Dallas committee schedules RFI for Hampton site; members debate future of Independence and Fort Worth Avenue properties

The Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee met March 24 in Dallas and heard an update on the city's properties tracker covering 1950 Fort Worth Avenue, Independence Drive and the Hampton property; staff said they will issue a request for information for the Hampton site no later than April 30 and return a market-response summary in June.

The memo and presentation, given by Christine Crossley, Director of the Office of Homeless Solutions, Darwin Wade, assistant housing director, and Gloria Sandoval, grama administrator for the Office of Homeless Solutions, described new financial detail added to the tracker and highlighted large cost gaps for some sites. Crossley told the committee staff had added acquisition, appraisal and other cost information to the table and clarified financing for Fort Worth Avenue: "the city rehab incentive as approved by council was 4,700,000.0. That cost per unit based on that amount by council, is about 67,000," and the total development cost used in underwriting yields roughly $142,000 per unit based on a $10,000,000 total development cost.

Why it matters: committee members said the three city-owned sites could play different roles in meeting both long-term housing goals and more immediate homelessness needs. Councilmembers pressed staff for clearer timelines, more district-level data on active homeless sites, and explicit inclusion of the housing action plan and other departments' input in any market-solicitation documents.

Staff described the planned scope and schedule for the Hampton site (listed in the presentation as 2929 Southampton). "The RFI for 29 29 Southampton, as Christine said, we are planning to issue it by the April, no later than April 30," Gloria Sandoval said, and added the solicitation would remain open about a month with a plan to compile responses and bring back a summary in June. Sandoval said procurement would schedule a vendor Q&A roughly 10 days after the RFI is live and that the RFI is intended to gather information to shape a later NOFA or RFP.

Committee members pushed staff to ensure the RFI reflects multiple inputs and policy priorities. Councilmember Willis said the RFI should include both market feedback and "what our city needs," asking that the Office of Homeless Solutions make sure the document's scope reflects the city's homelessness needs as well as market possibilities. Chair Gracie said council and community input should be incorporated and asked that economic development, planning/urban design and housing staff be involved in drafting the RFI so it "is not leading one way or the other." Councilmember Gracie reiterated that the Hampton property was purchased with Proposition J funds in 2017 with an intent for permanent supportive housing and said the RFI is intended to test market interest in alternatives as well as that original intent.

Independence Drive drew the most sustained scrutiny. Darwin Wade summarized market feedback: "The marketplace has told us that, it's a, it's a project that will require a lot of investment to redevelop, to rehab, and it's gonna require a lot of investment, a lot of public dollars if the city is going to be part of that partnership." Councilmembers described previous solicitation attempts that produced large gaps between developer offers and the project's financing needs; one councilmember cited a previously shared $29,000,000 gap figure and said the per-unit redevelopment estimate reached roughly $277,000 per door in the materials. Committee members and staff also discussed uncertainty about the building's condition after being vacant, including roof and water penetration issues; staff said they have secured some interim safety measures but will need council direction before spending substantial rehabilitation money.

Councilmember Middleton reviewed acquisition and spending figures in the packet for Independence Drive and Fort Worth Avenue. During discussion she said the Independence acquisition and hold-related costs included a roughly $4,900,000 purchase price, an environmental assessment of about $80,000 and roughly $1,870,000 previously spent on renovations to certain portions of the property. Staff said parts of the site's Resident Services Building received recent capital work (new roof, HVAC, electrical and plumbing) and that some portions of the campus remain in materially poorer condition. Staff also said demolition was an option developers had proposed as an alternative to full rehab; Councilmember Middleton cited a stated demolition estimate of about $350,000 and a demo-plus-new-construction alternative that showed a multi-million-dollar financing gap.

Committee members sought clarity on interim use and maintenance: staff said the city is maintaining security and basic upkeep but does not have an interim housing plan for Independence while market processes proceed. Members asked for a district-level map of active homeless sites and for staff to include the housing action plan and neighborhood economic context when reporting back.

Next steps and decisions: staff will issue the Hampton RFI by April 30, hold it open about one month, and report an aggregate summary of responses to the committee in June; based on those responses staff said it would draft a proposed RFP or NOFA (potentially in August) and return for policy guidance before launching a competitive process. Committee members asked housing, planning/urban design and economic development to be engaged in RFI drafting; Chair Gracie asked staff to return with the RFI language or a view of what can be shared with council in advance. The committee also asked staff to return the market-study high-level memo in April and to add a tracker showing active homeless projects by council district.

Votes at a glance: the only formal recorded vote in the transcript portion for this meeting was an early procedural vote approving the meeting minutes; the motion was approved with "Aye" votes recorded and no individual mover/second named in the transcript.

Staff contact and timeline: the Office of Homeless Solutions will coordinate the procurement posting through Office of Procurement Services and return recommended next steps to the committee after reviewing RFI responses. The committee set a June return for an RFI summary and policy discussion.

Sources: presentation and Q&A at the March 24 Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee meeting; staff presentation by Christine Crossley, Darwin Wade and Gloria Sandoval; committee questions from Councilmembers Gracie, Willis, Middleton and others.