Fort Worth Considers Redevelopment Of 'Iconic' Farrington Field

FORT WORTH (CBDSFW.COM) - The historic Farrington Field along with the Billingsley Field House in Fort Worth could be revamped into something completely different.

This comes as Fort Worth ISD is considering selling off some properties and architects shared some ideas of what that space could be used for during a public meeting on Thursday.

Farrington Field was built in 1939 and has been used for football, track and field to even graduations, however some believe it's could be a new field of dreams.

"Nobody will be surprised this location is ideally suited for redevelopment," said Frank Bliss with the Urban Land Institute-DFW.

The Urban Land Institute-DFW is taking a close look at this property as they said it's a prime location given its proximity to downtown, the Cultural District and the popular West 7th Street.

The group has received some feedback on what some residents would like to see.

"Interestingly enough most of the constituents we talked to said we don't need another park we got plenty of parks what we like are programmable public spaces," said Bliss.

It's still in the very early stages of brainstorming but right now both the school district and the city own the property.

The institute recommends the city take over the property so there's one lane of communication to direct questions and proposals to.

They also recommend the property include a mix of uses such as residential, community impact, innovative in design and construction.

"We also think that having a programmable public space inside this development will help provide a great connection from the Trinity to this development," added Bliss.

However some believe the historic structures should remain as they are.

"If Farrington Field were in Europe, they would all be saying this is one of the best places possible. And the inspiration it offers for kids is amazing and it's right in the central part of our city which is great for families, everybody can get there," said Jerre Tracy, Executive Director of Historic Fort Worth.

Tracy fears the decades of memories on the field will be erases with a development project that could potentially demolish the structures.

"It would be a shame, I think that would be hard to get beyond for a lot of people," Tracy said.

The next step in this process is a formation of a 9-person coalition to oversee this project and then developers can submit what's called a Request For Expression of Interest (RFEI).

It could be an 18 months to 2 years before any official development is announced.