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Dallas City Council
09/13/23
Welcome to Ultraground. You stay updated on Dallas development here.
District: 1
232-Unit PFC Project | Approved
District: 2
377-Unit PFC Project | Approved
District: 3
210-Unit PFC Project | Approved
Updates | PFC Pipeline : Dallas Public Facility Corporation meeting summaries, project tracking, analysis, developer info, and more.
Council Briefing 09/06/23
General Code
Parking Requirements | Briefing
You saved: 5h 56m (09/13), 7h 35m (09/06)
DISTRICT: 1
Bishop 8th
Bishop Arts District | 2.7 Acres | 232 Units | Approved
The proposed Bishop 8th development became a flashpoint for debate around income levels served, with Council Member Cara Mendelsohn citing the influential Child Poverty Action Lab report to question whether the project reaches Dallas's greatest needs. Mendelsohn focused on the estimated forgone taxes. Her position was that 15-year period is insufficient for a 75-year deal.
She went on to argue that Bishop 8th's 24 units at 60% AMI and 94 units at 80% AMI fail to address the real gaps documented in the CPAL report.
‟What we see in the Child Poverty Action Lab is that we actually have a surplus at the 60% level of units and a surplus at the 80% level. What we're missing is at 30% and under and 50% and under.
Mendelsohn pushed for the deal to be reworked to include more 30% and 50% AMI units.
However, other Council Members like Gay Donnell Willis defended the income levels. Council Member Jaynie Schultz cited the Child Poverty Action Lab report:
‟We will only be meeting 48% of the need for the 60% AMI when we get to 2030. So there is a projected huge need for more in this category in the next several years.
She cited page 99.
Overall, the project passed 14-1 after the mixed feedback, indicating general council support despite concerns raised by some Council Members.
DISTRICT: 2
The Cedars Power & Light Residential and The Marcus
Cedars | 377 Units | Approved
The Cedars, a proposed 377-unit mixed-income multifamily development in the Cedars neighborhood of Dallas, received overall positive feedback from the City Council, though some concerns were raised.
The developer, Savoy Equity Partners LLC, highlighted that the project will bring much-needed mixed-income housing to the neighborhood, including 183 market-rate units and 155 affordable units at 60% and 80% AMI. They plan to preserve and restore a historic power and light building into an amenity center.
Council Member Narvaez praised the project, stating how excited he is about it. He also highlighted that this is city needs
‟I applaud that we're doing these things because the developers are not building it. And if they do give you some, because of the zoning case to get, in order for their zoning case to pass, you get maybe five units.
Again here, Councilman Mendelsohn expressed concerns about the 75-year tax abatement and the number of affordable units below 60% AMI. She pointed out that of 377 units, only 39 of them would be at 60%.
The City Manager defended the project and the Public Facility Corporation's role in providing affordable housing. He reiterated that although the revenues from PFC projects do not build roads, go to pensions, or help the police force, they are used to “double down on affordable housing.” Overall, despite some criticism, the project received Council approval.
Developer: Savoy Equity Partners, Seth Bame LinkedIn, Barrett Linburg LinkedIn Twitter
DISTRICT: 3
Coombs Creek Alta Vista
Oak Cliff | 210 Units | Approved
Council Member Mendelsohn beat the limited affordable housing drum again with Marcer Group’s Coombs Creek.
She estimated significant foregone tax revenue and saying it’s “a very bad financial deal” for the city.
However, Council Member Schultz appreciated that it would bring economic growth, saying the area has a huge need for workforce housing. Council Member Gracey welcomed it too.
‟I think this is the way that we can all learn to coexist and begin living together.
Developer Mariela Estrada of Marcer Group explained the need for the Public Facility Corporation financing. Estrada explained that producing a complex of this type with amenities would be too expensive and unfeasible for the rent that we would be charging in that area.
She quoted rents at $1564 for a studio, $1558 for a 1-bedroom, $2025 for a 2-bedroom, and $2800 for a 3-bedroom. She confirmed these are around 20% less than comparable uptown units.
We answer:
Who else is developing PFC projects? What kind of pushback are they getting from the DPFC board? From the neighborhood? Where are they in the process?
Link to bookmark: http://www.dal.ultraground.com/p/pfc-pipeline
What you get there:
Downtown Convention Center
The proposed $1.5 billion expansion and renovation of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in downtown Dallas was met with enthusiastic support from the Dallas City Council and community members at a recent council meeting.
Developed by local firm Inspire Dallas, the project aims to double the size of the convention center to over 2 million square feet, as well as build a park and redevelop 30 acres of surrounding land.
Council Members praised the economic impact the new center will generate. Council Member Adam Bazaldua called the project “monumental” and “exciting.”
The community voiced strong backing as well. Fred Euler of the Dallas Tourism Public Improvement District encouraged timely construction so no business is lost. Craig Davis of Visit Dallas cited huge demand, with 34 booked conventions representing 590,000 room nights and $823 million in economic impact already. An additional 72 tentative booked conventions represent 1.6 million room nights and $2.3 billion in impact.
Parking and Loading Code Amendment
Citywide
The Dallas City Council recently debated a proposed amendment to the off-street parking and loading code, receiving a range of responses. District 12's Cara Mendelsohn, noted that her district is fully built out with large apartment complexes that were built under the current code requiring 1 parking space per bedroom. However, the complexes end up being under parked because there are often multiple adults living in 1 bedroom units, with 2+ cars per unit but only 1 designated parking spot.
District 12
Councilman Ridley also cautioned against implementing major policy changes too quickly.
"I am not in favor of a program that results in immediate implementation overnight. This is such a far reaching policy change that it should be implemented gradually over time, perhaps on a pilot basis in some areas that are most in controversy as to what the policy should be so that we can learn from that experience and not result in parking chaos all over the city because we got it wrong.
District 14
Other Council Members, like West and Narvaez, advocated for reforming the outdated and inflexible parking code, pointing out its impact on affordable housing development and the high cost of parking, which ultimately increases rents for tenants.
Despite acknowledging the need for reform, the Council emphasized the importance of context-sensitive solutions rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. The staff aims to present a formal proposal to the City Plan Commission in late Fall 2023 and to the City Council for a vote in Winter 2023 or Spring 2024, with reforms likely to apply incrementally to new developments and redevelopments, not existing buildings.
Timeline
➊ CC 09/06/23 — Feedback
➁ ZOAC Fall ‘23 — Briefing of amendments
➂ CPC Late Fall ‘23 — Amendments public hearing
④ CCWinter ‘23/Spring ‘24 — Briefing of amendments
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