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University of Texas Arlington opens office in Willow Park as part of its plans for the UTA West campus


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• Summary: The University of Texas at Arlington has planted its physical presence in Parker County by opening an office in Willow Park — and the doors are open for visitors, 243 Willow Bend Drive, Willow Park, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday. No appointment needed. The office isn’t the only way that UTA is establishing its physical presence. UTA is offering summer camp programming for kids and continuing education classes for adults. • With Index list of articles, updated with progress.


• Latest Update: posted 12 June 2025

• Note: Willow Park Civics is about Willow Park but is NOT associated with or managed by the City of Willow Park.






University of Texas Arlington opens office in Willow Park as part of its plans for the UTA West campus

The University of Texas at Arlington has planted its physical presence in Parker County by opening an office in Willow Park — and the doors are open for visitors -- 243 Willow Bend Drive, Willow Park, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday. No appointment needed. The office isn’t the only way that UTA is establishing its physical presence. UTA is offering summer camp programming for kids and continuing education classes for adults. 


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The University of Texas at Arlington has planted its physical presence in Parker County by opening an office in Willow Park — and the doors are open for visitors.


“Having an office in that area creates an opportunity for our staff to have a location that they can land in, hold events, and have closer outreach into the community,” said UTA President Jennifer Cowley.


UTA announced in summer 2024 its plans to build a campus on the western edge of Fort Worth near Aledo. The campus will sit on over 50 acres of land on the Walsh development, and at full buildout will have a capacity to serve more than 10,000 students. University officials broke ground on the campus in April. The campus is set to welcome its first students in fall 2028.The office in a Willow Park strip mall, 5 miles west of the UTA West campus, will serve as a community engagement hub. It’s just another step in how the university is engaging nearby residents. Community members can go to the office to find out more about admissions, financial aid and programming in the area. There’s a conference room, too, where community stakeholders can meet and discuss plans for the future campus.


The office isn’t the only way that UTA is establishing its physical presence. UTA is offering summer camp programming for kids and continuing education classes for adults. 

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Classes will be offered at the Aledo ISD Learning Center and on the main campus of Weatherford College. Kids can learn about building with hydraulics and details about space and the universe beyond. Adults can take classes on tax planning in retirement and business writing basics. These are only a few of the offerings that UTA has in store for west Fort Worth and Parker County.


UTA West office. Address: 243 Willow Bend Drive, Willow ParkHours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday. No appointment needed. UTA West brochure on course offerings



Willow Park Civics Sources and Resources, Index

If you moved to Parker County for the rural life be forewarned, prepare for the stampede of urban growth from the east.

Over the past decade, what was once open tracts of land has seen a lot more development. A housing boom has hit the region, with projects like Walsh and Morningstar building suburban housing developments. Retail development has followed.

This week, reality is setting in. The Fort Worth Report's article "Fast-growing Parker County prepares for ‘a lot more change’ with arrival of UTA campus," [3] focuses on the daily -- and probably life-changing -- reality of urban growth on Willow Park.

The office isn’t the only way that UTA is establishing its physical presence. UTA is offering summer camp programming for kids and continuing education classes for adults. 



UTA West is planning to open their new 51 acre campus in Walsh Ranch "as early as fall 2028. At its completion the campus will serve more than 10,000 students." [1,2]

And current demographics indicate there will be a large and increasing source of new students.

• Developers expect that 80,000 people will one day reside between Walsh and the nearby Veale Ranch. 

• In projections generated by the North Central Texas Council of governments, southwest Fort Worth is expected to grow by 90,000 in the developments around the Chisholm Trail Parkway by 2045.

• Moreover, Parker County's population has boomed to close to 150,000, up from 82,000 in 2000. Weatherford alone has grown to 40,000, up from 19,000 in 2000. [2]

"Fort Worth Report" Reporter Shomial Ahmad posted on Aledo Moms "I'm looking for people who live in the Weatherford/ Aledo/Parker County area about their reaction to the building of UTA West campus."



• UTA to build major new campus in west Fort Worth, with sights on 2028 opening, Fort Worth Report, 05 August 2024. Excerpts and header graphic


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At the western edge of Fort Worth, near where Tarrant County meets Parker County, the University of Texas at Arlington is staking out its next frontier.

University officials got the green light Aug. 5 to build a new campus, known as UTA West, in Fort Worth.

“We have identified two parcels of land that total approximately 51 acres, which will be the location of the UTA West campus,” UTA President Jennifer Cowley said in an exclusive interview ahead of the university’s Monday announcement. “It’s beautiful rolling hills of prairie land. In the spring, it’s filled with bluebonnets and Indian paintbrushes. It’s really a beautiful, scenic part of our region.”

Those wildflowers bloom near where Interstates 20 and 30 merge within the Walsh Ranch development, a high-end neighborhood in far west Fort Worth. The University of Texas System Board of Regents approved the purchase of the land with an allocation of university bonds at a special meeting Aug. 5. Until the university closes on the property, Cowley said, officials won’t be able to disclose the price of the land, which is about 30 miles west of the main Arlington campus.


• UT Arlington Plots Campus in West Fort Worth at Walsh Ranch, Fort Worth, 05 August 2024. Excerpts

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UT Arlington is planning to build a 51-acre campus in west Fort Worth.

The University of Texas System Board of Regents approved a plan to purchase the property in Walsh Ranch through the Permanent University Fund.

The first phase of UTA West is expected to open as early as fall 2028, according to university officials. At its completion the campus will serve more than 10,000 students.

The expansion aligns with transformative growth taking place in the west.

“The western part of the metroplex has an ever-growing population, a plethora of student talent, and a wide breadth of opportunity for explosive economic advancement,” said UTA President Jennifer Cowley in a statement. “UTA has long been a top supplier of talent to companies across Fort Worth, and this expansion will allow UTA to broaden its impact across our region.”

Walsh, a 7,200-acre development in west Fort Worth where Interstate 20 and Interstate 30 meet, is one of the largest developments underway in the country within minutes of a major city center.

Developers expect that 80,000 people will one day reside between Walsh and the nearby Veale Ranch. In projections generated by the North Central Texas Council of governments, southwest Fort Worth is expected to grow by 90,000 in the developments around the Chisholm Trail Parkway by 2045. Moreover, Parker County's population has boomed to close to 150,000, up from 82,000 in 2000. Weatherford alone has grown to 40,000, up from 19,000 in 2000.


• Facebook posted by Fort Worth Report Reporter Shomial Ahmad


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[UTA West] I'm a reporter from the Fort Worth Report, and I'm looking for people who live in the Weatherford/ Aledo/Parker County area about their reaction to the building of UTA West campus near Aledo.

Here's a couple of takes that could be interesting

(1) someone who commutes for work from Parker County to Fort Worth or vice versa and what's the traffic like

(2) Someone with middle school student who may be interested in the possibilities

(3) Someone with concerns about what the development will do. Feel free to email me (shomial.ahmad®fortworthreport.org) or comment in this thread. Thank you!



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