Goal of neighborhood-led West Dallas plan is ‘teeth,’ accountability

By |Published On: May 12, 2021|Categories: West Dallas|
The difference between land use preferences in this 2005 Trinity River Corridor plan and a West Dallas plan being launched this month is “the community’s voice will be at the forefront and the goal of this plan is adoption,” says James Armstrong III, whose affordable housing nonprofit Builders of Hope will lead the effort.

Raul and Juanita Reyes immigrated to Dallas in 1969. They became West Dallas homeowners a decade later, in 1979, and raised six children in the neighborhood. The Reyes family now owns several West Dallas properties, including houses that they, their children and grandchildren call home.

In other words, says their son, Raul Reyes Jr., the Reyes family has been investing in West Dallas for decades, just like many other multi-generational neighborhood families.

In 2018 Reyes Jr. convened several neighborhood leaders together to discuss the idea of a West Dallas equity plan. “We were all operating in our silos, all talking West Dallas but not talking together,” he recalls. The idea was to create economic mobility through land. “At the end of the day that’s what we have — our land — and how do we use that land to create opportunity for everyone who lives here?” Reyes Jr. asks. “How do we preserve our West Dallas?”

Not coincidentally, 2018 also was the year that hundreds of West Dallas properties spiked in value, especially on the east side closest to Downtown and to the more recent Trinity Groves development. On the one hand, long-ago investments were yielding dividends. On the other, many decades-long homeowners faced a property tax increase so sudden and significant that they feared being priced out of their neighborhood.

Now, three years after that initial conversation birthed the idea, a neighborhood-led West Dallas community vision plan will be developed over the next several months through a steering committee of West Dallas residents.

James Armstrong III, who was present at that 2018 meeting, calls the plan a “saving grace.” The West Dallas native and president/CEO of Builders of Hope says it will be “a seamless transition from plan to [city] policy.”

“All of this will be used to shape the future of West Dallas for the next 10 to 20 years,” Armstrong says, noting that the key question is: “How can we slow down the fast-paced gentrification that is running a risk of literally changing the thread of our community and wiping away the history?”

He recalls places like the Dog House on Singleton, where his parents and grandparents brought frozen treats — “those West Dallas landmarks that make West Dallas, West Dallas. Those images are being wiped away with big box development.

“This is an opportunity for residents to put to paper what they want their community to look like.”

Builders of Hope is leading the partnership between several groups including West Dallas 1, a grassroots coalition of neighborhood associations, of which Reyes Jr. is president. Trinity Park Conservancy is the convener, bringing the partners together to get the work done, says Jeamy Molina, the conservancy’s director of communications and engagement. The $150 million Harold Simmons Park is expected to stimulate $3.5 billion in real estate development, but the economic value it promises also threatens to displace residents of West Dallas.

Neighbors in West Dallas and other communities along the river have “gone through over 100 plans of what should happen, what needs to happen, but nothing’s been done,” Molina says. “We want to make sure we have some teeth behind it and when this plan comes into fruition, someone’s going to be held accountable for it.”

The first step is identifying a 10- to 15-member steering committee of West Dallas residents who can engage their neighbors, put together a plan, and lead advocacy efforts to turn the plan into policy. Each member will be paid a $2,000 honorarium for their work over the course of six months, and anyone interested is encouraged to apply.