The city’s Department of Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization is moving forward with the sale of a property on Bexar Street by recommending the nonprofit BridgeBuilders to take over the development.
The recommendation, made in a Housing and Homeless Solutions committee meeting earlier this week, will be forwarded to the full council for a vote on Sept. 22.
This property was a part of a project the city invested in to bring economic development into the Ideal neighborhood in South Dallas. However, the development did not happen. Storefronts on Bexar Street remained empty and growth in the surrounding area didn’t occur.
BridgeBuilders has been a tenant in the property since September of last year. It is a faith-based organization that has worked with the Bonton neighborhood down the street for about 25 years. BridgeBuilders provides the community with after-school programming, mentorship and GED classes.
Jonathan Fechner, executive director of BridgeBuilders, said that some ideas they have for the space includes a driving academy, a financial center, or a barber shop for a long-time resident. However, he says that all their ideas are dependent on community approval.
“If we do end up obtaining the facility, we are wanting to grow our relationships with current tenants, as well as place local residents in the vacant housing units and businesses and services in the vacant commercial spaces,” Fechner said.
The Department of Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization sent out a Request for Applications in early June resulting in three organizations applying for the property. Director David Noguera said that BridgeBuilders exhibited the qualities needed to maintain the property long-term.
“As a current tenant of the property, BridgeBuilders is familiar with the other tenants and surrounding community, which will help with the transition of ownership should the Dallas City Council approve staff’s recommendation,” Noguera said.
As a part of the contact, the property must maintain affordable housing for 23 years and must be for public use indefinitely. The purpose of the building was to have businesses on the first floor and affordable housing on the second floor.
Some council members were concerned about the deal. Cara Mendelsohn, who represents District 12, said that she has concerns because BridgeBuilders does not have experience with managing commercial real estate. She also wanted to know why the city would give away a property that it heavily invested in. Mendelsohn said that she is not sure how she will vote at the full council meeting.
Jonathan Fechner said although her concerns were valid, BridgeBuilders has experience with managing facilities including their executive office space. recreation center, residential homes in Bonton, and a Dallas Housing Authority facility in West Dallas that provided micro-businesses a place to intubate.
“While none of these are direct correlations to managing a commercial real estate property, we believe we are up to the task,” Fechner said.
Council member Carolyn King Arnold said that she shares Mendelsohn’s concern and wanted to understand more about the intention of BridgeBuilders because of what she sees happening in District 4.
“We see so many developers and folks who come in our communities, they come in one way, and two hours later they flipped it,” Arnold said in the Monday meeting. “The community was looking for A and then we have X, Y and Z.”
Fechner said that BridgeBuilders is prioritizing community. It has support from numerous South Dallas community leaders.
“We have served the Bonton community for 25 years, and we believe we are a great candidate to represent the desires of the community for the facility as well as create economic development within the facility,” Fechner said.
source: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2021/08/28/plans-for-bridgebuilders-to-acquire-a-bexar-street-property-in-south-dallas-move-forward/
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