In 2007, Dallas resident Jane Bryant purchased a home on the corner of West Davis and North Elsbeth, about 100 yards from the Bishop Arts District. The former University of North Texas at Dallas professor had big plans to live there and operate her apparel business downstairs.
She never got to live in the 1925 home — which she later learned had once been occupied by alleged JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. She was blocked from attempts to renovate the home and rezone the land. She watched as it was demolished against her wishes in 2012.
And now she can’t sell the land because the city has filed what Bryant calls a bogus lien charging her for asbestos removal and costs associated with the demolition.
“The title changed over to my name was barely dry and the city said, ‘Fix it or the building comes down. Renovate it within 30 days or the building comes down,’ and they sued me,” Bryant recalled. “The city started calling me and harassing me. They were trying to get me to renovate when there was no zoning. That’s just a dead-end deal. It’s crooked.”
On top of all that, the 59-year-old has been battling leukemia for the past several years and lost some momentum in her attempts to sell the now-vacant land.
Historic Home at 600 Elsbeth
At the time she purchased the Elsbeth home, Bryant was living in a duplex in University Park on Lovers Lane.
“I had an apparel business in addition to being a professor and doing consulting work,” she said. “I can’t do manufacturing in University Park. [The Elsbeth home] was ideal. I would have my manufacturing downstairs and I would live upstairs. You could do that over there; I think you still can with commercial zoning. I bought this property for a purpose, not just for my business, but I think there’s some historical value to it.”
When the city sued shortly after Bryant purchased the home from the Jurek family, the matter got tied up in Dallas Municipal Court. Almost 60 hearings were held, she said. The city alleged Bryant was negligent and refused to bring the building up to code.
“They wanted me to redo it and I couldn’t do it without the zoning,” she said. “We just got into a constant battle where every week they were hauling me into court for something. They sued me to have it renovated then I’d have to get an attorney, which cost more money. I could never do anything with it.”
Bryant said a lien was filed on the building “based on an inaccurate bill” sent in 2020, years after the demolition, claiming Bryant owed about $58,000 for the teardown, asbestos removal, and accrued interest.
“I ask that the mayor and City Council recognize that the lien on the property is bogus and remove the lien,” Bryant wrote in a letter dated Aug. 9, 2021.
Interim City Attorney Tammy Palomino and Assistant City Attorney Kyle Paur — whose name is on the legal documents provided by Bryant — did not reply to requests for an interview. A spokeswoman for the City of Dallas said Friday that the City “does not have comment at this time.”
History of 600 Elsbeth
According to Bryant and the research of some dogged local reporters, Oswald lived at 600 Elsbeth when he purchased the gun used to kill Dallas Police Officer J.D. Tippit on Nov. 22, 1963, about 45 minutes after the Kennedy assassination.
“All of a sudden we found out this place had historical significance,” Bryant said. “I really wanted to save it, not just for my business, but it was a charming little building.”
After the demolition, Bryant tried to sell and turned down offers from several developers, including an agent for a national drugstore chain.
“The city took over the building and we had a gentleman’s agreement that they would give me sufficient time to tear down the building so we could save the architectural things,” she said. “They just kept stalling the teardown and then they said we violated our contract of bringing the building down in a timely fashion. They came in with bulldozers. They destroyed all the things I was trying to save.”
Lien Reform
Bryant, who now lives in a 100-year-old home on Swiss Avenue, said she fought with the city until she was out of resources.
“I think people know I tried,” she said.
She recently hired Wichita Falls attorney Gant Grimes and said she wants the lien dropped. She still wants to sell the site at 600 Elsbeth, and she wants the city to change the way it does business with property owners.
Bryant says her property appraisal has risen up to 500 percent.
“I’m trapped,” she said. “That just increases their income. There’s the appraisal, the secret lien, the zoning, and all the different prices they’ve quoted me for teardown. What else can they do?”
She said she wants a jury trial over the lien so she can draw attention to what she characterizes as an unfair process.
“The city should have an honest and fair lien approval or dismissal system,” she said. “The lien process is completely flawed and it is so important. That is the muscle. That is what they do to get people out of their homes. We’ve got to improve things for the next generation.”
