Neighbors Fear Loss of Affordable Housing with Bishop Arts Redevelopment

Neighbors voiced concern Monday about the loss of affordable housing with a large redevelopment pending in the Bishop Arts area.

Fences surround the site along West 8^th Street where a group of older residential properties has been assembled for a large and new apartment development.

Neighborhood Councilman Chad West said the City of Dallas has some tools to promote the preservation of historic buildings.

“In this case, the tools weren’t strong enough to economically make it make sense for the owners to preserve it. We’re also losing affordability here,” West said.

The $1,200 starting price posted as rent at one of the new buildings recently completed in the Bishop Arts area is twice as much as the $500 to $600 a month West said rent was in some of the older buildings.

The Oasis Plant Shop on West 8^th Street received a big delivery Monday catering to all the new residents in the area.

The shop is based in a house built in 1906 that was preserved. 

“We love Oak Cliff. We love the Bishop arts area. We love the history of the area,” shop co-owner Hannah Street said.

She and co-owner Bethany Meith said they appreciate more customers coming from the larger new buildings.

“They’re definitely putting up more apartments which I love down here as a small business owner, more people, I think that's amazing,” Meith said. “It’s definitely mixed feelings though because seeing all those old beautiful brick homes just being torn down is sad.”

Lennar Multifamily Corporation is the developer involved with the fenced properties.

A spokesman for the company said there has been no demolition but that some old materials were sold from the site.

West said a stop-work order was issued by the city Monday for what looked like demolition on an older home that might be considered historic. He said a 45 day waiting period would be imposed for any demolition permit.

“We will have an opportunity to continue meeting with the property owner,” West said. “They are open to talking with city officials about some affordability tools, to try to build some affordability tools into the project.”

West said the developer can not be forced to add lower rent units to the project but that will be the request.

West spoke from Washington DC Monday.  He was attending a National League of Cities conference. The nationwide shortage of affordable housing was a topic.

“Texas is the only state in the entire country, we are one out of 50, that does not have any provision for rent control,” West said.

The small business owners on 8^th Street said they may have trouble affording units in the new residential building and rising rent may affect the plant shop, too.

“Even as business owners, we see it happening.  We worry we won't be able to afford to stay down here as well,” Meith said.

A 2010 rezoning of the Dallas Bishop Art area allowed the four and five-story apartment buildings to go up around the neighborhood now.

West said the x]zoning made the older properties so valuable that it pays to consolidate them and build big new structures on those sites.