A long journey for the Lochwood neighborhood, developer Ojala Holdings and City Council member Paula Blackmon ended Wednesday when the City Council unanimously approved the mixed-use project at the site of Shoreline church.
In February, Ojala proposed the current single-family zoning be changed to a planned development. Over time, the project became defined as 300 apartment units wrapping a four-story parking garage, 18 townhomes, 3,000 square feet of creative office space and a public art park.
This final meeting to determine the fate of the project seemed less contentious than the City Plan Commission meeting. Five people spoke in opposition to the project, questioning traffic, drainage, parking plans and the four-story height and its resulting visual intrusion into Lochwood homes on Yorkmont Circle. Not counting Ojala’s team members, nine people spoke in favor of the project.
More recently, the financing of the project through the relatively new Dallas Public Facility Corporation has been a sore spot for the community in opposition. The DPFC was formed in 2020 and according to its website, “seeks to develop and preserve mixed-income workforce housing communities to serve residents earning at or below 80% of the area median income (AMI) as well as provide non-income restricted units.” In an era of rising property taxes, a tax abatement financing strategy sponsored by the city for an apartment developer has touched a nerve — big time.
But when Thomas Buck, communication director for Lochwood Neighborhood Association, questioned the financing in his comments, he was asked by the mayor, upon advice from staff, to keep his comments solely to “land use” and not the DPFC.
A new name to speak in favor of the project was Mark Melton, founder of the Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center.
“Just today the lawyers in our group argued 28 eviction cases. Tomorrow we will do at least the same, and the next day and the next day,” Melton said. “We need to build every unit of affordable housing we possibly can, anywhere in the city as far as I’m concerned. Let’s get this approved and shovels in the ground.”
Blackmon made a motion to approve with two minor changes to the planned development regarding tree species and preservation plans. She thanked City Plan Commissioner Michael Jung for his role, calling it some of his best work. She then asked Andreea Udrea, a member of city’s planning staff, to discuss the developer’s plans for traffic, drainage and visual intrusion. Udrea said the developer must comply with city standards and “lot-to-lot drainage is not going to happen.” She also said Ojala has gone “above and beyond” in mitigating the visual intrusion issues, emphasizing that the four-story structure is 160 feet away from the Yorkmont Circle property lines.
“Thanks to the local folks making an effort to redevelop the corner of Peavy and Garland Road, we have seen new eateries, the abandoned car wash to be rebuilt, the thrift store becoming new housing and now this potential new development,” Blackmon said. “Garland Road is a six-lane highway and has auto repair garages, tire shops and storage units, but it has some great Dallas originals like Keller’s Burgers, Casa Linda Bakery and McShan Florist. It’s time to bring this highway stretch into our city portfolio and create those connections of walkability this will bring to us. It’s a great place to live, and I’m happy we are putting in units that will attract teachers, police officers, firefighters and nurses to live alongside us in East Dallas, and I hope everyone can understand my reasoning for supporting this.”
Five other council members spoke, each supporting the project and lauding Blackmon for navigating a controversial project to a place where there was widespread plan commission and council support.
“Can’t say this wasn’t expected today,” Buck said. “What’s disappointing is the city is making decisions based off of what the developer cannot do instead of what they can do. The developer claims it is not ‘economically viable’ for them to build a two- and three-story complex, while it will cost them about $60 million to build a four-story one. They are not required to verify this claim. We are told to accept it as fact, which is unrealistic and arguably irresponsible. We are at the mercy of a short-term developer ‘limitation’ in what is an extremely long-term, five-generation, 75-year, public facility corporation commitment. It is a short-sided approach and does not make any sense to us at all.”
Ojala Holdings declined a request to comment on the city council approval.
In the last few years, Garland Road has seen a rise in multifamily projects: The Dover replaced an office building, Casa View Court replaced a thrift store, The Trailhead replaced two restaurants, and now Standard Shoreline will replace a church. What’s next?
