On July 10, about 100 of those residents filled the Near Southside brewery HopFusion Ale Works for a community town hall organized by and for displaced tenants. After gathering to socialize and share information, several residents, including Wardrick, said their shared frustrations and collective efforts to demand accountability from the property owners and management company left them feeling encouraged and hopeful.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m grateful for this part of the experience \u2014 us coming together, seeing familiar faces, making new friends, being able to share what happened and bounce ideas,\u201d Wardrick said. \u201cIt\u2019s been pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
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A sign and informational handouts greet people entering a community town hall for displaced Cooper residents July 10, 2025, at HopFusion Ale Works in Fort Worth. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
During the town hall, community leaders, city officials and staff, and nonprofit organizers shared various resources and information updates. Local attorneys shared general legal advice with the gathering.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Megan Henderson, director of events and communications for the nonprofit Near Southside Inc., told residents her organization is willing to help in whatever way it can to share resources and information. She, along with Fort Worth City Council member Elizabeth Beck, organized a relief fund<\/a> in collaboration with the nonprofit United Way of Tarrant County that has raised more than $100,000 in donations.\u00a0<\/p>\n The donated funds will be distributed to Cooper tenants in $500 checks per apartment unit on a first-come, first-served basis, Henderson said. Tenants may apply to receive the funds here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou were, prior to this moment, Near Southside residents, and you are forever Near Southside residents,\u201d Henderson told town hall attendees. \u201cWe\u2019re here to help you. We care about you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Caitlin Dobson, a 26-year-old behavior specialist who had lived at The Cooper since moving to Fort Worth from Virginia last year, said she\u2019s made intentional efforts to allow herself to feel the full course of her emotions \u2014 anger, frustration, sadness \u2014 over the last two weeks. What she feels now is reassurance and comfort.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt has been a big comfort going through this with people who are also going through this,\u201d Dobson said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s been really heartwarming to see the whole community of Fort Worth, but also just the complex itself, coming together and being there for each other \u2014\u00a0because we\u2019re the only ones that can relate to one another.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Dobson, like many others, attended the town hall with fellow Cooper tenants they befriended in the fire\u2019s aftermath.\u00a0<\/p>\n Emily McMullan, 34, and Claire Carden, 35, met the day of the fire, standing on the sidewalk outside The Cooper as they watched their home burn. Now friends, the two said they\u2019ve gotten more information about the tragedy and resources for displaced residents from their fellow tenants than from the apartment owner or property management company.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tenants frequently share updates, including communications with the property management company, in a private Facebook group for victims of the fire.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI do feel a sense of community in there, and I appreciate the residents who have even been more proactive,\u201d McMullan said. \u201cI mean, that Facebook group is the only way that we got the (property\u2019s) structural report, so we\u2019re getting updates from there that we\u2019re not getting from the property management.\u201d<\/p>\n Beck, the City Council member, read aloud an email she received that day from Ramsey Soliman of Lightbulb Capital Group, the company that owns The Cooper. In the email, which Beck provided to the Fort Worth Report, Soliman wrote that Lightbulb is pushing Cushman & Wakefield to deliver \u201cmore frequent community-wide communications.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Soliman, who did not immediately return the Report\u2019s request for comment, said the company is terminating all leases and issuing refunds for prepaid rent and security deposits with the goal of distributing refund checks by hand as soon as July 11.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI do understand that residents are frustrated with the process and the circumstances, and they\u2019re not wrong to feel that way,\u201d Soliman wrote. \u201cOur demand of current management is that they continue to make themselves available to email, phone and in-person communication and there has been a tremendous amount of it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Beck, who represents the Near Southside, told residents, \u201cYou truly do have the entire city of Fort Worth at your back,\u201d and said she will continue working to provide resources and share any new information she can.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI want you to hear from at least someone that we\u2019re sorry,\u201d she said, \u201cand that this shouldn\u2019t have gone this way.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mary Abby Goss is a multimedia fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at maryabby.goss@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative<\/a> for adhering to standards for ethical journalism.<\/p>\n Republish This Story<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Goss-CooperTownHalls-06.jpg\")
Displaced Cooper residents listen to speakers share resources and information during a community town hall July 10, 2025, at HopFusion Ale Works in Fort Worth. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Goss-CooperTownHalls-10.jpg\")
Fort Worth residents Emily McMullan, 35, left, reconnects with Claire Carden, 34, during a community town hall for displaced Cooper residents July 10, 2025, at HopFusion Ale Works in Fort Worth. McMullan and Carden both lived in the same building at The Cooper, but met for the first time when they had to evacuate due to the fire. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Goss-CooperTownHalls-05.jpg\")
Fort Worth City Council member Elizabeth Beck shared information with displaced Cooper residents during a community town hall July 10, 2025, at HopFusion Ale Works in Fort Worth. (Mary Abby Goss | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
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