On Wednesday, Fort Worth city leaders will kick off a new phase of the Stop Six neighborhood’s transformation.
Fort Worth Housing Solutions is preparing to build Babers Manor, the newest mixed-income multifamily housing development under the Stop Six Choice Neighborhood Initiative.
Named after respected and loyal community leader Clarence Donald Babers, the 80-unit development will include a combination of townhomes and garden apartments.
The project is located on Ramey Avenue between S. Hughes Ave and S. Edgewood Terrace. Babers Manor joins current Stop Six CNI projects Cowan Place Senior Living and Hughes House, which is under construction.
“Babers Manor is the next step in the transformation unfolding before our eyes in Stop Six,” said Mary-Margaret Lemons, president of Fort Worth Housing Solutions. “The groundbreaking is a celebration of true collaboration between the community and partners. We were honored to name this property after Mr. Babers and celebrate his lasting legacy in Fort Worth and beyond. We also look forward to the day when families make Babers Manor their home.”
Babers grew up in Fort Worth and earned his bachelor’s degree in history and sociology from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1969, where he was among the first African-American students to graduate after the desegregation of colleges and universities.
He had a very successful career in public service with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1970 to 2012. During his tenure with the Department, he assumed many roles and responsibilities, most notably that of Reconstruction Advisor/Chairman of the Board of the New Orleans Housing Authority following Hurricane Katrina.
Babers Manor now has ties to HUD and continues Babers’ legacy. It is part of the groundbreaking Stop Six Choice Neighborhood initiative that was launched in 2020 when HUD awarded FWHS and the City of Fort Worth a $35 million Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grant.
Former Cavile Place residents who relocated as part of the redevelopment process will have the right to return to the community when new Stop Six CNI properties come online.
The HUD grant will be distributed across six development phases and is expected to provide $345 million in investment for the neighborhood. In total, FWHS and partners will build approximately 925 new housing units throughout the community. The City of Fort Worth plans additional infrastructure improvements, including a new community center and aquatics center.
Babers Manor is also supported financially by numerous partnerships. It was financed with $16.34 million in low-income tax credits (LIHTCs) and $161,000 in 45L loans that Hunt Capital Partners syndicated with Aetna, a CVS Health company, through its proprietary investor fund.
The 51 LIHTC units are reserved for households earning up to 30%, 50%, 60% and 80% of the area median income. Forty-three of the LIHTC units benefit from project-based rental assistance, including four Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) units aimed at formerly homeless people.
Fort Worth Housing Solutions, the agency behind the Stop Six changes, operates 38 mixed-income housing properties in high-opportunity neighborhoods across Fort Worth, totaling 6,797 housing units in those and some scattered locations, 89% of which are offered at varying rates to income-eligible residents earning 80% or less of the area median income.
“So we’re not only creating affordable housing, but we’re creating market-rate housing, as well as economic development, commercial space and some placemaking opportunities to really turn Stop Six into a neighborhood of choice for anyone who wants to move to Fort Worth or return to the neighborhood they grew up in,” Lemons said.
The groundbreaking will take place at 9:30 a.m. at the Eastside Boys & Girls Club of Greater Tarrant County.
Construction of Babers Manor is expected to take 18 months.
