The Dallas City Council approved almost 300 new housing units near the Bishop Arts District, and at least half will be affordable.
The Dallas City Council on Oct. 25 authorized its Public Facility Corporation to acquire Banyan Flats at 2020 North Beckley Ave. The PFC will enter a 75-year lease agreement with Bishop Arts JV LLC, through which the developer gets a tax abatement in exchange for providing affordable units. Estimated revenue foregone over a 15-year period is about $2.27 million.
Of the 289 units planned for Banyan Flats:
- 144 units will be rented at market rate.
- 116 will be rented to residents at or below 80 percent of the Area Median Income.
- 29 will be rented to residents at or below 60 percent of the Area Median Income.
District 12 Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn, who said she is philosophically opposed to PFC projects because of the tax abatement, pointed out that this project does not provide affordable units for low-income residents at or below 30 percent of the area median income — where the greatest need for housing exists.
Plans call for 87 studio units, 136 one-bedroom units, 61 two-bedroom units, and five three-bedroom units
Affordable Housing Investment
Mendelsohn voted against the Banyan Flats project but pointed out that the city approved three housing projects in the Oct. 25 meeting that represented a $150 million investment for affordable housing. The other two were approved under the Dallas Housing Finance Corporation structure.
Mendelsohn said she’s requested that Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee Chair Jesse Moreno call for a report on Fiscal Year 2023 showing how many dollars have been allocated to affordable housing.
“I think this city is making an unprecedented investment in affordable housing, and it goes completely unnoticed,” she said.
Mendelsohn said that while she doesn’t support PFC projects, she has supported every project brought forth by the Dallas Housing Finance Corporation, she said.
“We should really be proud of the efforts we are making,” she said.
District 1 Councilman Chad West, who represents the Bishop Arts District where Banyan Flats will be constructed, referenced a recent Child Poverty Action Lab report that identifies a huge gap in the number of available rental units in Dallas.
“Even with our efforts, which I agree have been pretty amazing, we still have a long way to go,” West said. “I’m cautiously optimistic that we’re on the right track.”
Missing Middle Housing
Developers with Ojala Partners, Hunt Realty, and Builders of Hope Community Development Corp. said during an October webinar hosted by the Dallas Housing Coalition that it’s challenging to build affordable housing in Dallas because of delays and a lack of incentives.
“When you’re talking about affordable housing, you’re talking about building something and then offering it to people below the cost to build it,” said Kirk Presley, an associate with Ojala Partners. “If we wanted everyone to live in market-rate housing, we wouldn’t have a problem, but we have half of our city that can’t afford market-rate housing with what the cost of construction is. It’s only through city government, federal, and local subsidy, that you can create something you’re going to sell below costs.”
According to a resolution adopted by the City Council in support of the Banyan Flats development, the project would not be economically feasible without the PFC’s participation.
“Whereas … the City desires to authorize … a lease agreement with the Applicant or its affiliate in order to provide mixed-income, workforce housing to the ‘missing middle’ of the market, residents that earn above 60 percent AMI but would be cost-burdened by market rents in the City,” the resolution states. “The rents for individuals and families earning below 80 percent AMI are included to provide deeper affordability at this property.”
