[PHI L A NTH ROPY] N E A R S O U T H S I D E , I N C .
“My day, my mind, and Revitalizing Fort Worth’s Near Southside
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heart stays in the Near Southside.” -MEGAN HENDERSON, director of events and communication for Near Southside, Inc.
Megan’s parents always had an open door for anyone in need. The couple had two biological children, Megan and her brother, and helped many others. Her mom worked two jobs and went to night school, while her dad worked three jobs. “Pandemic pivot is nothing to me,” she says, given how adaptive she and her brother had to be as self-described latchkey kids. NSI administers TIF#4, a city-wide tax increment financing that has collected and distributed nearly $100 million in public funding to advance economic investment and infrastructure improvement in the Near Southside. A great example of how funds are stewarded is the skate plaza. “I could cry right
Megan Henderson Photo courtesy of Make Something Beautiful
now,” said one teen, alongside visibly tearful elected officials. He and his friends will soon have their third place. Sociologist Ray Oldenburg coined the term, “third places,” which refers to places where people spend time between home and work. A third place could be the gas station across the street from JPS Hospital, where Megan once managed the gift shop. There, Nehme Elbitar was working toward opening a Lebanese restaurant. If the gift shop was closed, it was because Megan was helping him deliver pizza. After work, she would stop by and just listen to his dreams. The Elbitar’s Chadra Mezza & Grill now anchors Park Place Village.
