Will a Fort Worth community center site become a Juneteenth Museum? City wants resident input first

From the Fort Worth Report :

Speaking to a packed gymnasium in the Van Zandt-Guinn Elementary School Oct. 28, Juneteenth Museum CEO Jarred Howard had a question for residents of the Historic Southside:

"Why do all the beautiful assets have to go in other communities?"

His question wasn't theoretical; it came as residents are facing a crucial decision about the future of the neighborhood — whether to support the museum's proposal to demolish the neighborhood's community center and build the National Juneteenth Museum in its place.

The roughly 19,000-square-foot-building is a locus of activity for the community, serving as a meeting space for everyone from young students attending after school programming to elderly adults taking part in the Golden Years Club and Steppin Grannies.

But busy as it is, the Southside Community Center, located at 959 E. Rosedale St., has fallen into disrepair. More than 50 years old, it is in need of roughly $10 million in repairs , according to a 2022 condition report commissioned by the city.

"We have more problems on our hands than we thought," Monique Hill, assistant director of the parks and recreation department, said of the aging building.

The building does not meet current standards outlined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, and major renovations would trigger the need to address other issues such as asbestos remediation and other expensive repairs.

District 8 council member Chris Nettles, who represents the area, was frank with those gathered to hear about the proposal.

"At some point, that building will become unusable," he said.

For the National Juneteenth Museum, the opportunity to demolish the community center and build on the land at the corner of East Rosedale Street and New York Avenue would solve a pressing problem.

Despite acquiring land in the neighborhood, the museum has been unable to acquire key plots necessary for its original plans. The nearby community center would allow the museum to stay within the neighborhood and close to the corner where Opal Lee, "the grandmother of Juneteenth," created the first iteration of the Juneteenth museum.

Howard first announced the proposal at a Sept. 9 Historic Southside Neighborhood Association meeting, where a group of 20 to 30 association members voted to formally support the museum's request to acquire the Southside Community Center.

In order to make the proposal a reality, the city of Fort Worth would need to agree to a long-term lease of the underlying land. When the city first heard that the Juneteenth Museum was interested in building on the site, Nettles said, he knew there were going to be a lot of questions and concerns.

"This is a 50-year-old community center, you can't just take it away," he said. "I said, let's step back and have a community meeting."

Nettles said some people asked him why he needed to host the meeting after the Historic Southside Neighborhood Association gave its blessing. While he appreciated the neighborhood association's input, it wasn't enough to make a final decision.

"This community is much bigger than just the neighborhood association," he said.

Preserving community services

While several residents at the meeting supported the construction of the museum and agreed that the community center isn't up to snuff, some raised questions about displacing services offered there.

Classes on finances and taxes, birthday celebrations and AARP meetings are all hosted at the community center, which is also currently acting as a polling place for the 2024 general election.

Debra Rivers, president of the 4508 chapter of AARP, said that her group has hosted meetings in the community center since 1989.

The location is convenient for the several chapter members, she said, especially for those who walk to the center for meetings.

"We are concerned because it's a central location for us, and our members can drive up there and the parking is great," Rivers said. "As far as getting in and out of the building, that's great. They vote there. They have other programs like the tax preparers, and, of course, I'm concerned about the after school program."

Howard assured community members that space in the museum would be made available for residents to use if it wasn't already booked for other events. Rentals are one way the museum plans to generate revenue.

"We have to be sustainable," Howard said.

James Walker, president of the Historic Southside Neighborhood Association and owner of a realty company, supports the construction of the museum and proposed building a community center elsewhere. He suggested a 1.5-acre piece of land within Glenwood Park , which is already zoned for commercial use, as a potential location.

Rivers said that location would be too far for some of her members.

Dave Lewis, deputy director of the park and recreation department, noted the Historic Southside neighborhood has a number of existing facilities within a one-mile radius, including the Hazel Harvey Peace Center, the Atatiana Carr-Jefferson Community Center at Hillside, the Southside Community Center, the Ella Mae Shamblee Library and Glenwood Park.

In a presentation during the Oct. 28 meeting, city staff recommended moving Southside Community Center programs to several of these facilities if the demolition goes through, rather than building an entirely new center.

"We have some communities that don't have a community center within 8 to 10 miles," Lewis said.

Walker is hopeful that Nettles, the city and residents can find a way to build another community center and keep programs accessible to all of its residents.

"Now you know the concerns," Walker said. "Let's sit down and see if we can come up with a solution."

Lewis said his department has launched a study to help determine where community centers are needed across Fort Worth. The city's guiding light is the mile and a half rule, which generally states there should be a community center every mile and a half.

"The thing that's important to note is that not every neighborhood can have a community center," Lewis said. "So we try to build them in strategic locations that serve multiple areas."

He referenced physical barriers, like a freeway or a lack of transit options, which might interfere with a center's creation and operations. Lewis said it's also important to get a sense of what community assets currently exist, and how they could be colocated to maximize resources. A new community center can cost between $20 to $25 million, he said.

Plans for future conversation

Based on the turnout and interest, City Manager David Cooke said he could see the city hosting another meeting to discuss the proposal. That meeting's conversation can be better informed by the survey responses the city gathers, he added.

"Chris (Nettles) didn't want to come to a conclusion without knowing what the broader community felt about it," Cooke said after the meeting.

Cooke anticipates coming to a resolution on the topic by the end of the year, which he said fits into Howard's timeline for the museum as well.

Nettles said his key takeaway was that residents want both the museum and a new community center.

"If there is any way we can get the museum and host the (community center) programming there, that's the best option we have," he said.

He also stressed that no decisions will be made overnight. In order to lease the land to the museum, the City Council would have to vote on a contract.

"We want to make sure we involve as many people as possible, and tonight we accomplished that," Nettles said. "So we'll probably do (a meeting) again."

For Rivers, what comes next and what that means for her group and others remains up in the air.

"It's a wait and see kind of situation," she said.

Marcheta Fornoff covers the arts for the Fort Worth Report. at Emily Wolf is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. at or