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Mayor Pro Tem Gina Bivens honored for Stop 6 revitalization; cites $36 million HUD grant and partnerships
Summary
Council and community groups honored outgoing Mayor Pro Tem Gina Bivens with presentations that highlighted a decade of Stop 6 housing and neighborhood redevelopment, a $36 million HUD Choice grant, partnerships with Fort Worth Housing Solutions and others, and projects such as Babers Manor.
Mayor Pro Tem Gina Bivens used her council appearance to review more than a decade of neighborhood work in Stop 6 and to accept ceremonial recognition at a farewell event in the City Council Chamber. Bivens recounted zoning changes, housing projects, and federal and local partnerships she said helped spur new construction and community improvements.
Bivens told the dais she and partners secured a HUD Choice grant for $36,000,000 that supported redevelopment work in Stop 6 and that the city strengthened its partnership with the housing authority, which Bivens said has a new name, Fort Worth Housing Solutions. She described bringing then–HUD Secretary Ben Carson to tour projects and highlighted local partners — including Mary Margaret Lemons, CEO of Fort Worth Housing Solutions; Don Babers, a former regional HUD administrator; developer Jeremy Smith; and community leaders and institutions such as Paul Quinn College.
Bivens said the city removed an historic-district overlay in parts of Stop 6 to ease development barriers and that the changes helped attract builders and media attention. She described housing, demolition of blighted structures and new projects such as “Babers Manor” on Ramey, and efforts to recruit a grocery store and other amenities to transit-oriented locations such as Lakes of River Trails.
Community organizations presented plaques and remarks. Annie Taylor Curtis, president of Beta Mu Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, praised Bivens’s “unwavering dedication” and service. A speaker for the Fort Worth chapter of Links Incorporated credited Bivens with advancing Stop 6 redevelopment and cited, on behalf of the Links, a “24 percent reduction in crime and a 74 percent increase in building permits following significant capital improvements,” language offered by that speaker at the ceremony.
Why it matters: The presentation framed long-term, multi-agency work (federal HUD funding, the local housing authority and private developers) that city leaders say has reshaped portions of east Fort Worth. The items noted are relevant to future council priorities and to the council member who will represent District 5.
The ceremony was largely celebratory and ceremonial; no formal council action, budget vote or ordinance change was recorded during the remarks. Bivens closed by thanking staff, residents and partners and by acknowledging family and community members in the chamber.
