The Dallas City Council approved the Dallas Housing Opportunity Fund (DHOF).
DHOF is a new program that holds millions in tax dollars from a 2017 bond for an “economic development grant” to aid with the rising costs of housing and will “finance development” that builds and sustains “diverse housing opportunities for low-and-moderate income households,” according to a press release.
“The programs within this NOFA are funded by the 2017 bond, with $8 million in bond funds available in District 4 and up to $8 million in bond funds for District 7,” said the press release.
In 2020, multifamily housing investments stood at $10.8 billion in Dallas.
According to CBS DFW, over the last ten years, Dallas’ population has risen approximately by twenty percent, and in comparison, rent costs have increased by an estimated twenty-seven percent. More than half of residents in Dallas who are considered to be low-income are “cost-burden by housing.”
DHOF resembles other local funding for housing around the country that all have the same goal in mind. LISC Fund Management, LLC (LFM) is a non-profit and “one of the country’s largest community development organizations.”
LFM says, “We work with residents and partners to close systemic gaps in health, wealth, and opportunity and advance racial equity so that people and local economies can thrive.”
LFM is partnering with The Real Estate Council (TREC) Community Investors to “lead the fund.” TREC has more than thirty years of experience working with more than 250 non-profit organizations in the Dallas area.
Both LFM and TREC will engage and work with investors and the other regions to connect with developers on finding opportunities, raising capital, and focusing on solving financing gaps.
President of LFM George Ashton stated, “The City’s leadership in making affordable housing for its residents a priority will bring increased economic opportunity to the city as a whole,” considering people are spending more money on rising rent than on other services and goods.
According to KRLD News Radio, Councilman Adam Bazaldua stated, “This is going to help keep a lot of people in their homes in historic neighborhoods. This is going to help preserve history and culture of our city.”