A surefire way to provide affordable housing in Dallas is to increase density, says local developer Marc Henderson. He’s leading the charge with Exodus Development Group by collaborating with private partners and seeking innovative funding sources.
One such success story is a six-unit rehabilitation project at 736 West Seventh St. in the Bishop Arts District.
Built in 1930, the 3,152-square-foot building is zoned as a multifamily project with a total of six bedrooms and six bathrooms.
The rehab was funded by the Dallas Housing Opportunity Fund in partnership with The Real Estate Council and Local Initiatives Support Corporation.
Dallas Housing Opportunity Fund
The sixplex at the corner of Seventh Street and North Vernon Avenue, one block away from West Davis Street, was redeveloped this summer. Henderson’s Exodus Development Group repaired the building and added an adjacent laundry room.
Three of the units are occupied and three are available to rent. Half are affordable; half are market rate, Henderson said.
“Pretty much the only way to maintain affordability in this area is to maintain the existing housing stock that’s already in the area,” Henderson said. “I think this area has lost a lot of affordable housing, particularly the small multifamily properties.”
Henderson reached out to the Dallas Housing Opportunity Fund, which “promotes fair housing by fostering investments that dismantle long-standing patterns of segregated housing.”
“The DHOF leverages municipal funds with private capital to drive much-needed development in Dallas,” according to its website.
The Local Initiatives Support Corporation fund is active across the country and sponsored locally by The Real Estate Council.
“LISC continues to make quality, affordable housing available to low-income and vulnerable residents — from seniors to veterans to the formerly homeless — in underserved communities,” according to its website.
The affordable housing funds are used in “neighborhoods where soaring prices in hot real estate markets threaten to edge out longtime residents, as well as in ‘legacy’ markets, where the flight of industry and jobs has left a vacuum of disinvestment and poverty and where housing can stimulate economic growth,” according to LISC literature.
The Need For Density
It’s not breaking news that Dallas is facing an affordable housing crisis.
Henderson said it makes sense for developers interested in resolving the challenge to partner with public and private resources.
“LISC operates the [affordable housing] fund and raises capital from several different groups with the sole purpose of trying to address the affordable housing crisis in Dallas,” Henderson said. “There are other projects that LISC has funded, a lot of ground-up projects.”
High density is well-suited for the Bishop Arts District, the developer explained.
“This area is highly walkable,” he said. “A lot of areas surrounding this particular project have had similar density in the past. It’s not something that’s brand new to the area.”
The West Seventh Street project features a five-vehicle carport behind the property.
“Because it’s on a corner lot, we also have off-street parking,” he said. “Our tenants park in the carport in the back. The people who live in this particular property work in the area. It’s very hard to keep the area affordable without density.”
Henderson’s Exodus Development Group is also working on a 36-unit duplex development in South Oak Cliff.
