Workforce housing complex named for Opal Lee will serve growing north Fort Worth

Renowned across the country for her civil rights activism and widely known as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” Opal Lee is well aware of the influence and impact her name carries.

That’s why she was more than willing to put her name on a new affordable housing complex in far north Fort Worth. Dubbed The Opal, the 338-unit project is providing workforce housing to dozens of families at the northernmost edge of the city.

Located at the northeast intersection of Interstate 35 and State Highway 170, the project will serve the area’s rapidly growing population. The complex offers one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, with 51% of units dedicated to residents who make less than 80% of the area’s median income, including 5% reserved for residents making 50% or less.

Lee, 98, is proud to be a supporter of the project but also hopes her name will continue to spotlight her ongoing effort to honor the legacy of Juneteenth.

“The name will draw some attention, and maybe someone will ask, ‘Why the hell is it here?’” Lee said. “And maybe someone will tell them about the 2.5-mile walk and the reason for it — that people didn’t know for two and a half years that they were free.”

She was referring to her annual Walk for Freedom, a march recognizing the 2.5 years it took for enslaved people in Texas to learn of their freedom after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. The tradition began in 2016, when she made a 1,400-mile walk to the White House to petition legislators to make Juneteenth a national holiday. President Joe Biden made the day a federal holiday in 2021 with Lee in attendance.

Mary-Margaret Lemons, president of the housing authority Fort Worth Housing Solutions, right, speaks on stage next to “Grandmother of Juneteenth” Opal Lee during the ceremonial opening of the affordable housing project The Opal on April 17, 2025, in far north Fort Worth. (Cecilia Lenzen | Fort Worth Report)

Mary-Margaret Lemons, president of the housing authority Fort Worth Housing Solutions, said during an April 17 ribbon-cutting ceremony for the complex that her organization is honored to continue Lee’s legacy of “promoting quality affordable housing and safe places where families can thrive.” Fort Worth Housing Solutions developed the approximately $55 million project in collaboration with the real estate development company AMTEX.

“We like to use a little bit of influence, we have named complexes after people who do great things for our community,” Lemons told reporters after the ceremony. “We’re super excited (that) she let us use her name and have her pictures up so everybody can remember what she’s done.”

“Grandmother of Juneteenth” Opal Lee, center, along with housing officials celebrate the opening of the affordable housing project The Opal with a ribbon-cutting ceremony April 17, 2025, in far north Fort Worth. (Cecilia Lenzen | Fort Worth Report)

Inspiration for The Opal’s name dates back to 2019, when Lemons sat next to Lee at a community meeting about the future of Butler Place, a historic 40-acre affordable housing property in downtown. That was when Lemons learned of Lee’s long commitment to advocating for affordable housing, she recalled.

Construction on the project started in January 2023 and wrapped up at the end of 2024. The ribbon cutting was previously scheduled for late January.

Terri Attaway, chairman of the board of commissioners for Fort Worth Housing Solutions, said during the ceremony that the property is already 62% occupied, and the housing authority expects it to be at full occupancy by July.

The upscale apartment complex offers a variety of amenities, including a swimming pool, children’s playground, fitness center, office spaces, outdoor grilling area and a media room with TVs and arcade games. It’s located within a roughly 10-minute drive of both an H-E-B grocery store and a Buc-ee’s travel center.

Attaway said the project is part of a larger push to help “generations of people change the trajectory of their lives.”

“I personally want to see generations of young people and their families grow up in mixed-income communities so that everybody has the opportunity to be their best, so our children grow up as great citizens, so they see things that they’ve never seen before,” Attaway said.

“Grandmother of Juneteenth” Opal Lee reacts as Fort Worth Housing Solutions staff present her with a $3,000 check for the National Juneteenth Museum project April 17, 2025. (Cecilia Lenzen | Fort Worth Report)

During the ceremony, Fort Worth Housing Solutions staff presented Lee with a $3,000 check for the National Juneteenth Museum she’s fundraising to build in the Historic Southside. As of February, the nonprofit has raised more than $40 million toward its $70 million goal to start construction. City officials have pledged to contribute $15 million once the nonprofit secures two-thirds of its goal amount.

“We need it,” Lee told reporters of the new donation. “I am delighted. The more people who contribute to what we’re doing, the sooner we can get it done.”

Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org.

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