Just 2,370 new housing units were added to the Dallas tax rolls in 2021, a city council member mentioned in a phone interview with Daltxrealestate.com last week.
Maybe that’s a pandemic problem. Maybe it’s the result of inflation or high construction costs. Maybe it can be attributed to the City of Dallas permitting debacle.
The bottom line is there’s simply not enough housing to keep up with the demand in Dallas, which already houses about 1.3 million people.
Some elected officials, housing advocates, and charitable organizations are hustling to offer more options, particularly in the affordable housing market.
Builders of Hope Community Development Corp. created a West Dallas Community Vision Plan and broke ground Nov. 10 in a partnership with the City of Dallas and Dallas County on a 20-home development.
“We all know we have an affordable housing crisis in Dallas and across the country,” said Dallas County Commissioner Elba Garcia at the groundbreaking. “This issue has gotten to the point where working families can no longer afford to buy homes in many cities. That’s why I am thrilled Dallas County has partnered with Builders of Hope, [the] City of Dallas and others for Revitalize West Dallas, an affordable housing development.”
The $5.7 million single-family project on Bickers Street will deliver affordable housing for low- to moderate-income families.
Builders of Hope CEO James Armstrong said his organization strives to provide housing to the Dallas workforce, which has been priced out of the market. The median sales price of homes in Dallas has increased 30 percent over the past three years to $279,000, Armstrong said.
Builders of Hope aims to “bring the middle class back to Dallas,” he said.
Builders of Hope
Builders of Hope began as a housing initiative of Voice of Hope Ministries and incorporated as a nonprofit in 1998.
It’s committed to fighting poverty in Dallas “through the development of affordable housing, providing much-needed services for low-income homebuyers, [creating] workforce development, and fostering community pride,” according to its website.
Federal grant funds from the HOME program, administered by the City of Dallas, are used for construction projects like the one in West Dallas.
West Dallas Community Vision Plan steering committee member Latedra Gladney represents the Lake West neighborhood and said she wants to inspire positive change in the area.
“I love community and neighbors helping neighbors,” she said. “Word of mouth is golden. When you add all those things together, you have the start of an investment of greatness. People appreciate greatness, and they take care of what they invest in.”
West Dallas Community Vision Plan
Neighbors and stakeholders gathered Nov. 17 for a public workshop to learn more about the West Dallas Community Vision Plan.
“Residents warn that factors such as increased property taxes, the construction of homes meant to attract high-income buyers, and the opening of businesses that are financially inaccessible to most West Dallas residents will continue to contribute to both the physical and cultural displacement of historic residents, businesses, and institutions,” the plan states. “They assert that solutions to address these concerns must happen urgently and be community-led in partnership with government, private, and community organizations.”
In mid-October, Builders of Hope announced an anti-displacement initiative to create a playbook of “policies, programs, and practices for policymakers, stakeholders, and neighborhood leaders.”
The toolkit will define gentrification and its indicators, profile five to six neighborhoods experiencing different types of gentrification, and provide solutions along with a strategy for implementation, according to information on the Builders of Hope site.
Twenty homes may not solve the housing crisis overnight, but it represents something big for Dallas: hope.
