East Dallas City Council members Mark Clayton (speaking), Adam McGough, Philip Kingston and Tiffinni Young at the 2016 Greater East Dallas Chamber of Commerce Economic Summit. (Photo by Emily Charrier/Advocate Media)
There’s no question Dallas is growing and East Dallas is no stranger to that same influx of people and businesses. At Tuesday’s 2016 Economic Summit, several city reps discussed how the city is preparing to acclimate to the changes and development happening.
One segment of the summit included the presentation of the White Rock Partners Award to Gary Griffith, president of the Today Foundation.
The event, put on by the Greater East Dallas Chamber of Commerce, not only gave attendees a chance to hear from Dallas city council members but business leaders, including Roland Dickey of Dallas-based Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, which launched its first location at Knox and Central (see the video below).
City Councilman Philip Kingston was also at hand to discuss what he said were “reasons to feel really optimistic about the future of Dallas.”
One area Kingston is focused on is education, specifically academic programs to improve students learning and overall school success. He used the Teacher Excellence Initiative and Texas Afterschool Centers on Education program as examples as to how school’s will have more academic success.
The councilman also wants to keep an eye on the Dallas Police and Fire Pension Fund, which he says is “severely underfunded.”
Housing and transportation were also included among Kingston’s list with a mention of plans to incorporate mixed income housing—a federally-mandated decision. According to Kingston, the housing policy is meant to reverse decades of segregation that he pointed out has stunted neighborhood growth in the southern and western parts of the city.
“That housing plan is going to be revolutionary,” Kingston says adding that of cities with more than 1 million residents, “Dallas has the lowest median income…that’s a real strategic weakness in the city of Dallas and it needs to be corrected.”
As for transportation, a major issue is whether or not to tear down I-345 to reintegrate Deep Ellum into downtown, which could create an $8 billion real estate gain, according to Kingston.
Councilman Mark Clayton is also looking at the issue of transportation, such as the area around the Gaston and Garland. But for Clayton, it’s not just the influx of people that are driving this area, it’s the introduction of more restaurants as the redevelopment has taken place along Garland.
For Clayton, the challenge is making sure Dallas doesn’t become a part of what he considers “everywhere USA” noting what makes the city unique is “not necessarily a consistent amount of chain restaurants and fast food joints” but a mix of local and national eateries.
The East Dallas rep is also taking the expansion of Lakewood area schools into consideration—Lakehill Preparatory School and Lakewood Elementary School being two examples.
But there’s also the issue of poverty and teen pregnancy, Clayton says. According to Clayton, there are areas within Dallas where the rate of teen pregnancy is higher than in sub-Saharan Africa.
“There is an economic reason to make sure that we are taking care of all of our citizens,” Clayton says. “And I think we are trying…to recognize that that’s an all-collective effort.”
