Can zoning changes help revitalize East Lancaster? City leaders are taking initial steps
Fort Worth’s massive building boom hasn’t quite reached East Lancaster Avenue yet, but that could soon change.
The city is considering zoning changes to spur new development on the historic transportation corridor, part of the old Bankhead Highway.
Under the proposal, business properties along Lancaster between Beach Street and South Ayers Avenue could be rezoned to allow denser, mixed-use residential-retail projects. Many existing businesses could remain in operation as legal nonconforming properties, officials said.
Imagine replicating the success of the Near Southside District on East Lancaster Avenue, said Mike Brennan, Trinity Metro’s vice president of economic development.
Brennan, former president of Near Southside Inc., helped develop that district and is now working to create transit-oriented development at Trinity Metro rail stations and other properties, including the Dr. Dennis Dunkins Transfer Center at 4104 E. Lancaster.
“There’s a lot of potential on East Lancaster,” he told the Fort Worth Report at a recent city meeting at the Reby Cary Youth Library. “You could do so much on the corridor.”
Next year, the Texas Department of Transportation plans to begin reconstructing East Lancaster from Interstate 35W to Dottie Lynn Parkway in Arlington. Improvements include a new stormwater management system, and wider continuous sidewalks to aid pedestrians and bicyclists. New traffic signals will be installed with technology to support a rapid bus route and emergency vehicles. The work is expected to be completed in 2030.
Although East Lancaster has plenty of vehicle-related businesses and industrial uses, local leaders envision a more vibrant corridor with new economic development.
Trinity Metro identified the corridor as a target for transit-oriented development in a 2022 study that incorporates some elements for the Oakland Corners Urban Village and local public art plans. The corridor has the highest bus ridership in the transportation system, Brennan said.
The area targeted for rezoning is part of a public improvement district that provides security guards within its boundaries as city officials tackle crime issues on the street. Last week, crews demolished the Central Motel at 5800 E. Lancaster Ave. under the Nuisance Enforcement Task Force program that addresses crime and code violations.
Meadowbrook resident Eddy Sakerka said development along the street has come in spurts.
“Things were starting to get better then they got bad again,” he said. “Now, things are looking up again.”
Development around East Lancaster has ramped up in the past two years, said Daniel Haase, the Central Meadowbrook Neighborhood Association vice president who monitors economic activity in the area.
“Until 2024, the corridor had experienced a long, long period with no substantial private construction — the last being 2003 when Walgreen’s was built,” Haase said.
Now there are clear successes, he said.
Earlier this year, Palladium City Skyline, a $65 million 243-unit affordable housing complex with a learning lab, opened at 4909 E. Lancaster Ave. The new complex features one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans with modern features and amenities.
Avenue at Lancaster, a new $30 million affordable housing complex with 81 units, is under construction near Lancaster at 2834 Meaders Ave. and expected to be completed by summer 2027.
A new east side development with single-family homes — Avila Trinity — is set to open in 2028 at 691 Beach St.
A former grocery store at 4601 E. Lancaster was substantially remodeled — which Haase estimated at about $1 million — to create a new laundromat.
Mi Tierra Meat Market plans to remodel a former bowling alley at 5601 E. Lancaster Ave. — to the tune of $850,000 — for a new 24,866-square-foot grocery store.
As more development comes to East Lancaster, the corridor “needs a future, an identity,” said Mike Phipps, a West Meadowbrook resident.
Residents plan to market the corridor to developers by creating six districts with ties to the historic electric railway system that operated in the early 20th century. Proposed districts of the East Lancaster Avenue Interurban Corridor would be called Sycamore Heights, College Hill, Oakland Corners Urban Village, Bankhead, West Handley and Historic Handley Urban Village.
“Look at this corridor as an opportunity,” said Carol Peters, president of the West Meadowbrook Neighborhood Association. “Open your eyes to East Fort Worth. It’s a wonderful place to live.”
Eric E. Garcia is senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org.
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