The Near Southside Inc. president credited with propelling the transformational growth of the area announced Friday his plans to step down.
Mike Brennan, longtime planner and president of the organization, handed the reins to Megan Henderson, currently Near Southside’s cultural director.
Trinity Metro officials announced Friday that Brennan will be vice president of economic development for the public transportation agency.
Brennan, in his 20th year at Near Southside, has been president for eight years since being promoted from planning and development director. He oversaw the nonprofit during much of the continued redevelopment of West Magnolia Avenue, South Main Village and the Medical District.
Henderson has worked for Near Southside since 2013. She manages the nonprofit’s community, cultural and business support programs. She was previously the marketing director.
Near Southside officials said Brennan will leave the organization and Henderson will step into the top role in April.
“This transition reflects the strength of our organization and the depth of leadership we have built over time,” said Jack Clark, Near Southside’s board chair. “Megan brings deep institutional knowledge, trusted relationships, and a clear vision for the Near Southside’s future.”
Megan Henderson has worked for Near Southside Inc. since 2013. (Courtesy photo | Near Southside Inc.)
Brennan praised Henderson for being the driving force of much of the nonprofit’s community work for over a decade.
“Her impact has been remarkable,” he said. “Megan is the right person at the right time to steer the next era of the Near Southside.”
To complement Henderson, Near Southside plans to hire a development and tax increment finance director who will work with city staff, developers and the board of Fort Worth’s Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 4, known as the Southside TIF. Near Southside administers the Southside TIF through a contract with the city.
Henderson, in turn, attributed the Near Southside’s “strength and vibrancy” to Brennan’s leadership.
“I am grateful for the board’s confidence and look forward to guiding the district’s next chapter of progress,” Henderson said. “Like his predecessors, Mike will remain a close ally as a president emeritus, continuing to serve as a valued advocate and adviser.”
Brennan’s hiring at Trinity Metro comes as the agency seeks transit-oriented developments near its rail stations.
“We have seven train stations in Fort Worth with an eighth on the way in the Medical District,” Rich Andreski, president and CEO of Trinity Metro, told the Fort Worth Report last fall. “Each one of them has enormous potential to be something more than a parking lot.”
Andreski said the Grapevine TEXRail station is a model for the agency, noting its luxury hotel and mixed-use development with entertainment and a food court that are steps away from the station.
“They’ve really shown what can be,” Andreski said. “We want to realize some of that potential here in Fort Worth.”
North Texas planners recommend denser housing and retail projects centered around transit corridors and stations to accommodate the region’s booming population.
More than 4 million people are expected to move to North Texas within the next 25 years, adding to traffic congestion and housing needs as sprawl spreads to once-rural areas.
Brennan, a former Trinity Metro board member, will work closely with the business community, developers, property owners and others to spur projects and boost ridership.
“We’re creating this position at Trinity Metro because we need somebody that wakes up every day and thinks about economic development,” Andreski said Friday.
He added, “Our wheelhouse right now is providing great public transportation, but we need somebody on the team that’s going to come in and build relationships with the city and the development community and then cultivate those opportunities.”
The Fort Worth Central Station, for example, is a “hot, hot location” near the new Texas A&M Fort Worth campus under construction downtown, he said.
“The secret sauce for any community is quality economic development,” Jeff Davis, Trinity Metro’s board chair, said. “Mike has decades of experience and achievements in this arena, and he has the respect of everyone he has ever worked with.”
In October, Trinity Metro officials announced that a North Texas business plans to operate a new wine bar and restaurant to complement their wedding and catering services in the historic T&P Station in downtown Fort Worth.
“We have such great potential around Trinity Metro’s stations,” Brennan said. “So many people wish to live or work in close proximity to convenient transit. Meeting that demand always requires collaboration among private and public sector partners, and I look forward to that work.”
Scott Nishimura is senior editor for local government accountability at the Fort Worth Report. Reach him at scott.nishimura@fortworthreport.org.
Eric E. Garcia is a senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org. 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.
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