Studio 6 project near elementary school put on hold after fiery town hall meeting
FORT WORTH - Keller Independent School District and Fort Worth city leaders will start emergency meetings Thursday to work on relocating a hotel project away from the school.
"This is a big deal to have Studio 6," Dr. Tracy Johnson said. "I mean, we're sharing green space, and that's the best y'all can do for our kids."
Johnson, the Superintendent for KISD, parents of students at Basswood Elementary School, teachers and staff from the school, and other community members came into a town hall meeting on fire Wednesday night.
They want a Studio 6 project near the school to move to another location. Parents are concerned that the current project is a security risk just feet from the school. Pm
Fort Worth City Councilman Charles Lauersdorf tried to walk parents through the zoning process, only to face repeated interruptions.
Dev Surati got zoning approval in an area zoned for the $12-$13 million four-story hotel. Parents, fearful of the possibility of human trafficking and mass shootings, believe discount lodging may attract criminal activity right near the campus.
Surati said he was raised in a hotel, and his project went through the process set in place by city leaders.
"If your argument (is that) it's okay to build because you can, that's the weakest argument in the world," a parent shouted in the meeting.
Parents shouted so loudly at one point that Lauersdorf threatened to shut the meeting down. But it continued, as did the fiery push to move Studio 6 elsewhere.
Lauersdorf said the city emailed a KISD employee about the multi-million dollar project and sent the school district a postcard. They later found out the employee had been gone from the district for months.
"We were not given a voice, and the correct process was not followed," a teacher said. "Put this hotel next to your kid's school."
Johnson and others demanded the construction stop. Surati agreed to temporarily stop the construction after the meeting lasted more than two hours as they looked to resolve the location issue.
Parents told leaders they are giving them one week for an update.