Oak Cliff

North Oak Cliff: “We’ll Take a Few Homeless People if Preston Hollow Does.”

Part II

Here is the link to the Google Map I put together: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

I hope it works because this is the first time I’ve tried to make a Google Map.

Well, it sort of works. If you open the hyperlink, then click on My Maps, and then click on Dallas PSH, then you will get a map of the dozen existing or proposed projects that I am aware of. Out of the twelve projects, four are operating (blue placemarkers), five projects are still under some stage of development (red placemarkers) and three have been abandoned (yellow markers). I have been extremely generous in counting projects as still under development—if they haven’t been completely and irrevocably abandoned, then I’ve counted them.

I haven’t tried to locate projects smaller than 40 units on the map, even when I happen to know about them.

The locations are really pretty well spread around Dallas. One in Vickery Meadows, one in Lake Highlands, two in Oak Cliff, one in Expo Park, two downtown, one in East Dallas, one in the Cedars, one in the design district, and two in South Dallas. With the exception of three outliers, which we will discuss in a moment, every project is in or near to downtown.

That makes sense because permanent supportive housing usually works best in dense inner city areas. Most people coming out of homelessness have limited means and no automobile. People need to be in walkable areas if possible and conveniently located for mass transit. That usually means in or near downtown.

The three exceptions are all developments where a property was available at little or no cost. Two are properties already owned by the Dallas Housing Authority and the third is the Jules Muchert Army Reserve Base, which was supposed to be used for a homeless project under federal law (a long story, but it wasn’t).

But, sorry North Oak Cliff, nobody has proposed a project for Preston Hollow. The minute somebody donates five acres of land there to me, I’ll start work on it though.

John Greenan