The new National Juneteenth Museum is moving — one block, that is.
The board of directors is shifting the proposed museum location to the current site of the Southside Community Center after being unable to acquire key vacant land parcels along Veal Street. The change moves the museum one block east to the corner of East Rosedale Street and New York Avenue.
Museum officials are in discussions with the City of Fort Worth about purchasing the 19,700-sqft community center and demolishing the 60-year-old building to construct the museum that is the brainchild of Opal Lee, the Grandmother of Juneteenth.
A new era for the community center
The Southside Community Center — last appraised for $1,590,743 — is in need of $9.9 million in repairs + was set to receive $370,000 from a federal Community Development Block Grant for renovations. However, in August, City Council voted to reallocate those funds to the Healthy Homes for Heroes Veterans Home Repair program.
Earlier this week, members of the Historic Southside Neighborhood Association voted to support the museum’s bid for the community center property.
The new property dimensions require the layout of the museum to change.
Rendering courtesy of the National Juneteenth Museum
Design + construction shifts
With different lot dimensions than the original building site, the 500,000-sqft museum’s design would shift, placing food services, a business incubator, and community resources on the ground floor and moving the exhibition space to the second floor. Museum CEO Jarred Howard said the new building would have a black box space that could accommodate community programming.
The construction timeline is yet again up in the air. The original property was cleared in 2023, but groundbreaking has been delayed more than once. The museum’s Instagram account says it will open in 2026.
Meanwhile, the board of directors are continuing to raise funds for the construction and are hoping to match $10,000 in donations during NTX Giving Day.
