The City of Dallas and a housing developer have been sued by a Lake Highlands businessman who claims an “affordable housing” project will devalue his property.
William Roth, a partner at FC Investments, took action against an “affordable housing” deal involving the Dallas Public Facility Corporation (DPFC), as reported by The Dallas Morning News. Roth sued over the deal on December 4, claiming the project would harm property values near the development and purportedly violate a commercial-use-only deed restriction.
He said in an affidavit that he believes “the introduction of an apartment complex at the Forest Creek Office Park will greatly impact and lower the value and damage the use” of his property, which includes an office building.
The lawsuit names as defendants the City of Dallas, Cypress Creek Forest Developer, property owner Parula Partners LP and EY Ventures, and funders Sycamore Strategies LLC, Anthem Interests LLC, and Cypress Creek Forest Lane LP.
However, attorney Philip Kingston, who is representing the developer, said it would be difficult for Roth to prove that his property value will suffer as a consequence of the development.
“They are never going to find an expert to say that our project of $60 million luxury apartments next door to their place is going to decrease their property values in any normal market,” Kingston said.
The Dallas City Council approved the DPFC deal in the spring, allowing the City to purchase the property and then lease it to the developer with a complete tax exemption for 75 years. Council Member Cara Mendelsohn (District 12) has long opposed DPFC deals, arguing that they are poor investments for the City.
The lawsuit refers to this particular deal as a “scheme” to bypass deed restrictions on the Forest Central Office Park from 1976. Under the deed restriction, the land can only be used for office space, restaurants, hotels, and motels.
Kingston said the lawsuit surprised him because of the commonality of such agreements.
“This is an arm’s length transaction between the City as a willing buyer and these sellers as willing sellers,” he said. “It is a legal, open governmental process by which we’re entered into a public-private partnership with the City of Dallas to construct affordable housing.”
The City of Dallas has spent hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on “affordable housing” projects throughout the City, as previously covered by The Dallas Express.
