Texas Christian University will start construction on two buildings for student housing and commercial space this spring, according to star-telegram.com. The expansion is expected to cost $83 million.
The buildings at 2900 W. Berry St. and 3024 Cockrell Ave. will add 779 beds for students and 19,800 sq, ft. of retail space to the Fort Worth campus. Those sites are now university-owned parking lots.
Construction is expected to start in April with a target completion date of August 2027.
Austin-based Endeavor Real Estate Group will develop the projects, according to star-telegram.com.
Star-telegram.com said student housing has been an ongoing issue at TC, which has seen its enrollment increase by about 29 percent since the fall 2014 semester. Aside from the new project, TCU opened in January two dormitories with 292 beds and a new dining hall on the east side of campus.
The university has said that the new student housing is part of an ongoing process for TCU to transform West Berry Street into Fort Worth's "place to be."
Local business owners support the effort, according to star-telegram.com, which is part of TCU's plans to increase enrollment and expand the campus in the years ahead.
"TCU has a very powerful brand right now. We are attracting very high qualified students across a diverse range of backgrounds," Jason Soileau, assistant vice chancellor of planning, design and construction of TCU, told fox4news.com. "It's important that the facilities enable those students to grow and develop."
TCU owns multiple parcels along West Berry. Some of those buildings will be demolished to make way for a new gateway from the east, fox4news.com reported. A park and green space that connect to Fort Worth's Trinity Trails will be part of the plan.
"Berry Street itself will become a dynamic, multiuse urban district that is unmistakably TCU in its aesthetic and provide market-based upper divisions, student housing, high-end retail and, ultimately, probably office space," Soileau said.
According to TCU's strategic plan, up to 25 new buildings could be added if its vision becomes reality.
That vision includes enrolling 14,900 undergraduate and 3,000 graduate students by 2035. In the fall 2024 semester, there were about 11,000 undergraduates enrolled.
In September 2024, the university also showcased the newly dedicated Burnett School of Medicine, opening its 95,000-sq.-ft. facility, Arnold Hall, in Fort Worth's Medical Innovation District, according to dallas-express.com.
