Tarrant County Commissioners set to vote on land donation for Veterans Home

A new skilled nursing facility for Tarrant County veterans is expected to become closer to reality on Tuesday.

Tarrant County Commissioners are scheduled to vote on the donation of approximately 12 acres to the Texas General Land Office on behalf of the Texas Veterans Land Board.

The undeveloped land at 1100 Circle Drive in Fort Worth will be located near the Fort Worth VA Clinic and the Tarrant County Resource Connection that houses 39 different agencies.

Under the donation agreement, the Veterans Land Board must construct and open a skilled nursing facility within 50 months. The donation includes a reverter clause that transfers the title to the State of Texas as long as the property is used for affordable housing and skilled nursing for Tarrant-area veterans.

The Veterans Land Board voted to accept the donation at last Tuesday’s meeting. The 12-acre site will be used to build a 120-bed Texas State Veterans Home.

Texas State Veterans Homes are self-supporting and are open to Texas Veterans, their spouses as well as Gold Star Parents.

Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, who is chairman of the Veterans Land Board, thanked Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley and County Commissioner Roy Brooks for their help in securing the donation.

“Texans working together to ensure that our nation’s heroes receive the utmost care is what makes Texas great,” Bush said. “We are extremely grateful to Tarrant County for their generous donation of 12 acres of property to aid the VLB in expanding services for Veterans in the community. Tarrant County’s thoughtful contribution will impact Veterans in the DFW area for years to come. I would also like to thank key leaders who helped usher along this process to ensure our Veterans have a place to call home, including County Judge Whitley, Commissioner Brooks, Mayor Betsy Price, Representative Collier and Senator Powell.”
Currently almost 84,000 Veterans over the age of 65 who reside in Dallas and Tarrant counties. Research shows that, on average, persons over the age of 65 will require an average of three years of long-term care. Twenty-percent of the over 65 population will require five years or more of long-term care.

Representatives from the Texas General Land Office will be present at Tuesday’s meeting.