer to the university’s sports complexes, TCU is also seeking to rezone a parking lot at the southwest corner of West Berry and West Devitt streets to accommodate high-density student housing. Some vacant land adjacent to the parking lot would also be developed.

As TCU’s enrollment has grown over the past decade, the university has struggled to provide enough housing for students.

A changing campus

The zoning change applications are the next step in TCU’s campus master plan, a blueprint for the university’s future footprint. The document proposes adding as many as 25 new buildings to TCU’s campus, including housing, parking garages, green space, athletics facilities and academic buildings.

The new development is expected to transform West Berry Street into a bustling corridor that better connects to TCU campus, a change that businesses in the area are welcoming .

The master plan has already begun to take shape at TCU. Two new dormitories and a dining hall being built on the east side of campus are expected to be completed in January. Arnold Hall , the new home of the Burnett School of Medicine , opened at 1651 W. Rosedale St. this fall.

TCU plans to embark on a capital fundraising campaign to support new development once it completes a strategic plan, a vision for the future of academics.