Around $1.25 billion is set to be included in the bond package. Here’s how all the allocations look: $521.2 million for streets and transportation, $345.3 million for parks and recreation, $52.1 million for flood protection and storm drainage, $45.5 million for libraries, $75.2 million for cultural arts facilities, $90 million for public safety, $72.3 million for economic development, $26.4 million for housing infrastructure, $19 million for homelessness and $5 million for information technology.
Bryan Tony, a principal organizer of the Dallas Housing Coalition, said the group is considering the total housing bond allocation to be around $65 million. He arrives at that number by combining what was allocated for housing ($26.4 million) and just under half of the economic development funds ($36.6 million), along with some discretionary funds ($2 million) that he said will also be used for housing. That total is a tad more than the $61 million it seemed as though housing would get in recent weeks. Instead of marking all of that money for housing, city staff said some of that total had to be moved over to economic development if it was to be used for housing.
“We will continue to monitor the use of these funds moving forward,” Tony said. He added that the coalition is excited to begin a larger effort to get people out to the polls to vote for the bond propositions for economic development, housing and homelessness.
“We’ve got our work cut out for us because in all likelihood it is still an underinvestment,” he said. “It’s not where our goals were. Our goals were based on data and based on the amount of need we have for housing. So, because we’re not meeting that need through this bond election, we’ve missed that opportunity, we’re going to have to advocate even harder for other policy reforms that affect housing affordability.”
Some, including Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson and Council Member Cara Mendelsohn, have argued housing didn't need such a big allocation because the city has other avenues to create affordable housing. But Tony said they’ll likely have to come back to advocate for housing in the next bond program or explore the idea of a standalone housing bond before then.“We’ve got our work cut out for us because in all likelihood it is still an under investment." – Bryan Tony, Dallas Housing Coalition
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While the coalition didn’t get the allocation it wanted, Tony said every dollar matters. “This money is still crucially important,” he said. The $26.4 million will likely be used for housing infrastructure in areas where there’s undeveloped or vacant land. “They don’t have adequate streets or sewage and sidewalks,” Tony said. “Those are all expectations that any homebuyer would want and that developers are required to put in before they build any housing.”
He said to build the single-family developments that some City Council members want will likely require subsidies to make them affordable. “It’ll be able to make projects financially viable that otherwise wouldn’t be without that bond investments,” Tony said.
Some of the money specifically allocated for housing will go toward developing homeownership opportunities. The economic development dollars for housing will likely go toward more mixed use and multifamily developments. “The accountability is there, the clarity is there for these spending plans,” Tony said. “It’s a matter of priorities as a city.”
The coalition understands that this is the first time Dallas has made a significant investment in housing as part of a bond. Tony noted that the first time Austin did a housing bond in 2006, it allocated some $55 million. “So, we’re right there,” he said. “But our housing affordability isn’t going to last this way forever by any means. We’re already seeing the home prices rise exponentially. If Dallas truly wants to be a diverse city that has housing accessible for people at a variety of price points and we want to keep our talent and our workforce here, our middle class households, we’ve got to reprioritize housing and find more solutions or else those folks will move away.”
Raul Reyes Jr., president of the advocacy group West Dallas 1, said he can look at the final housing allocation one of two ways: with frustration or constructively. “The city has acted on the expectation, not that they fully delivered the $200 million but they did listen to the community, to the constituent, to the advocacy that was being done on the matter,” he said. “It’s a start.”
West Dallas 1 is also a member of the Dallas Housing Coalition. Reyes Jr. said he has three kids who have all gone to college but are having trouble finding affordable housing, and there are others out there just like them. This is partly why West Dallas 1 and the Dallas Housing Coalition need to continue making the case for affordable housing in the city, he says.
“There is a need and that need trickles out into other aspects of a community,” he said. “West Dallas is a community that’s being gentrified and we’re going through our own displacement issues as it relates to high property values, which translates into high taxation.” The median income in West Dallas is $42,000, which can be stretched only so far. “There needs to be an investment into the people, not just the dirt that is there,” Reyes Jr. said. “I’m encouraged. I’m not going to give up on this because I’m planning to continue to live here and die here in Dallas.”
Tony said there’s still hope for affordable housing in the city.
“We’ve grown to over 200 members,” Tony said of the Dallas Housing Coalition. “As long as we exist and we have our members supporting us, we’re going to continue to do work to meet people where they are, engage people in the middle of the conversation who are being left out, not just the folks that are very passionate on either side of the issue. … I’m very hopeful.”
