As housing affordability challenges continue to impact families across North Texas, community leaders, housing advocates, and development partners gathered in Fort Worth this week to celebrate new momentum around affordable homeownership solutions and neighborhood revitalization efforts.
Hosted by the Fort Worth Community Land Trust (FWCLT) at the Amon Carter Center at Lena Pope, the event highlighted the organization’s growing efforts to expand affordable housing opportunities through strategic partnerships, community-driven development, and long-term affordability solutions.
Speakers emphasized the growing housing shortage facing North Texas and the widening gap between rising home prices and household incomes. According to advocates at the event, many homes that once sold for approximately $78,000 are now valued at more than $300,000, placing traditional homeownership increasingly out of reach for many working families.
Established by the Fort Worth City Council in 2024, the Fort Worth Community Land Trust was created to help address these challenges by providing affordable homeownership opportunities for income-qualified families. Through the Community Land Trust model, homeowners purchase the home while the nonprofit retains ownership of the land beneath it, helping stabilize housing costs and preserve affordability over time.
“We are surrounded by talent, vision and passion to create attainable housing across our city,” said Becky Bass, Executive Director of the Fort Worth Community Land Trust, during the event.
The organization also celebrated several major milestones, including a $1.1 million investment from JPMorganChase to support affordable housing development efforts and continued partnerships with Housing Channel and the Rainwater Charitable Foundation.
Currently, FWCLT has 19 homes available for sale in South Fort Worth’s Rosemont neighborhood, with prices starting around $135,000. The Carroll Park development is expected to eventually expand to approximately 200 affordable homes, creating long-term homeownership opportunities for local families.
Mayor Mattie Parker also addressed attendees, emphasizing the importance of expanding housing opportunities as Fort Worth continues to experience rapid population growth.
“The work represented here today is exactly what happens when organizations across our community come together to solve complex problems and expand opportunity for families,” Parker said.
Leaders at the event highlighted the importance of community-centered development and neighborhood preservation as Fort Worth continues to grow. J.T. Aughinbaugh, Vice Chair of JPMorganChase’s North Texas Market Leadership Team, shared that the organization’s investment will help support local developers focused on rehabilitating housing within established neighborhoods.
“These are developers who are rebuilding or rehabilitating deteriorated housing stock in established neighborhoods,” Aughinbaugh said. “That matters because infill housing is one of the most direct ways to strengthen neighborhoods without pricing long-term residents out.”
Bass also emphasized the importance of community trust and collaboration as the organization continues expanding its work throughout Fort Worth. She noted that neighborhoods initially uncertain about redevelopment efforts became strong partners after understanding the organization’s mission to prevent displacement and create pathways to generational wealth through affordable homeownership.
“We need thousands of affordable housing opportunities for families,” Bass said. “That’s going to take all of us working together to achieve that work.”
As affordable housing continues to remain one of the region’s most pressing challenges, the Fort Worth Community Land Trust and its partners are working to ensure future generations of families have the opportunity to remain rooted, build wealth, and thrive in the communities they call home.
