Texas Wesleyan has been awarded a $572,299 forgivable loan from the City of Fort Worth’s Urban Development Action Grant Miscellaneous Revenue Fund to further the Rosedale Renaissance and 2020 Vision strategic plan goals.

The funds will be used to renovate the interior of the vacant storefronts in the 3000 block of East Rosedale and add parking lots for retail use. Currently, a Subway sandwich shop and the Texas Wesleyan University Bookstore are located in the same shopping strip.

“The demand for more food service retailers near our campus is high. We have 2400 undergraduate and graduate students coming to our campus, plus faculty and staff. And this fall, we will break last year’s record with 625 students living on campus,” President Frederick G. Slabach said. “Student life at Texas Wesleyan is thriving, and our students are looking for more food options and places to socialize.”

The University plans to begin renovations on the interior spaces and construction of the parking lots in early September, and expects the project will take six months to complete.

“We are very grateful to the City of Fort Worth for supporting us as we continue to bring economic growth and development to East Fort Worth,” Slabach said. “Texas Wesleyan is growing, and these funds will allow us to get the interior of the storefronts where they need to be so new tenants can come in quickly.”

Brian Franks, executive director of facilities operations, says that “the renovation work will make the interior spaces ‘white box ready,’ or ready for commercial lease, so the tenant only has to incur the finish-out costs.”

Texas Wesleyan purchased the storefronts along the 3000 and 3100 blocks of E. Rosedale in 2014. This will be the second phase of renovations. The first phase of renovations was to the 3100 block and included the University’s Community Counseling Center and soon-to-open Jack Morton Business Accelerator Center.

Currently, Texas Wesleyan has completed $14 million of a $20.25 million capital campaign for the new 44,000-square-foot Nick and Lou Martin University Center in the heart of campus.

About the Rosedale Renaissance

The Rosedale Renaissance is a $6.7 million dollar project that revitalizes the Texas Wesleyan campus and the Polytechnic neighborhood and represents the University’s vision for the future.

The Rosedale Renaissance project has four key pieces, which were completed in 2015:

• The Canafax Clock Tower and new entry way, which serves as a "front door" to the University and include a reflecting pool and visitor parking.
• The United Methodist Church Central Texas Conference Service Center, which is also home to the bishop's office.
• The renovation of the Polytechnic Firehouse, which is now the Bernice Coulter Templeton Art Studio and Gallery.
• A $1.8 million investment in the streets adjacent to campus that leverages $32 million in street improvements along East Rosedale.

Texas Wesleyan collaborated with the City of Fort Worth, Tarrant County and the North Central Texas Council of Governments to make the transformation happen, and the public-private partnership was vital to the success of the project.

The improvements do much more than enhance the aesthetic quality of campus — they lay the groundwork for long-term sustainable economic growth in Southeast Fort Worth.