The City of Dallas has long owned several buildings purchased with taxpayer funds to facilitate homeless services and housing, but many of those properties have sat vacant for years.
Last week, the City hosted a ribbon cutting for one of these locations — the former Townhouse Suites at 4150 Independence Dr.
The new “Resident Services Building” was renovated during phase one of the permanent supportive housing project, according to a press release sent to The Dallas Express by the City. The residential units and surrounding grounds will undergo renovations during phase two, which is anticipated to move forward later this summer.
Asked how much this latest project is costing Dallas taxpayers, the City directed The Dallas Express to file an open records request. The Office of Homeless Solutions currently operates on an annual budget of more than $15 million.
The City’s spending on this latest project comes as Dallas parents in particular express concern over homelessness, vagrancy, and panhandling throughout the city, according to recent polling conducted by The Dallas Express.
Dallas-based furniture store At Home is partly sponsoring the Resident Services Building and donating furniture for the rooms.
“Partnering with the City of Dallas, where our Home Office is located, to positively impact our local community is in lockstep with our mission,” said At Home Chairman and CEO Lee Bird.
Bird was present at the ribbon-cutting along with County Commissioner John Wiley Price and council members Cara Mendelsohn, Casey Thomas, and Tennell Atkins.
The project is located in District 8, which Atkins represents.
“I am proud to have championed the opening of a permanent supportive housing center in my district,” Atkins said in a statement. “The Resident Services Building will be the gathering point where residents will receive case management, training, and other services.”
The Resident Services Building is one of four former hotels purchased by the City to be used for homeless services, in addition to a former Oak Cliff hospital, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
The hospital and one of the hotels remain vacant, and the facilities that are in use are spread throughout the city.
Last month, the City Council rezoned what neighbors called a “hotel from hell” in Lake Highlands to be used for another homeless services facility.
However, the strategy favored by Dallas voters is a “one-stop-shop” model that provides all housing for the homeless and supportive services in a single location to keep the problem contained, according to polling conducted by The Dallas Express.
This approach has been launched in San Antonio with the nonprofit Haven for Hope and has proven effective.
The City of Dallas has not yet given any indication that it intends to pursue this favored model.