Texas A&M University's new downtown Fort Worth campus is opening its first building Wednesday, and classes are planned to begin this fall. The campus broke ground in 2023 and is intended to host academic programs, research activity and public-sector offices.
The site will include degree programs offered through Texas A&M University and Tarleton State University, which is in the A&M System. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's Center for Advanced Aviation Technologies is expected to conduct research there, and six state agencies also are slated to have a campus presence.
Officials said the campus is meant to address regional workforce and research needs through work with local industries, including health care, aerospace, and media and entertainment. Fort Worth, Tarrant County and Texas A&M leaders also are working on an innovation district with mixed-use development near the campus, with the goal of linking companies, the university, startups and other businesses.
Kim McCuistion, director of Texas A&M Fort Worth, said the university has been putting resources into the area. "A&M has been investing in this area," McCuistion said, citing demand for highly educated workers, the city's range of industries and support for education from city leaders.
City and business leaders began looking at ways to support Fort Worth's economic growth after the pandemic and proposed a downtown campus connected to industry, job creation, corporate development and research. The Texas A&M System already had four downtown blocks, including the law school site it took over from Texas Wesleyan University in 2013.
