Butler Place to Become New Community Canvas
March 21,2017
The portrait of downtown’s eastern landscape is about to change and an “artist” has
been selected. Located in the watercolor shadow of downtown Fort Worth, this will be no simple paint-by-number
child’s work, but a new masterpiece slated for the Butler Place community.
Columbia Residential of Atlanta, Georgia has been selected as the master developer to transform Butler Place
from Fort Worth’s eastern sheltered, inland-island to a robust and prosperous community with modern
amenities and connectivity to downtown. The area will soon be on its way to being a major contributor to the
already thriving success of the downtown economy. “After nearly 18 months working with a community
advisory group and a national search for a master developer, we are extremely pleased that we will be able to
partner with Columbia to transform so many lives as well as the topography of this isolated community” said
Naomi W. Byrne, President of Fort Worth Housing Solutions (FWHS). “Now we can begin exploring in earnest
the real and tangible possibilities that the future holds for the people and property of Butler. The process will
be much like sculptor looking at a block of stone. We are about to start chipping away at something to reveal a
beautiful work.”
Outlined not by waves but asphalt, Butler Place currently is framed in by Interstate 35 on the west, Hwy 287 to
the east and north, and I-30 to the south. The area has been a standalone shelter for some of Fort Worth’s
most financially challenged residents for almost 80 years. Built in the post-World War II era with additions in
the early 1960s, the retro style red bricks will not just get a new coat of paint, but instead make way for a new
work including contemporary structures and an improved quality of life.
Noel Khalil, CEO and Founder of Columbia Residential said, “Our goal is to provide sustainable high-quality
housing for current and future residents within a revitalized, connected neighborhood that is an essential part
of the Fort Worth fabric. Our team is thrilled to have this opportunity to help realize a new community vision
for this part of Fort Worth.” Part of the improvements will include better access to the area, giving residents
and businesses a greater gateway to the commercial centers that lay within walking distance. Columbia
Residential already has a familiarity with Fort Worth and local culture, as the developer of the new mixed income
housing at Renaissance Square. Columbia Residential has engaged revered Texas-based design team
members with extensive experience in Fort Worth including JHP Architecture & Urban Design, MultaTech
Engineering and HB Properties.
Current residents of the aging buildings need not worry about their future living arrangements. Not one person
or family will be left without a place to call home. As the grounds begin to experience a phased rebirth,
tenants will have the opportunity to move anywhere in the FWHS system. As new units come back online in
the revitalized neighborhood, those residents will have the first opportunity to move back to the new
dwellings or choose to remain in place.
“The reason that we can convert this former public housing property is because of the acceptance of the Butler
property into the Rental Assistance Demonstration Program (RAD),” said Ms. Byrne. RAD is a pilot program
developed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development which allows public housing agencies
and owners of certain at-risk, federally assisted properties to convert their current assistance to long-term
project-based Section 8 contracts and leverage financing to help reduce the severe backlog of capital repair
needs. “We are dedicated to rehabilitating the face of public housing and this project will only elevate Fort
Worth’s reputation as a national leader in the care for its citizenry as well continued economic opportunity.”