Texas’ most promising legal minds will have a new home to hone their craft after Texas A&M officially opened its new law school building Wednesday.
The eight-story $200 million building is the first of a five-building campus expected to reshape the economic landscape of Fort Worth.
In addition to the new law school, the campus will include two research and innovation buildings, a performing arts building, and a gateway building serving as an entryway into the campus.
The Texas A&M Law and Education Building stands in downtown Fort Worth on Aug. 5, 2026. Elvis Martinez-Cartagena FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM
It’s expected to create as many as 25,000 jobs and have a $3 billion economic impact on Fort Worth, according to a Texas A&M press release.
At a groundbreaking event Wednesday for the first research and innovation building, law school Dean Bobby Ahdieh recounted early conversations with developer John Goff on what the campus and the surrounding “Switchyard Innovation District” could be.
“What if we could create Silicon Valley on the Trinity River?” Ahdieh said, adding the vision was to create an academic campus bringing together multiple disciplines, universities, industry partners and the community to advance innovation and economic growth not just for North Texas, but for the nation.
Attendees view the inside of the Texas A&M Law and Education Building during its grand opening in Fort Worth on Aug. 5, 2026. Elvis Martinez-Cartagena FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM
The new campus would not be possible without the vision and collaboration of leaders not just at Texas A&M, but at the City of Fort Worth, Tarrant County and the business community as a whole, he said.
Several speakers at Wednesday’s event took time to honor former congresswoman and Fort Worth Mayor Kay Granger, who died Aug. 3 at the age of 83.
It was Granger’s leadership that shepherded Texas A&M’s takeover of the downtown law school from Texas Wesleyan University in 2013, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker said.
Parker recounted serving on Granger’s staff during tense negotiations with former Texas A&M chancellor John Sharp.
“I can’t think of two tougher Texans to sit across a table from one another and negotiate about what the future of this law school could be,” Parker said.
Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker speaks during the groundbreaking of the Research and Innovation Building-A in Fort Worth on Aug. 5, 2026. Elvis Martinez-Cartagena FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM
As a Texas Wesleyan alum, Granger loved the university fiercely, but knew what Texas A&M’s stewardship would mean, she said.
“As a result, we sit here today,” Parker said, adding it was a full circle moment for her personally.
The first of two research and innovation buildings broke ground Wednesday, and is expected to be completed in 2029, according to a Texas A&M press release.
The 228,018-square-foot building will be 12-stories including five levels of parking, and serve as the research anchor for Fort Worth campus.
Texas A&M personnel break ground on Research and Innovation Building-A in Fort Worth on Aug. 5, 2026. Elvis Martinez-Cartagena FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM
Texas A&M has had a presence in downtown Fort Worth since 2013, when it acquired its law school from Texas Wesleyan University for $73.2 million.
Since acquiring the law school, it has jumped in ranking from 111th in 2016 to 22nd in 2025, according to U.S. News and World Report.
Former chancellor Sharp told the Star-Telegram in a November 2021 interview that the law school’s success since being acquired by A&M in 2013 played a role in convincing the university to expand its presence in Fort Worth.
The campus plan was pitched to have a similar impact to A&M’s RELLIS campus in Bryan, Texas. That campus combines research with engineering classes and collaboration with industry to provide a unique educational experience, according to the university’s website.
Law school Dean Bobby Ahdieh noted the connection between thriving cities and educational institutions in a speech at the April 2026 Downtown Fort Worth Inc. annual meeting.
Bobby Ahdieh, Texas A&M Chief Operating Officer, speaks during the Groundbreaking of the Research and Innovation Building-A event in Fort Worth on Aug. 5, 2026. Elvis Martinez-Cartagena FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM
The growth of cities and educational institutions is inextricably linked, Ahdieh said, citing examples like Kendall Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that grew up around the research institutions connected to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“Though as I tell folks, this is Texas, so we’ll do in 20 years what took them 50,” Ahdieh said in a text message to the Star-Telegram Wednesday.
Texas A&M’s expanded Fort Worth footprint has spurred something of an educational arms race in the city.
The University of Texas at Arlington announced plans in August 2024 for a new campus in far west Fort Worth, and Texas Christian University announced plans in March 2025 to become a top tier research university by 2035.
Attendees talk outside on a balcony in the Texas A&M Law and Education Building during its grand opening in Fort Worth on Aug. 5, 2026. Elvis Martinez-Cartagena FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM
This story was originally published August 5, 2026 at 1:30 PM.
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Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Harrison Mantas has covered Fort Worth city government, agencies and people since September 2021. He likes to live tweet city hall meetings, and help his fellow Fort Worthians figure out what’s going on.