The Fort Worth City Plan Commission agreed to recommend vacating parts of three public streets and an alley in the Medical District, to facilitate a planned land swap between Cook Children’s Medical Center and Medical City Fort Worth Hospital.
The land swap west of 8th Avenue would make it easier for the hospitals to plan future expansions, the city staff and a representative for the hospitals told the commission.
“It just helps clean up everything,” Justin Wells, principal and engagement manager with Dunaway, the Fort Worth engineering firm representing the hospitals, told the commission at their Jan. 8 meeting.
Fort Worth City Plan Commission
work session and public hearing
Documenter: Scott Nishimura
Date: Jan. 8, 2026
Click here for the meeting agenda.
The commission voted unanimously to make the recommendation to the Fort Worth City Council. The resolution, if approved by the council, would vacate parts of 10th Avenue and Pruitt and West Cannon streets and an alley.
The area is generally north of Cooper Street, south of Pennsylvania Avenue, west of 9th Avenue and east of 12th Avenue.
The replatting would create a private street, jointly owned and maintained by the two hospitals that would remain open and publicly accessible, the staff and Wells told the commission.
“They have future plans for hospital expansion in these areas and improve the overall parking in the area,” Alexander Parks, senior planner for the city, told the commission.
The Medical District street vacations would include construction of a private street jointly owned by Cook Children’s Medical Center and Medical City Fort Worth Hospital. The straight line drawn on this map represents the street. (Courtesy map | City of Fort Worth)
Jim Tidwell, chair of the commission, asked Parks if it was possible the private street could be closed in the future to accommodate development of a building.
“Both parties would have to fully agree to the closure of the drive” given the property line runs down the middle of the street, Parks said.
In a moment of levity, one commissioner told Tidwell “rumor” has it that Cook Children’s wants to build a hotel to accommodate families of patients.
“We can use all the rumors we can get,” Tidwell said, to laughter.
“With regard to the rumor, the only development planned here are parking lots,” Wells told the commission.
Mike Brennan, president of the Near Southside Inc. planning and economic development nonprofit, spoke in favor of the vacation, saying Near Southside is grateful for the years of “thoughtful planning” the district’s hospitals have put into place.
He noted the area west of 8th Avenue has an irregular street grid because of the proximity to railroad tracks.
“We don’t see any adverse impact to circulation,” he said.
One neighboring property owner appeared to find out what’s happening with the area, given, he said, that Cook Children’s communicates ineffectively with its neighboring property owners. The property owner did not speak in opposition to the street vacations.
Wells, in response, said Dunaway has been in communication with some private property owners in the area, although not the one who appeared before the commission.
Scott Nishimura is senior editor for local government accountability at the Fort Worth Report. Reach him at scott.nishimura@fortworthreport.org.
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