Transform 1012 Closes Community Input Phase for Former Klan Building Conversion

Transform 1012 N. Main Street, a Fort Worth nonprofit coalition, is moving forward with plans to turn a former Ku Klux Klan headquarters in the Northside into a cultural center. The group held its third and final community listening session on a recent Saturday, previewing design concepts and collecting residents' memories of the building.

The project is in preconstruction, which began in August. The 1924 building will keep its existing frame and receive a new interior across three levels totaling 35,000 square feet. Planned features include a 250-seat theater, dance rehearsal rooms, classrooms, galleries and an outdoor reflection space, plus a permanent exhibit on race relations in North Texas. Studio Barnes, ch_studio, GFFdesign and JIMA Studio make up the architecture team.

Funding remains a gap. The coalition has raised more than $13 million of a $70 million capital campaign and says it needs $55 million to begin construction. Construction is expected to start in early 2028, with opening projected for 2029. The project also lost the Fred Rouse name after the foundation withdrew in July over unresolved terms.

A research team will turn session feedback into a report, with a survey and additional interviews to follow.

For developers and financiers, the practical takeaway is that this is a adaptive reuse project still short of its construction budget, so timing depends on closing the fundraising gap.