PARKER COUNTY, Texas — The University of Texas System Board of Regents Monday gave the green light to a plan to buy 51 acres of land in west Fort Worth, paving the way for a new UT-Arlington campus.
The 51 acres of property at the intersection of I-30 and I-20 in Parker County within the Walsh Ranch development paves the way for the new campus, dubbed UTA West. UTA West will be developed as part of a multi-year plan to serve more than 10,000 students and it’s expected to begin welcoming students as soon as fall 2028.
"Anytime the UT System can expand greater educational opportunity, access, and affordability to Texans, we’re going to do it,” said Kevin Eltife, chairman of the UT System Board of Regents. “We’ve recently done it in east Texas and south Texas and now we’re heading west. We’re looking forward to planting a UT Arlington flag in west Fort Worth, currently the nation’s fastest-growing city.”
The funding to buy the land will come from the system’s permanent university fund, but the specific amount wasn’t immediately clear.
“Years from now when we look back at major milestones in the life of the Fort Worth region and UT Arlington’s history, this new campus will rise to be among the top,” added J.B. Milliken, chancellor of the UT System. “As cities prepare for rapid growth, the presence of great universities contributes immensely to their vibrant transformation, and we applaud the very special relationship between UT Arlington and Fort Worth as they plan for the future in such an insightful and strategic way.”
“The western part of the metroplex has an ever-growing population, a plethora of student talent, and a wide breadth of opportunity for explosive economic advancement. UTA has long been a top supplier of talent to companies across Fort Worth, and this expansion will allow UTA to broaden its impact across our region,” said UTA President Jennifer Cowley.
“UTA West represents a transformative investment in our community’s future,” said Robert Allen, Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership president. “By aligning educational resources with the region’s economic needs, UTA is poised to play a pivotal role in shaping a skilled workforce capable of meeting the demands of 21st-century industries.”
The new campus would join the UTA Research Institute, established in East Fort Worth in the 7300 block of Jack Newell Boulevard in 1986 and the UTA Fort Worth Center, established in Downtown Fort Worth in the 1400 block of Jones Street in 2007.
The UTA Research Institute conducts $16 million in research each year focused on advanced controls and sensors, airborne computing networks, automation and intelligent systems, bio-signal processing, biomedical technologies, and predictive performance.
The UTA Institute of Urban Studies, the principal research center for the university’s college of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs opened at the Fort Worth Center in 2023.
Local officials have high hopes for the planned new campus.
““As the reach of the DFW metroplex continues westward, it only makes sense that UTA would do the same, choosing Parker County as its home for a new campus. Our local communities, including Weatherford, Hudson Oaks, Willow Park and Aledo can only stand to benefit from having quality higher education in their backyard. I am pleased to welcome UTA to Parker County and look forward to making this partnership a success,” said Parker County Judge Pat Deen.
“UTA has – and continues to be – an economic force across Fort Worth and Tarrant County. Expanding its footprint to Parker County demonstrates an unequivocal commitment to developing invaluable skills for students and jobs for our area. We are thrilled to work with UTA and its partners on this significant investment into the future of the region,” said Fort Worth Chamber President and CEO Robert Allen.
UTA has an enrollment of 41,000 students, according to their website, and is the second-largest institution in the UT System.
The President of Weatherford College, about 16 miles to the west of the new campus, says he welcomes it.
"Weatherford College has been proudly educating area citizens for over 150 years. We eagerly welcome an enhanced partnership with our colleagues from The University of Texas at Arlington,” said Weatherford College President Tod Allen. “Our shared students will soon have expanded educational opportunities in undergraduate engineering programs as well as various master’s and doctorate-level graduate programs."
Walsh, in the area of the planned new campus west of Downtown Fort Worth where I-20 and I-30 merge, was established in 2017. Now home to more than 2,500 residents, it’s one of the largest developments underway in the country within 12 minutes of a major city center.
The namesake of the community, prominent Fort Worth philanthropist Howard Walsh, owned and ranched on 7,200 acres just west of Fort Worth. In the ‘70s as I-20 was in the planning phases, Walsh worked with the city of Fort Worth to install infrastructure before the highway was built to allow for future development, according to the neighborhood’s website.