History
Source: Woodhaven Community Development, Inc.,
Neighborhood Empowerment Zone Application; click to enlarge
Woodhaven Housing Types
2000 U.S. Census, SF3 data; click to enlarge
Investment trends during the 1980s produced an overabundance of apartment complexes in Woodhaven. From 1984 to 1986, eleven new apartment complexes (2,398 units) were constructed, representing 52.3% of all apartments in Woodhaven. This rapid increase in apartment supply caused rents to fall rapidly, as investors offered incentives to attract new tenants.
Demographic Changes
In 1988, changes to the Fair Housing Act prohibited adult-only apartment complexes like those in Woodhaven. Over time, more and more families moved in to Woodhaven apartment complexes, increasing population density. Also during the late 1980s, financial institutions foreclosed on three apartment complexes in southeast Fort Worth with a high-incidence of crime. Woodhaven's high vacancy rate, low rent, and new incentives (i.e. "first month free") attracted many of these displaced tenants. This high demand combined with poor tenant screening by some apartment managers changed the apartment environment dramatically. The increase in population density and crime strained police and city services, stifled property values, and drove some nearby retail tenants away.
Transportation Changes
While increasing crime became the central challenge to the Woodhaven Neighborhood, changes to the surrounding highways improved access to the neighborhood. In the early1970s Interstate- 30 was a toll-way and Woodhaven residents had to pay fifty-cents to drive to downtown Fort Worth. After the highway was paid off in1978, this important section of interstate could be traveled for free. In the 1990s neighborhood organizations continued to advocate for the addition of new access ramps on I-30 to enhance the economic viability of the commercial areas of Woodhaven. As a result of these efforts, construction began in the fall of 2002 on new and re-designed access ramps from Oakland Boulevard to Bridgewood Street. This work was completed in 2004. Today, several large, vacant tracts along I-30 and Loop 820 are zoned commercial and poised for new development.