Wedgwood East is Fort Worth’s selected neighborhood for the 2027 Neighborhood Improvement Program, with a proposed $4.3 million investment spread over three years. The City Council is scheduled to vote on the selection November 10; if approved, the funding would support quality-of-life and safety improvements in the southwest Fort Worth community.
The city announced the selection during a city council work session on Tuesday, according to the Fort Worth Report. Wedgwood East sits in southwest Fort Worth, bounded by Interstate 20 to the north, Woodway Drive to the west, Altamesa Boulevard to the south, and Westcreek Drive and McCart Avenue to the east. The neighborhood is home to more than 1,300 households, and city figures put its poverty rate at 18% with a median income of $65,625 — compared to Fort Worth's citywide poverty rate of 13% and median income of $82,503, according to the city.
City officials say they choose neighborhoods for the program based on safety, financial hardship and neighborhood condition. Typical projects funded through the initiative include public safety cameras, streetlight and street upgrades, and cleanup of illegal dumping, with some neighborhoods installing cameras specifically to deter dumping. Residents will get a say in what ultimately gets implemented in Wedgwood East.
Spending Plan Spreads Out Over Three Years
The $4.3 million will roll out in phases. In the first year, the city plans to allocate $1 million while holding meetings to gather community feedback. The second year carries the bulk of the funding, with $2.3 million set aside for project implementation and updates, and the final $1 million lands in year three, when the city will close out remaining projects while continuing community engagement, per the same report.
The Neighborhood Improvement Program launched in 2017 with funds set aside by the City Council. Fort Worth has since selected neighborhoods including Stop Six, Como and the Northside for improvements. The council is scheduled to vote on Wedgwood East’s selection November 10.
How the Program’s Scope and Funding Changed
The Neighborhood Improvement Program initially served one neighborhood a year. According to the Fort Worth Report, Fort Worth expanded the program in 2023 to serve two neighborhoods annually, selecting Worth Heights and Seminary that year. The city later reduced program funding by about $4.2 million in 2024, a separate past budget decision that preceded Wedgwood East’s 2027 selection.
Residents Describe a Close-Knit But Struggling Area
Shana Hazzard described the reaction among residents as excitement, calling the investment necessary and needed. She described Wedgwood East's population as working-class professionals drawn by affordable housing, neighborhood events and easy access to I-20, and said residents are protective of their community and work to create a family-friendly environment. The neighborhood includes Little People Park, Westcreek Elementary School and the Altamesa McCart Center, along with community groups such as the Wedgwood East Neighborhood Association, the Wedgwood Historical Association and the Wedgwood Garden Club.
Hazzard pointed to homelessness and water main breaks as ongoing problems in the neighborhood. She said priorities for the investment include repairing commercial properties, attracting new businesses and improving traffic control. Along the Altamesa corridor, vacant and rundown properties sit between McCart and South Hulen, and apartments in that stretch have drawn crime, squatters and car theft, according to Hazzard. Residents have requested demolition of the rundown properties.
Two Council Members Share the District
Wedgwood East is covered in part by Fort Worth council districts 9 and 6. Elizabeth Beck represents District 9 and described the neighborhood as highly engaged, saying stakeholders are motivated to do significant work in the area. Mia Hall, who represents District 6, said she was excited to work with Beck and added that the Altamesa corridor and McCart area need reinvestment and opportunity.
Past rounds of the program offer a sense of scale for what Wedgwood East could see. Stop Six, the first neighborhood selected, received $2.6 million, while Historic Marine was slated for $3.9 million, the Fort Worth Report has reported. The Como Area was earlier set to receive $3.19 million for public safety, capital improvements and neighborhood revitalization, according to the City of Fort Worth. The program's budget doubled to $8 million in 2024, letting the city work on two neighborhoods at once, and Fort Worth's director of neighborhood services, Victor Turner, has said the effort has produced mostly positive change in the communities it has touched.
