West Dallas will receive more funding for a new low-income rental development, thanks to a recent unanimous vote by the Dallas City Council.
The city council voted unanimously on June 22 to approve funds for the Builders of Hope Community Development Corporation’s (BOHCDC) Trinity West Villas project, with construction set to begin in the coming months. The City of Dallas announced the vote on July 25 in a press release.
The federal, taxpayer-funded subsidy totals $1.9 million and comes from the HOME Investment Partnerships Program and the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The total cost for the development is $7.4 million. Trinity West Villas will have 36 units of one, two, and three-bedroom apartments.
The West Dallas development is meant to keep up with an increased demand for lower-income housing in the city, according to the press release.
“With the job growth in Dallas increasing 3%+ each year and most of the growth coming from low- to moderate-income jobs like transportation, trade, utilities, mid-level professional/business services, and hospitality, there is a growing need to increase housing supply to match with demand,” the City of Dallas press release stated.
“Currently, the ratio of new multi-family units to new jobs is 1 to 9. Not only is there a great need for housing that caters to the working-class families of our city, but housing units near Dallas’ urban core are critically important.”
Builders of Hope CDC has only built single-family units before. The shift to multi-family developments is due to a demand for more diverse housing options, according to the press release.
James Armstrong, the president and chief executive officer of BOHCDC, stated that developments like Trinity West Villas could be a solution to high housing demand.
“Trinity West Villas is an example of how low-density development can be a viable solution to our city’s housing crisis,” Armstrong said.
He added that the development is “a win for West Dallas and the city of Dallas as a whole and would not be a reality without [its] amazing partners.”
The Real Estate Council (TREC) is also part of the development partnership as part of its Dallas Collaborative for Equitable Development. TREC is a lending partner and offered technical assistance during the pre-development stage.
The senior director of community investment for TREC’s Community Investors fund, Felicia Pierson, shared that the agency is “proud” to support Builders of Hope’s new West Dallas development. It will “provide much-needed mixed-income housing to our neighbors in West Dallas,” she said.
Construction for the Trinity West Villas development is expected to start in the fall of 2022.
A partner at Todd Interests, Philip Todd, told the Dallas Observer that there is a need in Dallas for housing that fits all income levels. He added that the cost of living in Dallas is relatively low compared to other cities in the country.
“I do think Dallas as a whole is still a lot more affordable than a lot of other cities of our size, which is great,” Todd said. “When you’re moving here from New York or California, or even people now moving from Miami because it’s gotten so expensive, they view some of the residences here as a great value to them.” He thinks that is a positive thing Dallas has going for it.
Todd Interests also purchased two properties in downtown Dallas, one on Elm Street and one on Bryan Street, to convert into luxury apartments, the Dallas Observer reported on July 12.
The Elm Street property will also be used for hotel, retail, and office spaces and is almost entirely leased, according to Todd.
As reported by The Dallas Express, builders and contractors have voiced frustrations with Dallas’ backlogged and onerous building permitting process for more than two years.
The City of Dallas averaged 61 days to approve new single-family dwelling (SFD) permits in June, a three-day increase from April, and a roughly 20% increase from the previous year. Approximately 147 new SFD permits were issued in June, a 30% shortfall of the Development Services department’s target of 210.