Grand Prairie board extends repair order for vacant house at 1605 Acosta to December

The Grand Prairie Building Advisory and Appeals Board voted 7–1 on Sept. 10 to extend a city compliance order for a vacant, damaged house at 1605 Acosta, giving the owner until the board’s Dec. 1 meeting to complete required repairs.

City staff opened the hearing by saying that notice of the hearing had been provided and that the structure showed “holes in the roof that have led to damage to the interior of the house, including a collapsed ceiling and warping of the roof deck,” and that the property was vacant and showed evidence of vandalism and unauthorized entry.

The board’s order, first issued earlier this year, requires the owner to repair, remove or demolish the structure, secure the property, and present a contractor’s detailed plan and timeline. The order also allows the city to secure the structure at the owner’s expense, to repair or demolish the structure if the owner fails to comply, or to assess a civil penalty of $1,000 per day (reduced for homesteads under Texas law). City staff said unpaid costs would be billed to the owner and could result in a lien and interest at 10% per annum.

Owner Jill Malone spoke to the board and thanked members for their assistance. "I thank y'all again. I can't thank y'all enough for how y'all have helped me and supported me on this journey," she said, and said she had made recent progress toward financing and contractor engagement.

Contractor Tim Banks of B Moss Construction told the board he had a schedule and financing in place to begin work immediately. "We've come up with a plan on calendar to get Miss Malone fixed up. The roofing is a priority, obviously," he said, and added that he had obtained a roofing permit and registered his company with the city: "I've got the permit today for the roof. I also got Beamhouse Construction registered with Grand Prairie as a authorized contractor." Banks described a multistage schedule that began with a roll-off dumpster and interior cleanup, followed by mold remediation, roofing, trimming trees that had grown into the structure, electrical and plumbing checks, interior repairs, flooring and finishing work.

Banks told the board the roofing work would start next week and estimated primary repairs could be completed within seven to eight weeks, with additional cosmetic work and financing-related delays extending completion. He said mold remediation would begin the day after the hearing and that the contractor planned to remove affected drywall and treat framing where necessary.

Board members and staff discussed what is required for the structure to meet minimum housing standards. One staff member noted that bringing the property into compliance would likely require functioning restrooms and running hot and cold water, and that some interior work beyond roof and mold remediation could be necessary to meet the board’s order.

Given the contractor’s timeline and the owner’s progress on financing, a board member moved to "approve staff's recommendations, and extend this order, for 90 days and readdress it on our December 1 meeting." A second was recorded. The motion passed 7–1. The board reiterated that the order requires monthly progress reports and asked staff to accept 30-day written updates from the contractor or owner between meetings.

The board’s action preserves the city’s prior findings that the structure is substandard and dangerous under the Grand Prairie Code of Ordinances and leaves in place the remedies and penalties described in the earlier order. No additional penalties were assessed at the Sept. 10 hearing so long as the owner and contractor meet the agreed schedule and provide the required updates.

The board did not accept public comment on the item beyond the owner and contractor presentations. The board’s next scheduled meeting on this item is Dec. 1, when staff will present compliance updates and may reconsider the order if required work is incomplete.