The Dallas City Council announced that they have approved a mixed-use five-story project to be built in Uptown. The project will include 80,000 square feet for a Kroger grocery store on the ground level and 375 apartments filling the remaining four levels.
A total of 75 apartments will be rent-controlled and available only to renters earning less than 60% of the local Area Median Income. The announcement of the development is a step forward as the City seeks to provide ample housing to a growing population.
The project is estimated to cost $108 million and is financed in partnership with Kroger. Dallas has agreed to provide a property tax abatement in the amount of 50 percent of the taxes that would be levied against the property. The tax break will continue for a period of 10 years and is valued at an estimated $2 million.
Kroger had initially requested a tax abatement of more than $4 million in accordance with certain planning recommendations, but the City Council would not have approved the plan had a vote been held. By denying a vote on the earlier proposal, the City Council was able to scale back the loss of revenue.
Kroger has hired Southeastern Development to construct the building on land purchased from the Dallas Housing Authority. The property will be called One City View and is to be built on a vacant plot at the intersection of North Hall and Flora Streets. The purchase agreement stipulates that 20 percent of the housing be designated as affordable.
“This partnership is a step towards greater economic and equitable development in communities with untapped potential. We look forward to collaborating with Kroger and Southeastern and hope this project will serve as a beacon to attract similar partnerships,” Chief of Economic Development & Neighborhood Services Dr. Eric Anthony Johnson said in a statement.
This is the second project the City of Dallas and Kroger have partnered on. Kroger is nearing the completion of a massive grocery processing facility in the Dallas area that will employ between 350 and 400 people. The City provided a significant tax break to Kroger to facilitate the project which will provide a grocery delivery service to the Dallas area.
The neighborhood falls within the designation of a food desert according to the USDA. More than half of the residents do not have a car and are located more than one-half mile from a grocery store, so a new facility in the area will help bring access to residents.
When completed, the building will provide 51 studio apartments, 270 one-bedroom units, and 54 two-bedroom units. A parking structure will also be included in the final construction to provide 779 parking spaces.
The requirement that Kroger build affordable housing on the site carries a caveat that the grocery store chain could build a grocery store and forgo the tax incentives. Three City Council members voted against the project.
Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn said that the value of the land bordering downtown and uptown is too valuable not to develop. Fellow Councilman Omar Narvaez said that the incentives do little more than encourage developers to do the bare minimum to increase affordable housing.