Dallas Housing Director: ‘We Will Never be Able to Fix Affordable Crisis Alone’
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The climate at Dallas City Hall has been cloudy with a lot of employee departures, and administrators sent a strong message that they like the current direction of the Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization Department. After conducting a national search, an internal candidate with almost 18 years at the City of Dallas was selected as the new housing director.
Cynthia Rogers-Ellickson has served as interim housing director since September when David Noguera resigned to take a job with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Rogers-Ellickson likes the team assembled under Noguera’s tenure and says they’re working toward an action plan that goes deeper than a policy or vision statement.
In her first media interview since being named the department’s permanent director, Rogers-Ellickson told CandysDirt.com about her desire to provide affordable housing for all Dallas residents and what it’s going to take to get there.
A Heart For Housing
Rogers-Ellickson was born and raised in West Dallas.
“It was very different back then,” she said. “It’s gentrified quite a bit. At the time it was still rural and very tight-knit. I love Dallas. That’s why I’m here.”
Her family, which includes four brothers, was “blue-collar working class,” and her father made sure they lived in a single-family home, whether they owned it or were renting.
The housing director said she was always interested in public service. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and did social work, joined Volunteers of America, and later went to work for Parkland Hospital as a case manager for Medicaid.
“That was my first experience in understanding how I could help people grow and prosper — and survive in some cases,” she said.
Her first foray into municipal government was in 1999, with the Community Development Department at the City of Irving.
“I didn’t know anything about housing, but I knew how to work with people, and I knew how to work with low-income people,” Rogers-Ellickson said.
She learned a lot in the small city and wrote housing policies that are still used in Iriving today.
When the grant that paid her salary expired in Irving, Rogers-Ellickson applied for a job at the West Dallas Multipurpose Center. She didn’t get it but was instead offered a manager position in the housing department. She later became an assistant director under Noguera and served as the interim for about nine months.
“I’ve pretty much done about everything you can think of in the housing space through a local government,” Rogers-Ellickson said. “It’s been a wonderful experience in education as well as best practices and learning what we can do better. I think I’m prepared for this space now. I’m ready to get it done.”
The Dallas housing director makes about $165,185, according to city records.
The Future of Dallas Neighborhood Revitalization
Rogers-Ellickson oversees a team of about 60 employees with a $15 million budget composed of federal grants. Voters recently approved a $26.4 million housing bond that will be dispersed in increments of $5.2 million per year. Some affordable housing projects also will be covered by a $72.3 million Economic Development bond proposition.
Assistant directors Darwin Wade, Thor Erickson, and interim AD John Smalls bring unique skill sets to the table, she said, as do Public Facility Corporation Administrator Albert Gonzalez and Housing Finance Corporation Administrator Aaron Eaquinto.
“We listen, we talk; we work very well together,” Rogers-Ellickson said. “We don’t always agree, but we work through those differences and we become stronger.”
The team recently consolidated its Housing Resource Catalog so there are three home repair programs rather than eight. Some programs were rewritten and the department was reorganized to operate more like a financial institution.
A slate of proposed development changes is set for adoption at a June 12 Dallas City Council meeting: If approved, equity target areas will receive 50 percent of Housing’s annual funding. Additionally, changes will be made to the Land Transfer Program and preferences for project selection.
The changes allow the department to “spread our money out and be more equitable about serving developers,” Rogers-Ellickson said.
“We have some developers in the city that are extremely experienced and know how to get through grant writing and applications, but we have others that are smaller entities that need a little more time to get their packages together,” she said. “By the time they apply, we’re out of money. We’re making some changes to help those developers who haven’t received assistance from the city be able to get their projects off the ground.”
From Reactive to Proactive: Housing Director’s Plan Brings Strategic Approach
Dallas has always been reactive with its housing policies and is now working with consultants from HR&A Advisors to create an action plan, Rogers-Ellickson said. She aims to take the plan before the Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee in August.
“We’re always reacting to what our developers and contractors want to do,” she said. “Now we’re moving toward a more proactive approach, not only for the purpose of being more strategic in how we interact and partner with development activities, contracting, home repair, and land banking but also being more strategic in how we spread our equity.”
They’ll also be creating Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Areas within each target area.
What Needs to Happen to Address Dallas’ Affordable Housing Crisis?
The new housing director didn’t hesitate when asked what it would take to solve the city’s affordable housing crisis.
“We need more from the private sector,” she said. “The city is never going to be able to fix the affordable housing crisis alone. We just don’t have the type and amount of resources that are needed. We have to rely on our private sector to step up, and it has already started.”
Large corporations and property owners have reached out about converting vacant space to affordable housing. Additionally, the Dallas school district has a lot of vacant properties that are well-suited for housing conversion. The city is also looking at its own real estate portfolio to determine whether housing opportunities can be pursued.
“We’ve had a couple of council members ask about getting affordable housing on top of their libraries or fire stations,” the new housing director said. “It’s an opportunity and it’s a discussion. We also need our banks and our lenders to step up. We need them back in the space, especially doing community development activities in low-income areas.”
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We tried to do this before at Vickery Meadow and it was a challenge getting a real developer. Love her ideas – but you have to work with the developers as partners not as adversaries. This was something the previous CM and his team chose not to do. Affordable Housing has to be done together, not as a rule from the ivory tower. It can not be take it or leave attitude. They can go to Plano, Richardson, Grand Prairie, Arlington, and others and never deal with you. They also don’t have to worry about trying to address AH. This plan helps no one and fixes nothing.