Angela Tobias talks about her late father with pride.
The Fort Worth native said she was filled with emotion Feb. 18 as city and community officials unveiled a new 11-acre, three-story affordable housing complex in Worth Heights named after her father, Cirildo “Toby” Tobias, who died in 2012.
“It’s overwhelming that somebody who was just a normal, ordinary boy that grew up in the hood would be able to have his name on something,” she said. “I think of all the people he came upon, all the kids that he helped and, even now, stories will be (told) on and on about that one day — it can happen to them, too.”
Tobias Place opened at 549 W. Biddison St., across the street from the Victory Forest Community Center and a block east of Hemphill Street. Residents in the community said the site, adjacent to railroad tracks, was vacant for decades.
Tobias, who works at the Northside Community Center, said she spent her childhood in the close-knit Worth Heights neighborhood.
“It’s a really good neighborhood,” she said. “Growing up on the south side, everybody knew everybody. My mom would always tell me, ‘Make sure when you go out, you behave, because somebody is always going to know your father.’
Angela Tobias, center in gray, laughs as she helps Fort Worth council members Jeanette Martinez and Elizabeth Beck cut a ribbon at the grand opening of Tobias Place apartment complex. (Eric E. Garcia | Fort Worth Report)
The $80 million controlled-access complex, which features a modern light gray and teal color scheme, offers 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom floor plans. The main building includes a community room, business center, workout room and library, and co-working spaces.
About 90% of the 291 units are set aside for residents who make 60% of the Fort Worth- area median income of $85,350 for a family of four.
Council member Elizabeth Beck, whose mother grew up in the neighborhood a few blocks away, said the new complex will provide area residents with deeply affordable housing.
“They have a place to live with dignity,” she said. “They have someplace beautiful to call home.”
Tobias Place is located at 549 W. Biddison St., across from the Victory Forest Community Center. (Eric E. Garcia | Fort Worth Report)
Council member Jeanette Martinez, who grew up in the nearby Rosemont neighborhood and now represents the Worth Heights area, said the complex, with its amenities and location, will help “open doors to opportunity” for residents.
Aside from the community center, Tobias Place is one of the few projects built in Worth Heights in decades, neighborhood residents said.
The project was developed by Dallas-based Ojala Holdings with financial assistance or services from Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Rainwater Charitable Foundation and Regions Bank.
The business center at Tobias Place apartment complex includes a community room and co-working spaces. (Eric E. Garcia | Fort Worth Report)
Daniel Smith, managing director for Ojala Holdings, praised former Fort Worth assistant city manager Fernando Costa as “the visionary and the architect” behind the housing complex. He also said bipartisan support of the project in the county helped it gain financial support from local officials.
Smith said he spent months working with community leaders on all aspects of the complex, including the design and name. At one point, he said, he didn’t think the project would come to fruition.
“I was pleasantly reminded that I was a gringo from north Tarrant County trying to develop affordable housing in Worth Heights,” Smith said. “Trust is not something that’s bought, it’s earned.”
Tobias said the complex is impressive and brings her joy since it bears her father’s name.
“Every time I drive by here it makes me so happy to see that.”
Disclosure: The Rainwater Charitable Foundation has been a financial supporter of the Fort Worth Report. News decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
Eric E. Garcia is senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org.
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