Dallas City Council recently voted to sell the Family Gateway building at 711 South St. Paul Street, plagued by squatting and vandalism.
The decision, made during a council meeting on Wednesday, was a 12-2 vote to sell the building, estimated to fetch at least $2 million.
The City Council discussed whether to demolish the building before auctioning it. Councilmember Jesse Moreno advocated for demolition, arguing that the land alone would be more valuable due to the property’s prime downtown location.
The area of focus, near City Hall and the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, is awaiting new development, including the addition of high-rise buildings with office and retail spaces, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Assistant City Manager Donzell Gipson reported that the cost of demolition could exceed $250,000, and the impact of this expense on the property’s market value is uncertain. Staff members anticipate marketing the property next month, with a sale expected in October.
Although the sale was approved, Moreno and Councilmember Kathy Stewart opposed the decision. Moreno criticized the City’s handling of the property, suggesting that a private owner would have faced stricter conditions.
The sale of the property is part of a broader strategy to address the City’s $4 billion pension shortfall by offloading surplus assets, per The Dallas Morning News. The site was recently cleaned; however, Moreno reported seeing new graffiti on the building as recently as Tuesday morning.
Dallas owns over 5,000 properties, and inspections revealed that the downtown building was unsecured and littered with debris.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the Metroplex Civic & Business Association (MCBA) reported that in March, Downtown Dallas experienced eight times more criminal incidents than Fort Worth’s city center.
Dallas reported 247 crimes, compared to Fort Worth’s 31. Property crime was predominant, with Dallas recording 62 thefts and 55 vehicle thefts, while Fort Worth had 17 and 2. Additionally, Dallas led in violent crimes with 59 assaults, three robberies, and two abductions, while Fort Worth had six assaults and no other violent incidents.
Criminal activity continues to rise in Downtown Dallas, with notable increases in assaults and thefts. As of August 27, simple assaults in the Central Business District and Victory Park rose 12.2% from 393 in 2023 to 441. Aggravated assaults increased by 10.8%, from 83 to 92 incidents.