The city of Fort Worth purchased the property at 512 W. 4th St., pictured Aug. 29, 2025, to house the future central library. (Drew Shaw | Fort Worth Report)
Fort Worthians will get their chance to weigh in on the downtown library’s future at two upcoming public listening sessions.
The listening sessions come about two years after Fort Worth sold its decades-old downtown central library building, and one year after it purchased a nearby, 100-year-old building as a new location.
The first listening session is at 6 p.m. Sept. 4 at the First United Methodist Church. The second is at 10 a.m. Sept. 13 at Broadway Baptist Church.
“Through our community listening sessions, we’re hoping to connect with residents and learn what types of experiences they’d like to have in a new downtown library,” said Theresa Davis, communications manager for Fort Worth Public Library, in an email. “Each of our branches reflect the unique neighborhoods they serve, and this location will be no different.”
Davis said the city is looking to hear what types of programs residents would be interested in attending, what services they’d like to see and how to utilize the building’s spaces.
The city also is hosting smaller, community partner listening sessions with organizations invested in downtown and the library system.
The six-story building needs a previously estimated $6.5 million in renovations, which have yet to start. The project’s timeline remained blurry until August, when the city launched community engagement efforts, asking for residents’ opinions in an online survey and at the listening sessions. Davis said over 400 residents have participated in the survey.
The new location’s renovation will be completed in phases as funding for each is secured. Phase one includes the main entry, basement and first floor. On the second floor, the city will need funding for a technology package to make the floor’s theater and stage functional for events. Additional phases will be planned accordingly, the city’s website explains.
“The project timeline remains flexible at this stage,” said Nikita Watts, a Fort Worth property management official, in August. “Given the complexity and significance of the scope, the library department is being intentional about conducting thorough community outreach.”
The library’s future home opened in the 1920s as headquarters for the Fort Worth Elks Lodge fraternity, with assembly meeting rooms on its first and second floors, and hotel rooms on the third through fifth. The Center for Transforming Lives, then known as the Young Women’s Christian Association of Fort Worth and Tarrant County, purchased the building in 1955 and was headquartered there until May.
“Recognizing that some residents have nostalgic feelings about previous locations, we hope that those who choose to attend these sessions are prepared to provide constructive input on what we should keep and what we can improve,” Davis said.
Drew Shaw is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at [email protected] or @shawlings601.
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
Related: Op-Ed: Redistricting bigotry is a tradition deep in the heart of Texas
