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TCU 360

TCU 360

All TCU. All the time.

TCU 360

Students discuss religious topics in a small group. (Photo courtesy of tcuwesley.org)
Wednesday nights at TCU’s Methodist campus ministry provide religious exploration and fellowship
By Boots Giblin, Staff Writer
Published Mar 27, 2024
Students at the Wesley said they found community on Wednesday nights.

Neighbors’ objections prompt garage relocation

Neighbors objections prompt garage relocation

TCU is considering moving the proposed site of the new parking garage amidst growing concerns from neighbors, said Todd Waldvogel, the associate vice chancellor for facilities at TCU.

The garage was set to be built on the south side of Bellaire Drive North in the Worth Hills area of the campus, but according to notes taken from a city Zoning Commission meeting, affected neighbors argued that the proposed garage can and should be placed elsewhere on campus.

In an interview with the editorial board of TCU 360 last week, Chancellor Victor Boschini said he was surprised that neighbors objected.

“My biggest complaint I get from the neighbors is that [students] park on their streets. So, then I build a parking garage to get you off their streets, and they don’t want the parking garage,” he said.

Boschini said the university is considering moving “the parking garage back because we don’t need permission to do it if we do it more interior on our land. We originally wanted to put it where it was going to go because we thought it would be better for you and better for them.”

He added that the parking garage is not worth fighting over with the neighbors and moving the structure back a couple of hundred feet could be a possible solution.

At a recent Fort Worth zoning meeting Bobby Sharp, an Alton Drive resident, said that not only is the proposed garage double the size that zoning would currently allow, but that there are other places on campus further from the neighborhood to build the parking structure.

Another Alton resident Paul Billman displayed pictures of the view from his home every morning. The proposed parking garage would tower over his house effectively blocking that view, he said.

Billman also echoed Sharp’s issue with the location of construction, saying that TCU has several lots where the parking structure won’t intrude upon the neighborhood.

The proposed six-level parking garage would provide the university with about 1200 additional parking spaces, Waldvogel said.  

The university is sensitive to the concerns of surrounding neighbors and is looking to work with them in order to reach an agreeable decision, Waldvogel said.

At the zoning meeting, the university agreed to a 30-day continuance in order to discuss alternatives with the neighborhood.

 A meeting at Town Hall is scheduled at 6 p.m. Oct. 30. 

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