Tarleton State University will be part of the new Texas A&M System Research and Innovation Center in downtown Fort Worth, officials announced today.

Both the center and an education building will be constructed in phases on four blocks owned by the A&M System (close to the Fort Worth Convention Center). The Texas A&M University School of Law currently is housed in the former Southwestern Bell facility on Commerce Street, and either that space will be renovated or a new law school building will rise to accommodate growth and provide a state-of-the-art educational environment.

Once completed, the three facilities will create an urban campus designed to spur business development in one of the fastest growing large cities in the country. Nearly half of the 1.2 million adults in Tarrant County, age 25 and older, lack a college degree. One in four county households has an annual income below $30,000.

Representatives of the A&M System, the city of Fort Worth, Tarrant County and Fort Worth Now, a privately funded group formed to invigorate the pandemic aftermath, last week signed a memorandum outlining aspirations for the urban campus.

The non-binding statement enables more detailed planning in the coming months. Construction will require approvals from the A&M System Board of Regents, the Fort Worth City Council and Tarrant County Commissioners Court. 

“The A&M System is making a Texas-sized commitment to Fort Worth,” said A&M System Chancellor John Sharp. “Welcome to Aggieland North.”

Tarleton, Texas A&M University, the Texas A&M Health Science Center, and five A&M System agencies have been tapped to propel programs in emergency response communications, biotechnology, medical laboratory science, and nursing, among others.

“Tarleton already has a growing campus in Southwest Fort Worth and a nationally acclaimed medical laboratory science program in the downtown Medical District, so our university is a perfect fit for this initiative,” said Tarleton President James Hurley. “We are excited to be part of this innovative partnership.”

Design is underway on a second building on Tarleton’s Fort Worth campus, with construction set to begin next year and a grand opening planned in 2024. The $66 million Interprofessional Education Building, funded by the A&M System, will add 100,000 square feet of classroom and specialized laboratory space for health science and kinesiology programs.

A&M System agencies selected as urban campus partners are the Texas Division of Emergency Management, the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, and the Texas A&M Transportation Institute.

For more information, go to https://fort-worth.tamus.edu/.