Residential developments are flooding most corners of East Dallas, with Lakewood leading the charge. But over in sleepy Casa View, it’s a different story. The 1950s architecture has barely been touched, with only a handful of new homes added since the turn of the century. Mike Nurre, founder of the Greater Casa View Alliance and the “unofficial mayor of Casa View,” can only count just two residential additions since 2000, and one of them has yet to break ground years after it began.
“We have been pretty well ignored,” Nurre says, something he is working hard to change.
But now, a new housing development is planned at 9999 Ferguson Road, a property that currently contains a parking lot owned by St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church that has been used over the years by Bryan Adams High School. Austin-based Harvey McLean and Associates has put in a somewhat unusual request for multi-family zoning to build 18-20 single-family lots. The site is currently zoned single-family. A call to Harvey McLean wasn’t returned, but the zoning application seeks to “develop the site with single-family homes with a minimum lot size greater than 2,000-square-feet,” which seems to imply town homes.
“That would make sense,” Nurre says, adding that some in the neighborhood feared the multi-family designation meant apartments. “The neighbors would not support that. They’re ok with houses, but not apartments.”
He sees the development as a positive, but is hopeful the project stays on track. He points to the Hoffmann Home development a block over at Peavy and Millmar, which promised to bring super-green and modern small houses to the neighborhood.
“The Hoffmann project, I swear it has been there for two years. We were all excited for it and then nothing happened,” Nurre says wistfully. “It’s never really broken ground.”
He’s confident there’s a market for a more modern offering in the long-forgotten corner of the city. “It’s a perfect area for millenials,” he says. “It’s a great place to start out.”
