Fort Worth selects Fairhaven for 2025 Neighborhood Improvement Program, launches mobile tool-shed pilot

The Fort Worth City Council work session on Feb. 18 opened with an announcement that the Fairhaven neighborhood will be the city027s Neighborhood Improvement Program (NIP) area for 2025. Casey Best, Neighborhood Services director, said the city plans to invest capital and program resources, and will begin quick "clean and safe" activities soon.

City staff said the NIP is a three-year approach that starts with visible, low-cost interventions in year one, moves to capital investments in year two and focuses on long-term resident-led revitalization in year three. "It is NIP announcement day," Best said, noting the city has invested more than $35,000,000 in 10 neighborhoods since 2017.

Why it matters: the NIP targets neighborhoods the city has identified as distressed using a scoring matrix assessing financial hardship, educational attainment and neighborhood condition. Staff told council Fairhaven is the first selected neighborhood that crosses two council districts (Districts 5 and 11), and highlighted gaps in amenities and banking access inside the tract.

City officials showed a video and maps illustrating conditions and service gaps in Fairhaven. Best said the city will kick off clean-and-safe activities immediately, form a stakeholder group with residents and council members, hold block parties and collect resident priorities to guide year-two capital work starting in October 2025. "We will be rescoring the census tracts based on new American Community Survey data and may revise the scoring matrix for future years," Best said.

A new pilot program will let residents borrow tools free of charge to address code violations such as high grass. Robert Paz, the city027s new Neighborhood Improvement coordinator, introduced the mobile tool-shed pilot and said it will be tested in Fairhaven and Seminary in Worth Heights. Brian (Code Compliance staff) said Home Depot and Lowe027s donated tools and Walmart provided monetary support; staff will track results and may request additional budget resources to expand the pilot.

Council members asked about program scale and costs. Best said the city is committing $4,000,000 toward capital investments for Fairhaven in 2025 and that staff will evaluate capacity and public receptivity to the tool-shed before proposing a larger, citywide rollout. "We're piloting it for a reason. I hope for it to be successful," Best said. Staff said the pilot may require additional trailers and personnel if expanded citywide.

Staff also described an asset-mapping tool that identifies bus stops, parks, banks and local institutions to help schedule events and outreach in places with the best access for residents. The mapping showed few banking facilities in Fairhaven (only a payday lender was identified), a gap staff said will inform longer-term economic development work.

The city said outreach to Fairhaven residents has included limited "soft" stakeholder contact and that the Feb. 18 presentation will serve as the neighborhood027s public unveiling. Staff said a city news article, social media and block events will follow.

Looking ahead: staff will produce a NIP newsletter twice a year with status updates, and said they plan to request funding in the FY2026 budget to restore a second concurrent NIP area if the budget process supports it. Stakeholder meetings and block parties are planned through spring and summer to gather resident input.