JUST THE FACTS:

• Through EPA brownfi elds grant funds, 

the city completed an environmental site 

assessment of the Evans and Rosedale 

neighborhood, covering approximately 

110 industrial, commercial, and 

residential lots or parcels.

• The Evans and Rosedale project has 

leveraged more than $13 million 

in federal funding from the U.S. 

Department of Housing and Urban 

Development and the U.S. Economic 

Development Administration.

• The city developed an innovative “Bust 

a Brownfi eld” program to identify other 

brownfi elds around Fort Worth. To date, 

residents have nominated more than 424 

possible properties to be targeted for 

environmental assessment. 

Fort Worth, Texas

continued 

Fort Worth: Reclaiming

Land and History

A view of the public plaza across from 

Evans Avenue.

“This project has been a real 

opportunity to teach people how 

much environmental assessment and 

redevelopment can contribute to the 

economic vitality of a neighborhood.”

 - City Councilman Ralph 

McCloud, Chair of the Evans and 

Rosedale Advisory Committee

F ort Worth has made a commitment to redeveloping brownfi elds 

around the city into lively business and cultural centers as well as vital 

greenspace. With the help of a $200,000 EPA Brownfi elds Assessment 

Pilot grant, the city, together with private developers, business 

groups, and neighborhood associations, is working to revitalize older 

commercial districts into vibrant urban villages.

Historically known for its cattle industry, Fort Worth has grown into 

a 308-square-mile business center, with prosperous manufacturing, 

distribution, and technology sectors and a burgeoning population of 

more than 535,000. Urban sprawl has left the older city areas fallow 

due to the vast amounts of undeveloped and relatively cheap real 

estate, making it more attractive for developers to utilize greenfi elds. 

As a result, whole sections of roads along commercial corridors 

within the central city area are marred by abandoned gas stations, dry 

cleaners, and other commercial facilities. 

Particularly hard hit by Fort Worth’s investment and development 

trends is the 25-acre Evans and Rosedale neighborhood, which 

was a prosperous hub of African-American commerce and culture 

in the 1930s and 1940s. A quiet, upscale neighborhood fi lled with 

professionals and thriving businesses, crowds once fl ocked to the 

area to see big band greats like Lionel Hampton play the Zanzibar 

nightclub or to eat at the Red and White Café. Today, it is one of the 

city’s few remaining original African-American neighborhoods and has 

fallen into disrepair, with many buildings in need of serious structural 

assistance and businesses in need of a jump-start. 

With assistance from the EPA Brownfi elds Assessment Pilot grant, 

Fort Worth is working to revitalize this neighborhood to create the new 

“Evans and Rosedale Business and Culture District.” The renovated 

district will include an African-American marketplace and cultural 

center that will attract residents from around the city as well as visitors 

who come to Fort Worth. Plans for the district include restaurants, 

jazz venues, a central park and plaza, medical facilities, mixed-use 

residential buildings, new anchor businesses, and expansion of some 

existing local businesses. 
Brownfi elds Success Story Solid Waste EPA-560-F-06-234

Fort Worth, Texas and Emergency August 2006

 Response (5105T) www.epa.gov/brownfi elds/

In December 2000, using EPA brownfi elds grant funds, the city completed an environmental site 

assessment of the area, covering approximately 110 industrial, commercial, and residential lots or parcels. 

The initial site assessments included a review of fi re insurance maps going back to 1911, city telephone 

directories as old as 1940, historical aerial photographs, and regulatory records of the EPA and the Texas 

Commission on Environmental Quality. Additional assessments were conducted in 2001 through city and 

EPA brownfi elds grant funds. Cleanup activities included the removal of more than 8,000 cubic yards of 

contaminated soil and asbestos removal in 20 buildings. Ground water monitoring at various 

properties continues. With the exception of one property previously cleaned up to 

industrial standards, the entire project area will meet Texas Risk Reduction Program 

residential standards, enabling mixed-use redevelopment of the entire area. 

Cleanup costs to date at Evans and Rosedale have totaled approximately $150,000 

for soil remediation and $131,000 for asbestos removal, all funded by the city. 

The construction on the central park and plaza and reconstruction of Evans 

Avenue was completed in June 2004. This area was designed to create a 

pedestrian-friendly environment that includes brick sidewalks, landscaped 

parkways, monuments, pedestrian and street lighting, and a public plaza with 

a fountain. Leveraged funding for the project includes a $1.5 million Economic 

Development Initiative grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban 

Development (HUD), a $7.5 million HUD 

Section 8 loan, a $1.2 million U.S. Economic 

Development Administration grant, and a $3.25 

million HUD Community Development Block Grant. The 

plaza dedication was held on June 10, the anniversary of 

the day that Texas slaves learned of their emancipation. 

Engraved along the plaza is a timeline of signifi cant events 

that shaped Fort Worth’s African-American community, 

along with tributes to historic fi gures from the neighborhood 

and inspirational quotes. 

The mayor appointed an advisory committee comprised of 

community leaders to help the city develop redevelopment strategies 

for rebuilding the area into a key commercial center and focal point 

of African-American culture. The plan recommended strategies and implementation steps according to 

three key elements: economic development, historic and cultural preservation, and urban design. Said 

City Councilman Ralph McCloud, who chairs the Evans and Rosedale Advisory Committee, “This project 

has been a real opportunity to teach people how much environmental assessment and redevelopment can 

contribute to the economic vitality of a neighborhood.”

To identify other brownfi elds around Fort Worth, the city developed an innovative “Bust a Brownfi eld” 

program through which residents can recommend that an abandoned industrial facility, dry cleaners, 

service station, or other commercial establishment be a target for environmental assessment. To date, 

the citizens of Fort Worth have nominated more than 424 possible properties, and the city’s Brownfi elds 

Program has profi led 341 of these properties in a database that tracks the associated locations, sizes, 

former uses, and existing structures. 

Through each of these initiatives, the City of Fort Worth has demonstrated its commitment to 

redeveloping brownfi elds, with a commitment to preserving historical connections and a focus on 

community involvement and participation. 

One of the historical markers in the brick 

sidewalks along Evans Avenue.

CONTACTS:

For more information contact

U.S. EPA REGION 6

(214) 665-6444

Visit the EPA Brownfi elds Web site at:

http://www.epa.gov/brownfi elds/