Dallas County invests millions more in affordable housing projects

Dallas County Commissioners have approved investments in at least 195 affordable housing units, inching closer to their goal of 2,000 units within the next three years.

They allocated about $12 million Tuesday to six projects across mostly southern areas of the county slated to help a myriad of lower-income populations, including veterans, families and individuals.

Commissioner Andrew Sommerman said in an interview that people should be able to live within reasonable driving distance from their job.

“We have to have a workforce that can afford housing, otherwise we will not have the workforce we need,” he said.

This is part of a larger shift by commissioners to use federal COVID-19 relief dollars to build and encourage affordable housing.

In the last several months, the county has mapped out plans to add more than 2,000 affordable units by 2026. Of the $511 million to be sent to Dallas County, the county has already allocated more than $173 million for eight housing projects.

In November, the county aimed to invest in 20 projects that promise about 1,321 units, but has since added plans for three more unidentified housing projects to its working roster.

Commissioner Elba Garcia, who spearheaded the project in Grand Prairie, said the county has been thinking out of the box on how to invest these federal dollars.

“We see what has happened in the last 10 years. Gentrification and a population that has been displaced because of the boom of the North Texas region,” she said. “Now we can have working families having the opportunity to have the American dream, a piece of the American dream.”

County Judge Clay Lewis Jenkins said these projects will help families on the threshold of qualifying for low-income housing find affordable homes in their communities.

“These projects help stabilize neighborhoods,” he said.

Commissioner Theresa Daniel said she was proud to be a part of the county, and that this issue was not a priority of the court a decade ago when she was first elected.

Commissioner John Wiley Price responded, saying the ability and funding wasn’t accessible for the county to provide funding to these housing projects ten years ago.

“I want to thank the Biden administration for the infrastructure, the American Rescue Plan. That’s the reason we got money not because of any neglect on the part of the county,” he said.

Assistant Court Administrator Jonathon Bazan is charged with overseeing these housing projects. He said the county has been conservative in how many affordable units these six projects could add.

“We actually think it’s going to be closer to 275 units,” he said in an interview.

Most of these projects have income limits, but they will help different income tiers. Some will house people with 30% to 60% of the area median income, or between $18,700 and $37,380 for a single person and between $26,700 and $53,400 for a family of four, according to 2021 federal income estimates for Dallas County. Other projects are intended to help those with up to 120% of the area median income, or $74,760 for a single person and $106,800 for a family of four.

Here are highlights of the approved projects:

Veteran housing

The county is working with Catholic Housing Initiative and Karrington Realty to add 55 affordable housing units at 2630 E 52nd Street, near the Veteran Affairs North Texas Health Care System.

“It’s very difficult to find housing near a VA hospital that works too,” Bazan said. “I look forward to seeing that come to fruition.”

The project would provide 28 homes for veterans earning under 80% of the area median income and 27 homes to veterans between 60-120% of the area median income.

The total project is estimated to cost $13.5 million, $2.87 million of which will come from the county. The acquisition is expected to move forward immediately and development is scheduled to begin in November, the county order said.

South Dallas

Dallas County is investing $2.5 million into Good Urban Development’s $15.39 million project. The plan would construct 50 single-family homes ranging in size from 1,400 square-feet to 2,000 square-feet near Fair Park.

“The reason for this request is to help offset increases our project is experiencing in construction costs due to the current supply chain problems and price escalations that have come to be with labor and material costs at a 40-year high,” Good Urban Development’s Kristian Teleki said in a letter to the county.

The project is targeting families with annual incomes of 60-120% of the area median income. Homebuyers’ ownership will be limited to 15 years, and the home is handed back over to the group to house additional families.

Southwest Dallas

Near Mountain Creek Lake on Clark Road, Builders of Hope Community Development Corporation plans to build 50 mixed-income, single-family houses. The overall project is expected to cost $17.7 million, of which the county has committed to $4 million.

The houses will all be two-stories and range from 3-4 bedrooms and 2-2.5 bathrooms averaging 1,800 square-feet. Sales prices will be between $240,000-$290,000, the corporation’s President and CEO James Armstrong III said in a letter to Dallas County. The homes will be made affordable for families between 60-120% of the area median income.

East Oak Cliff

Dallas County invested $850,000 in Innovan Neighborhoods and The Golden SEEDS Foundation’s $7.5 million project in an Oak Cliff neighborhood known as “The Bottom.”

The project promised 24 affordable houses ranging in size between 1,275 square-feet and 1,700 square-feet, offering a 2 bed/2 bath option and 3 bed/2 bath option.

The homes will be sold to individuals at 80% of the area median income or lower. Homebuyers’ ownership will be limited to 15 years, and the home is handed back over to the group to house additional families.

Grand Prairie

Dallas County is spending $1 million to acquire a vacant nursing home facility at 658 SW 3rd Street, and the City of Grand Prairie has committed to $500,000 to demolish the existing structure and develop the necessary infrastructure to support the project.

The county-city partnership looks to add nine affordable single-family homes for families who are below 80% of the area median income.

Trinity River

The county has granted $635,000 to St. Philip’s School & Community Center and Matthews Southwest for seven homes just south of Pennsylvania Avenue near the Trinity River. The total project costs are estimated to be $2.23 million.

The proposed project will provide seven half-plexes and single-family homes ranging in size from 1,365- 1,800 square-feet. The homes will be affordable for families with annual incomes of 60-100% of the area median income. Bazan said if those homes are sold before 15 years have passed, it has to be to a qualified homeowner who meets the income requirements.

7:04

Then after the 15 year mark, the income requirement is lifted, and the homeowner gets to sell the house to whomever.