A&M System unveils details for Fort Worth campus
The Texas A&M University System announced more plans for its for Fort Worth campus today, including a new name, partnerships, and a lot of enthusiasm for the city. The renamed Texas A&M-Fort Worth will be a four-block, three-building complex expanding their footprint downtown, which is currently home to the Texas A&M School of Law , while adding to their long sought academic offerings in the city.
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The Texas A&M University System announced more plans for its for Fort Worth campus today, including a new name, partnerships, and a lot of enthusiasm for the city.
The renamed Texas A&M-Fort Worth will be a four-block, three-building complex expanding their footprint downtown, which is currently home to the Texas A&M School of Law , while adding to their long sought academic offerings in the city.
Their footprint not only includes the law school acquired from Texas Wesleyan University but also Tarleton State University , which is part of the Texas A&M System. The university has had a presence in the city since the 1970s. In 2019 the first building in their consolidated campus in southwest Fort Worth opened. “We’ve never done anything in terms with the amount of support from the private and public sector in a city,” Chancellor John Sharp said of Fort Worth and construction on the Law & Education Building begins this summer. “A top-10 public research institution ensures Fort Worth’s future is rooted in the next economy driven by an educated workforce, whether it be lawyers, engineers, health care professionals or technology workers whose jobs don’t even exist today,” Sharp said. “Thanks to our partners, the city of Fort Worth and Tarrant County, the Texas A&M System is investing in a unique public-private sector endeavor that will be a magnet for economic growth for the North Texas region.” Two years ago, Fort Worth and Tarrant County officials, along with representatives of the business community, invited the Texas A&M System to bring its research and academic prowess to Cowtown. Fort Worth is the largest Texas city without a significant presence by a large public research university. The high-rise complex will include classrooms, labs, and flexible research and maker spaces that can be used by the public and private sectors for academic programs, workforce training and collaborative research in the fields of engineering, emergency management communications, agriculture, health sciences and visualization, among others. The Texas A&M System will construct the Law & Education Building, which is expected to be completed in 2025. It will be financed with bonds backed by the Permanent University Fund and other sources. The other two facilities, the Research and Innovation building and the Gateway conference center and offices, will be financed with city-issued bonds secured by leases to the A&M System and private sector development firms. A developer, who is yet to be chosen, will be responsible for developing and leasing the space for the private firms. Start dates for the two buildings have not been announced. This unique financing system will allow the campus to be constructed in about a third of the 15 years it would take for the A&M System to do it alone. The Texas A&M System already has master research agreements with several of Fort Worth’s larger employers. Stantec will serve as the architect of record and provide lab planning services on the project working in partnership with the design architect, Pelli Clarke & Partners . “Our team is committed to designing high-performing, flexible spaces that meet the needs of modern education,” said Dan Caren , principal at Stantec. “We’re excited to work closely with Texas A&M, Pelli Clarke, and all the project stakeholders to create a future-focused learning environment that will help students grow and become experts in their professional fields.” William Butler , Design Partner at Pelli Clarke & Partners, said, “Aside from providing a state-of-the-art space for education, collaboration, and innovation, the Texas A&M Fort Worth Law and Education building will serve as a catalyst for downtown Fort Worth’s next chapter.” “Two strong brands. Texas A&M and Fort Worth,” Sharp said. Freshly minted Appropriations Chairwoman Kay Granger said she will stay in Congress until it’s done. Councilwoman Elizabeth Beck , an Aggie Law graduate, said she saw Texas A&M’s transformation as a law school future. They could’ve updated the law school and called it a day. But they thought big. “The city is grateful Texas A&M chose us as our second location. Even if our logo is a longhorn,” she said.