An Austin developer is making a second attempt to convert an aging Northside Fort Worth church into apartments.
But unlike the previous proposal to turn Primera Baptist Church into multifamily affordable housing, which neighbors opposed and the City Council effectively killed, the revived plan is for a seniors complex.
The developer, O-SDA, is seeking a historic landmark designation from the city, which brings tax credits and rezoning flexibility. The project, called Irma Park, would create 84 senior affordable housing units within the existing church structures on Circle Park Drive, as well as a new one-story building on the site.
North Fort Worth Baptist Church, founded in 1891 in a shack along Marine Creek, built a sanctuary on this site in 1902 and owned the property for most of the 20th century, until the Fellow Baptists Primera took over the complex in 1988, according to property records.
Dec. 12, 1953: A new elementary building at North Fort Worth Baptist Church. Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection/UT Arlington Libraries Special Collections
The buildings, dating to the 1940s and ‘50s, feature stone and beige brick that have discolored and deteriorated over time. The church complex is within a short walking distance from several Northside neighborhood landmarks, including Marine Park and the community center.
Primera Baptist Church still holds regular services and posts them on its Facebook page, with the most recent service on Sunday.
In January, O-SDA held meetings at the Northside Community Center to share information about the project with residents, according to a flier that circulated on social media. Another meeting is scheduled for March 26 at 6:30 p.m.
“Our goal is to preserve the church’s beautiful historical features while renovating the interior to provide quality, affordable housing for Fort Worth seniors,” the flier read. “We look forward to working alongside the community to protect this unique building while repurposing it for housing that reflects the values and spirit of this great neighborhood.”
O-SDA previously played a role in converting historic Riverside Baptist Church in Central Fort Worth to Cielo Place Apartments at 3111 Race St. in 2021. O-SDA leaders said at the time they worked hard to uphold the historical significance of the building.
Cielo Place now consists of 91 units with a mix of studio, one-bed, two-bed and three-bed units. Details about the units proposed for Primera Baptist Church haven’t been shared.
Previous plan for Primera Baptist Church stalled
O-SDA’s proposal to rezone the site was originally submitted a year ago for affordable housing serving a different age group. But City Council member Carlos Flores, who represents the Northside, proposed discarding a planned tax credit endorsed for the project at a council meeting in February 2025.
“This is your chance to support an affordable housing project that is able to keep part of the fabric of the community still there,” said Megan Lasch, the owner and president of O-SDA, during that meeting.
“Any resolution other than support would dock our development by three points and would make it virtually impossible to move forward,” Lasch later said, referring to the scoring system the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs uses to evaluate tax credit applications.
The 2025 proposal prompted weeks of contentious debate in the Northside during meetings and online forums like Facebook.
This rendering of a new $75,000 auditorium at North Fort Worth Baptist Church published in the Star-Telegram on Aug. 9, 1941. Star-Telegram
Supporters argued the project would preserve and make good use of the deteriorating landmark. Primera Baptist’s congregation backed O-SDA’s plan.
“We don’t want to bring anything in that would be negative for the community,” said Rafael Berlanga, Primera’s lead pastor and a Northside resident, during the Feburary 2025 meeting. “And of all of the offers that we received, we see that this offer, this project, is going to benefit the neighborhood.”
Those against the project argued that the development and its low-income tenants would lead to increased crime, traffic and disruption in the area.
The project ended up stalled.
“The developer’s outreach was insufficient prior to the application date,” Flores said at the Feburary 2025 meeting.
Mayor Mattie Parker and council members Chris Nettles and Elizabeth Beck voted against Flores’ proposal to deny support for the project. Four other apartment projects were endorsed by the council that night — Avenue at Lancaster, HiLine at Everman, HiLine at Risinger and Pioneer Crossing.
Flores did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the developer’s new proposal for senior housing.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Samuel O’Neal is a local news reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram covering higher education and local news in Fort Worth. He joined the team in December 2025 after previously working as a staff writer at the Philadelphia Inquirer. He graduated from Temple University, where he served as the Editor-in-Chief of the school’s student paper, The Temple News.