Additional details on cost, size, academic departments and a sister city partnership at the planned UTA West campus were revealed in a Fort Worth City Council presentation on Aug. 20. The full buildout of the planned campus on the western edge of Fort Worth near Aledo would include up to nine buildings and accommodate up to 12,000 students.

With the expansion of higher education in Fort Worth, Robert Sturns, the city’s economic development director, joked that the city’s slogan should be changed from “Where the West Begins” to “Where Education Begins.”

“This is an investment in the future of our talent,” he said.

Earlier this month, the UT System Board of Regents approved the purchase of 51 acres of undeveloped land in the Walsh development area. UTA will be responsible for developing infrastructure, including building water and sewer lines, campus roads and installing the systems for gas, electricity and telecommunications, according to Sturns, who led a presentation on a proposed intermunicipal agreement with the city and UTA. If the agreement is approved, the city will help with infrastructure costs.

Under the proposal, the City of Fort Worth would provide UTA with $2 million to help with infrastructure improvements. UTA would receive these funds no later than 90 days after the agreement is finalized.

Once infrastructure improvements are completed, UTA will receive an additional $2 million from the city’s economic development fund.

City Council members are expected to review the intermunicipal agreement during their August 27 meeting.

Sturns also laid out detailed proposals for the campus, including plans to divide the site into a North and South campus. Construction on the North Campus will begin first. When fully built out, the North Campus will include up to five buildings and more than 1,500 parking spaces, and is expected to cost $800 million.

“This is a very significant investment that UTA is making in Fort Worth,” Sturns said.

Part of the North Campus is scheduled to open in fall 2028. Enrollment is expected to be around 1,000, and that number may rise to 5,000 by 2043.

Planned academic programs at UTA West include engineering, social work, nursing, public health, public policy and economics.

Shomial Ahmad is a college reporter for the Fort Worth Report, in collaboration with Open Campus. Contact her at [email protected].

At The Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy Here.

Related