SiNaCa Studios could soon move out of its longtime Fort Worth home as the glass art nonprofit finds new financial support from the city of Arlington.
On Sept. 29, Arlington council members will vote on whether to lease a city-owned downtown property at 300 W. Front St. to the nonprofit for 10 years. The 14,000-square-foot building is more than five times larger than SiNaCa’s current facility at 1013 W. Magnolia Ave. in the Near Southside.
SiNaCa co-founder Clifton Crofford said the decision to relocate wasn’t easy, but that the glass studio needs to expand its programming and ensure long-term sustainability.
“We’re real excited to have found such a strong partner and one that’s so supportive of the arts,” he said.
Arlington spokesperson Susan Schrock said the city will comment after the council’s vote next week.
SiNaCa launched as a collective of glass artists in 2008 in the now-closed Fort Worth Community Arts Center before moving into its current brick-and-mortar in 2010.
For the past five years, SiNaCa struggled to increase financial support from major donors and the city of Fort Worth, interim executive director Breinn Richter said. In 2024, the studio almost closed its doors, but community members raised more than $85,000 to address its budget shortfall.
The nonprofit outgrew its Near Southside building — a converted gas station — years ago, Richter said. The studio’s team searched for a new home throughout Tarrant County before connecting with Arlington leaders.
“When a city is really willing to invest in your future, that is significant for our trajectory,” Richter said of Arlington.
SiNaCa Studios, pictured in October 2021, is currently located in a renovated gas station at 1013 W. Magnolia Ave. in Fort Worth’s Near Southside. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report)
Under the proposal, the city of Arlington will provide a $150,000 grant for facility improvements and will reimburse SiNaCa up to $850,000 — in monthly lease payments — for approved building renovations. The nonprofit will be responsible for additional improvements.
SiNaCa will operate the property as a glass arts school, gallery, artist studio and community arts facility, according to the lease. The agreement establishes an option to renew the lease for an additional 10 years.
The nonprofit’s relocation supports the city’s goal of creating a vibrant downtown that puts Arlington on the map, said Maggie Campbell, CEO and president of Downtown Arlington Management Corporation.
“Once this building is fully activated and lights are on, it’s going to create an anchor for the redevelopment of the rest of Front Street,” she said.
Near Southside Inc. president Megan Henderson said there is “real sorrow” around SiNaCa’s departure, but recognized the nonprofit found a great new partner.
“We’re really fortunate that they’ve built a community-based knowledge of glassblowing and glass art here in the district,” she said. “If you’re in a great arts district, it shouldn’t be that you hold things captive. It should be your job to give voice to their vision.”
Arlington’s ability to attract SiNaCa emphasizes a need for the city of Fort Worth to reexamine its structural support for arts organizations, Henderson said.
“If Arlington was able to offer something to SiNaCa that was better, that’s something Fort Worth should be reflective of,” she said.
Last year, SiNaCa brought the Glass Art Society’s International Conference to Fort Worth. The nonprofit is currently partnered with the University of Texas at Arlington’s Glass Studio.
If Arlington City Council approves the agreement, SiNaCa’s team will “hit the ground running” to renovate the property for a late summer 2027 reopening, Richter said.
The studio will continue to operate its workshops, classes and shows at its Magnolia location through the end of its lease on Jan. 31. The nonprofit will operate its new mobile unit for workshops during those interim months.
David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org.
The Fort Worth Report’s arts and culture coverage is supported in part by the Meta Alice Keith Bratten Foundation and the Virginia Hobbs Charitable Trust. At the 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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