Go Green With This Cool Insulated Concrete Form Home in West Oak Cliff’s Arcadia Park

A new sustainable “green build” four-bedroom home is on the market in West Oak Cliff and has a lot to offer at an affordable price. 

Developer Aziz Shivji with SAKIN Inc. has been studying Insulated Concrete Form structures in Malaysia and brought the concept to Dallas, following in the footsteps of local sustainable-building pioneers like Alan Hoffmann. 

Realtor Jed Billings with Texas Pride Realty lives in Arcadia Park and said he was honored to take the listing at 5405 North Arcadia Drive. 

“I live about a mile and a half down the street,” Billings told CandysDirt.com. “An agent in my office who had it listed originally lives in Prosper. I did an open house there and she asked me if I just wanted to take it over. I’m so close and it’s a unique house.” 

In addition to the home at 5405 North Arcadia, Shivji has plans to build 18 sustainable homes in Balch Springs, 30 in Fort Worth, and 200 in Terrell. 

The Home at 5405 North Arcadia Drive

The four-bedroom, three-bathroom home at 5404 North Arcadia Drive spans 2,068 square feet and sits on an 8,320-square-foot lot. It’s listed at $439,000, a drop from the original listing late last year. 

The ICF home is set up like giant LEGO blocks, Billings said. The stucco home, designed to withstand unruly Texas weather, has insulated concrete walls, steel beams, and a virtually flat concrete roof. The walls are 200 mph-impact rated. 

A split HVAC system allows for temperature control in each room. 

“It can pretty easily maintain that [temperature] with very low energy consumption,” Billings said. 

It saves money on utilities, maintenance, and insurance.

The home has a “white, modern, boxy” look unique to the neighborhood and features wood-look ceramic tile, plush carpet in the bedrooms, and energy-efficient windows. 

A spacious primary bedroom has a designer ensuite with split vanities, custom tile work in the shower, and a walk-in closet. 

Shivji is committed to building homes that have a lower carbon footprint. 

“If it were a stick-built house, it would have used 130 trees, and this used none,” Billings said. “The only wood in the house is the cabinetry, baseboards, and trim.” 

Arcadia Park in West Oak Cliff 

The Acadia Park development includes homes that were built in the 1940s, but it’s a changing neighborhood, Billings said. 

“There are several new construction houses around it but the neighborhood is mostly from the ‘40s,” he said. “The neighborhood is very established, and a lot of the families have lived there a long time.” 

A challenge in selling the house, Billings acknowledged, is the Arcadia Park neighborhood had a “bad rap”  many years ago, but things have changed. There’s also the affordability factor when house hunting in Oak Cliff. 

“The location might be the biggest challenge,” he said. “When I bought my house – we live in Oak Cliff –but to be in the heart of Oak Cliff is another $200,000 or $250,000, so we had to look farther out. There are some houses here now that are popping up in Winnetka Heights or Bishop Arts that are a little more in this price range.” 

Although the location is a challenge, it’s also a selling point, Billings said. 

“I kind of highlight that everything is close,” the agent said. “It’s at the corner of Loop 12 and [Interstate 30], so you can be in downtown Dallas in 10 minutes and Cowboys Stadium in 17 minutes. DFW and Love Field [airports] are both about 20 minutes away, so access is a feature.” 

The unique home construction also is a challenge, Billings added.

“The HVAC system split is different from what people are used to,” he said. “We’ve been told they love it when they go on vacation, but they don’t want it in their house.” 

There are not a lot of vacant homes in the area, but two other new builds are currently on the market in the neighborhood. 

It’s not in a conservation district or historic district and has no homeowners association. 

Contact agent Jed Billings at Texas Pride Realty for a private showing.