Texas Christian University:

The Board of Trustees met April 10-12, 2024, to discuss many objectives regarding the budget and the future of Texas Christian University. Majority of the meeting was spent discussing the Campus Master Plan.

TCU takes great pride in its academics, athletics and inviting campus. The university has placed in high ranking for Best Value Schools and was in the Top 100 for Best National University. TCU Chancellor Victor Boschini and President Daniel Pullin look to the future to maintain the university reputation and work to improve the campus and overall well-being of students in the Campus Master Plan.

TCU Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Kathy Cavins-Tull, has heard student demands and concerns regarding the limited housing and parking on campus. The Master Plan addresses many solutions to the current problems on and around campus.

“This will be transformative,” Cavins-Tull said.

The university's short-term goal in the Campus Master Plan is to provide solutions to the students' two major concerns, parking and housing.

Cavins-Tull says that the parking lots on and surrounding campus are eventually renovated as more building space for campus expansion.

“We will be first building a parking garage because we're going to lose a ton of parking in this process. So the first thing that we'll build is a parking garage and then residence halls and then some more parking and apartment style housing with retail underneath,” Cavins-Tull said.

Back of Moudy South - 2023

Back of Moudy South - 2007

The university has many visions for the campus and wanted to contact and connect with private planning and development professionals for constructing the Campus Master Plan.

“Brailsford & Dunleavy came in to help us look at space needed in the event that we grow on our campus and in order to grow; what are we going to need for students living, recreation, dining, classroom space, lab space and faculty offices,” Cavins-Tull stated.

With the increase of enrollment and transfer students, TCU has struggled to make available space for first-year and sophomore students on campus. Cavins-Tull says that university asked Bransford & Dunleavy to analyze how many spaces the university needs to build to accommodate for the influx of students.

In the past 10 years the university has renovated Colby Hall, built FSL housing, Marion, PE Clark, Arnold and Hays Hall. Cavins-Tull says that the Master Plan contains a plan of action to build and acquire more apartment style housing for juniors and seniors. Due to the rising cost of housing around campus, TCU acquired GrandMarc to help aid students with cheaper housing. TCU is also master leasing Liberty Lofts and University House.

“62% of our students who live off campus live more than a mile away from campus, and that tells me we need more housing close to campus that they can afford,” Cavins-Tull said.

W. Devit St. - 2023

W. Devit St. - 2007

Two new residence halls, one dining hall and the new TCU Athletics Facility are currently in construction and will all be completed in 2025.

According to GoFrogs.com, “The [TCU Athletic] projects, which will support all 515 TCU student-athletes in the 22-sport program, include [the] renovation of the existing Bob Lilly Performance Center, development of a Restoration and Wellness Center, construction of a new state-of-the-art Football Performance Center [and an] expanded entryway to the TCU football facilities.”

A rendering of the football facility set to be completed in July 2025. ( Photo courtesy of gofrogs.com)

The university is looking to expand on its leisure and recreation around campus to connect with the surrounding Fort Worth community.

The Master Plan says that TCU will expand trails and urban green spaces to surrounding areas such as Berry St. and the Fort Worth Zoo.

“There's a lot of opportunity on Berry St. to make that much nicer, walkable, have nice restaurants, boutiques, some little pocket parks, and make it a destination for not just our students, faculty and staff, but our neighbors,” Cavins-Tull said.

TCU is working with American Campus Communities (ACC) for residential expansion and Endeavor for retail placement on the Berry St. strip.

Cavins-Tull says that the board agreed to work with ACC and Endeavor because of past projects they have completed. “Endeavor did the Domain in Austin and so we went and looked at that. We loved the space and we loved the walkability.”

Students that currently attend TCU will see a dramatic change to the campus in the next 10 years. The Campus Master Plan still needs to be approved by the board. Cavins-Tull says that TCU will start building and renovating immediately if the plan is approved next year.

New vendors and renovations on Berry St. will be in the Campus Master Plan. (Lena Forbes/TCU 360)