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Central Arlington Heights Property Acquisition & Drainage Improvements

Project typeDrainage Improvements
Project value$7,168,000

October 7, 2022

Update on the demolition of the property at 2209/2211 Western Ave.

There has been a slight delay getting the electric service removed from the structure, so the demo will begin on Wednesday or Thursday of next week rather than Monday and will last 1-2 days. Fence improvements cannot be started until the demo is complete, so the fence construction has been rescheduled to start Monday, October 17 and should last 1-2 days.

July 14, 2022 (Sept. 1, 2022 update in “PROJECT NEWS” tab below)

The City’s Stormwater Program has been working for years with the Arlington Heights neighborhood, to identify a feasible, affordable and acceptable solution to the flooding issues in this flood-prone urban neighborhood. After years of studies and capital projects designed to provide some measure of flood relief to the overall neighborhood, a public meeting was held in October of 2018, to discuss the concept of voluntary acquisition of homes in the most flood-prone area in the neighborhood, in order to provide direct relief to homeowners living in the area of mapped non-FEMA flood risk with the most reported and repetitive flooding incidents. The City then moved forward with voluntary acquisition of eleven properties on Western and Carleton, as the most effective and affordable way to reduce flood risk in this area with the plan to construct stormwater detention if enough contiguous properties could be acquired.

To date, nine of the properties have been voluntarily acquired with Stormwater funding only. Acquisition of the remaining two properties, using funding from a FEMA grant, is currently in progress and expected to be completed in the late Summer/early Fall of 2022. The two properties being acquired with FEMA grant funding will have the houses demolished and will need to remain greenspace in perpetuity per FEMA grant requirements. Due to the concerns of some residents about the proposed stormwater detention concept, the City decided to offer the nine properties acquired with City only funding for redevelopment above flood risk levels with the detention and greenspace option still on the table if no acceptable offer is received. Feedback on the redevelopment concept and the type of development the community would like to see constructed in the neighborhood was determined by working closely with leadership from the Arlington Heights Neighborhood Association.

A virtual public meeting for the homeowners on Western and Carleton Avenues between Bryce and El Campo was held on May 19, 2022, to communicate and get feedback on the redevelopment concept. More information about this can be found under the drop down tabs below.

Based on the feedback received at and after the meeting, the City updated the language in the redevelopment concept to remove some of the design to simplify the design criteria for prospective offerors, while still reflecting the input of community representatives. The City is continuing to refine these redevelopment documents so they will be ready for the sale of the property.

Additionally, the City is also listening to feedback received after the meeting that many property owners on Western and Carleton between Bryce and El Campo may prefer the greenspace and detention concept over the redevelopment concept.

More conversations will be held in the future to gain more feedback to inform the City’s next steps.

To learn more:

Project meetings

Stormwater Program Public Virtual Meeting - May 25, 2023, 6-7 p.m.

May 19, 2022 Community Meeting

Project news

UPDATE September 26, 2022

Central Arlington Heights Voluntary Property Acquisition Project – Demolition of 2209-2211 Western Avenue.

As a part of the Central Arlington Heights Voluntary Property Acquisition Project and the grant funding the City acquired for the project, the City is required to demolish the building at 2209-2211 Western Avenue, and the lot is to be left as greenspace in perpetuity. The City will begin the demolition of the property at 2209-2211 Western Avenue on Monday October 10th. The week before demolition, Habitat for Humanity will salvage from the structure to keep usable materials out of the landfill. The demolition will be followed by the construction of fence around the property as well as installation of an irrigation system and placement of sod. The City estimates the demolition and construction will last approximately 3 weeks. Due to unforeseen circumstances, demolition of the second structure acquired with grant funding, 2217-2219 Western Ave, will happen separately and future communication will be sent out once this is scheduled.

If you have any questions or concerns you can contact the Project Manager, Mike Bennett, at 817-392-7891.

UPDATE: September 1, 2022

9 Properties Purchased with City only Funding

The City will issue a Notice of Sale (NOS) to solicit bids from a developer to redevelop the 9 properties (elevate existing homes, or demo and build new elevated homes, or a combination of both).
The plan is to issue the NOS this fall
The draft NOS documents are on the City’s website. We are reviewing these to see what remains to finalize them.
The appraisal of the properties is currently being finalized, and the value established by the appraisal will be included in the NOS as the minimum amount at which the City will sell the properties.
Once proposals are received, the City will review and score based on the evaluation criteria in the NOS in coordination with a small group of residents (mostly living on Western and Carleton), that will be reviewing and scoring the Neighborhood Community Development Checklist section of the proposal.
If there is a viable offer that scores well, the City will bring an M&C to Council requesting authorization to sell for redevelopment.
If the City determines there is no viable offer for any reason, we will begin working on the stormwater detention option in coordination with the residents. The NOS language allows for the City to not move forward with redevelopment, for any reason.
Before we issue the NOS, we will hold a virtual meeting with the community to discuss next steps and answer questions.

2 Properties Purchased with FEMA Grant Funding

The City has officially closed on the purchase of 2209/2211 Western.
The closing for 2217/2219 Western has been delayed and the City is working to get the closing scheduled as soon as feasible.
Per the grant requirements, structure demo must happen within 90 days of closing…so demo should happen sometime in October, or by early November.
The City is working to get the second closing scheduled, with the desire to demo both properties at the same time. However, due to complexities, that might not happen.
After demolition, both properties are required to remain greenspace (undeveloped) in perpetuity, per the grant requirements.
Prior to demolition, Habitat for Humanity will salvage items from the two homes. The salvage will include easy to take items, such as doors, light fixtures, cabinets, bathtubs, etc., so that they can be sold or reused and kept out of the landfill. The salvage will be scheduled to occur right before the demolition of each home.
Once the actual Habitat salvage and demo date(s) are scheduled, residents will be informed via mailers and emails.

Design Standards and Guidelines

Design Standards and Guidelines(PDF, 1019KB)

Open Space Use Plan

Open Space Use Plan Final(PDF, 15MB)

For additional information regarding this project, contact Project Manager Jennifer Dyke with the City of Fort Worth at 817-392-2714 or Jennifer.Dyke@fortworthtexas.gov.