For Paul Schuder, Wedgwood East is more than a neighborhood. It’s where he grew up, riding bikes with friends until the streetlights came on.
“Well, Dad built the house in ’72,” Schuder said. Back then, he remembers a quieter area with open land stretching east of McCart Road and Altamesa Boulevard.
“There was nothing to the east of McCart and Altamesa at that point,” he said.
Now, as parts of the neighborhood face concerns about crime, poverty and aging properties, the city of Fort Worth has selected Wedgwood East for its 2027 Neighborhood Improvement Program.
The city plans to invest $4.3 million over three years to improve neighborhood conditions and quality of life.
“Our neighborhood for 2027 will be Wedgwood East,” a city official announced during Tuesday’s City Council work session.
The investment is expected to focus on neighborhood infrastructure and revitalization, including street improvements, landscaping and addressing aging apartment complexes and other properties.
The city’s Neighborhood Improvement Program coordinates public infrastructure investments and neighborhood enhancements in targeted areas. According to the city, the program uses data-driven selection, community engagement and coordination between city departments to address infrastructure needs and improve neighborhood safety, accessibility and quality of life.
The first phase of the Wedgwood East effort will focus on gathering feedback from residents to help identify priorities for the investment.
Kacey Thomas, the city’s director of Neighborhood Services, said residents deserve a neighborhood where they can feel comfortable living and raising their families.
“All of our residents deserve to have a place where they are comfortable living and working and just having their families grow,” Thomas said.
The city expects the improvement effort to take about three years to complete.
For Schuder, the improvements are an opportunity to help the neighborhood he remembers from childhood.
He said he understands the work will take time but hopes the investment will make Wedgwood East a better place for future generations.
“Better for the future,” he said.
Schuder hopes the changes will help more children experience the kind of childhood he remembers — one filled with friends, bikes and days spent outside until the streetlights came on.
“Anytime that you’re going to improve in the neighborhood, it’s better,” he said.
Residents can learn more about Fort Worth’s Neighborhood Improvement Program through the city’s official website or contact the program at 817-392-7540 or NIP@FortWorthTexas.gov.