A 27-acre former horse farm on White Settlement Road is one City Council vote away from becoming a 318-unit senior living campus in Westworth Village. Commissioners voted 6-1 on Nov. 3 to recommend rezoning the Kite Farms property so nonprofit Trinity Terrace can move forward with the project, teeing up a final decision by the full council on Nov. 10.
The vote caps a yearslong saga that began when Trinity Terrace first pitched a senior care facility for the site and was rebuffed. According to Fort Worth Report, the Planning and Zoning Commission did not approve the initial proposal in 2023, and Trinity Terrace subsequently withdrew its application rather than press ahead. The nonprofit resubmitted the case for consideration this year, and the commission's 6-1 recommendation sends it to the City Council for the Nov. 10 vote.
Why the Property Needs Rezoning at All
The Kite Farms land is currently zoned for single-family residential use, meaning Trinity Terrace's senior campus is not allowed by right under existing rules, the outlet reports. Planned Development zoning, if approved, would let the city require a binding site plan covering building locations, design, heights, setbacks, streets and landscaping — giving officials more direct control over how the campus gets built than standard zoning would allow.
Trinity Terrace says on its project website that it purchased the 27-acre Kite Farms site in 2022. The developer behind the sale, Fort Capital founder Chris Powers, told the Fort Worth Report he found it difficult to do anything with the property and had turned down other developers before selling to Trinity Terrace; he said he expected the project to be completed sooner but wasn't surprised it was delayed.
What Would Actually Get Built
As currently proposed, the campus would include 236 independent living units and 40 independent living villas, plus an unspecified number of assisted living and memory care units, per the Fort Worth Report. Buildings would range between two and four stories, with exteriors featuring faux wooden beams and stone inspired by Texas river lodges. Trinity Terrace describes plans for two landscaped green spaces larger than an acre each, preserved as open space, along with under-building parking for three buildings.
The gated community would also include common areas, accessory facilities, trails, private streets, parking, utilities and a water feature, along with a 4,000-square-foot public restaurant, according to the Fort Worth Report. The facility would serve residents aged 62 or older and provide housekeeping, maintenance, landscaping, fitness programs, wellness opportunities and dining options, while offering employment opportunities for staff. Residents whose healthcare needs change would have access to assisted living and memory support either within the community or at Trinity Terrace's downtown Fort Worth campus.
That downtown location offers some insight into the demand driving the project: Trinity Terrace's existing senior care towers in downtown Fort Worth have reached full capacity and carry lengthy waiting lists, the Fort Worth Report notes. Brian Young said Kite Farms would meet growing demand with a different type of senior living environment than the downtown towers offer. Older regional data illustrates the broader backdrop — as of the third quarter of 2022, senior-housing occupancy in Tarrant County stood at 82.3%, down from 84.6% two years earlier, according to Community Impact, though that figure predates the current proposal by several years.
The Price Tag — and a Dollar Gap Nobody Has Resolved
Construction cost estimates for the project diverge depending on who's asked. Trinity Terrace itself estimated construction costs would total $350 million, but Mayor Kelly Jones said the nonprofit's estimates could run as high as $450 million — a discrepancy the Fort Worth Report's reporting leaves unresolved. Kite Farms residence pricing would roughly match the downtown Trinity Terrace location's structure, which varies by residence size and final development costs, and specific pricing won't be announced until construction and financing costs are finalized.
For Westworth Village's finances, the appeal is the tax base. The Tarrant Appraisal District estimated the fully built-out development could generate roughly $1.2 million to $1.7 million in annual property tax revenue for the city — a substantial addition for the small municipality. Trinity Terrace is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit exempt from federal income tax, and Texas law allows such entities to apply for a property tax exemption tied to charitable activity at a site, according to the Texas Tax Code. Jones said Trinity Terrace executives have indicated they don't plan charitable activity at the Kite Farms site, and the city and nonprofit negotiated an automatic payment in lieu of taxes should those plans ever change.
Resident Pushback Hasn't Gone Away
More than 300 Westworth Village residents signed a petition opposing the senior care facility, and community members have raised concerns ranging from building aesthetics to increased traffic and storm pipeline plans, the Fort Worth Report found. City officials and the firm Kimley-Horn reviewed those traffic and drainage plans in response. Some community members have gone further, calling the development a pay-to-play scheme, while others worry that a future closure of the facility could hurt the city and surrounding property values.
Commission Vice Chair Michael Bachand said the property needed rezoning when Trinity Terrace bought it in 2022, and noted that the nonprofit held the prior case for three years before returning to it. Mayor Jones, for her part, said the rezoning is more compatible with surrounding property than the existing single-family zoning, and that she believes opposition is less about this specific plan and more against any development on the property at all. In response to the pushback, the commission unanimously approved an independent review of the site plans.
Jones and Young said Trinity Terrace recreated the project after receiving community feedback, with the nonprofit acknowledging that key aspects of the plan had not been clearly communicated to residents and stakeholders earlier in the process. Under Westworth Village's municipal code, the City Council may authorize a Planned Development district only after a public hearing, proper notice and a recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Commission — the exact sequence that has now played out ahead of Tuesday's scheduled vote.
