Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee Will Hear Update Monday on Security Issues at 711 S. St. Paul Street

Less than a year after a nonprofit returned the downtown property at 711 S. St. Paul St. to the City of Dallas in sparkling and secure condition, it’s become a squatting area for homeless individuals, overrun with feces and filth. 

It’s in such bad shape that the president and CEO of the nonprofit that occupied the St. Paul building for decades has asked that their business name not be associated with the site. 

“We must raise almost 70 percent of our budget from private sources,” the CEO wrote in an email to the Dallas City Council obtained by CandysDirt.com. “The City’s actions in neglecting this property and in speaking about this property as associated with our agency, at this point, are detrimental to our ability to keep our good name in the public eye, and I am asking that you kindly refer to this property by its address and no longer associate it with our agency.”

District 2 Councilman Jesse Moreno, who represents the area and chairs the Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee, has had a rough few weeks. Moreno also represents the area where “the lemon on Stemmons” sits. The building at 7800 N. Stemmons Freeway had to be vacated by 70 city employees in April after it was leaked to media and council members that the site had three dozen code violations and had not secured proper permits. 

Now, as a Dallas Morning News headline announces, “Dallas City Hall let its own property be occupied and destroyed,” Moreno is calling for action at 711 S. St. Paul St. 

The matter will be discussed on Monday, June 24, when the Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee meets at 9 a.m. 

This will be the first meeting of the panel since May 24. In addition to Chairman Moreno, committee members include Vice Chair Cara Mendelsohn, Zarin Gracey, Chad West, and Gay Donnell Wills. 

Status of 711 St. Paul St. 

Moreno sounded the alarm in a May 30 memorandum saying he was “gravely concerned” about the property on St. Paul Street. 

Upon entry into the building, there was an odor of feces and urine, as well as a significant presence of flies, gnats, cockroaches, and crickets. The rooms were canvassed by staff and various spots of feces were found on the floors.

Signs of long-term living conditions were seen, including a makeshift iron, an air conditioning unit, and various clothes and sundries. The bathroom toilets were clogged and nearly overflowing with feces and urine. There were windows broken in the interior and staff had to forcefully access the roof by means of a crowbar, because the handle had been broken on the door leading to the roof.

Evidently, there were signs of living conditions on the roof, including a workout bar, chairs, and toys. The roof has unsafe ledges that untrained and unauthorized inhabitants could fall off easily. Staff also noticed that the built-in air conditioner was being drained regularly so that unauthorized inhabitants could live in the room where leakage may occur.

Various bags of trash, litter, and broken furniture were strewn about the facility’s interior. What once were offices now had living quarters and feces in them. Liquor bottles were also found at the facility. A fire door was opened, and an alarm did not sound, indicating that the alarm system may be deactivated. 

District 2 Dallas City Council Member Jesse Moreno

As Downtown Dallas Inc.’s Scott Goldstein put it, Moreno’s memorandum contains photos that should not be viewed over breakfast — or at all. 

Moreno’s Call to Action 

The council member requested the following in his May 30 memorandum.

• The building should be secured, cleaned/sanitized, and there be routine monitoring and maintenance of the facility so long as it is in our possession. 
• A third-party review to assess the security of the building. 
• A third-party review to determine the viability of the facility’s sale on the market. This has been reviewed/discussed in the Council’s Government Performance & Financial Management Committee, but I believe this information brings to new light concerns about the facility’s viability on the market. 
• No-Trespass signage is to be posted on the building at all entry points. 
• A report from City Staff on the measures that have been taken to secure the facility up to today and whether City Staff have accessed this facility to conduct any work before today. 
• Weekly engagement by the Office of Homeless Solutions with the unsheltered population in the area surrounding the building. 
• Follow-up by the Code Compliance department on the illegal posting of advertisements on a city facility. 
• Graffiti abatement on the facility. 
• A report on the actions that will be taken following today’s walkthrough. 
• Regular updates on progress for the previous requests. 

“To be clear, I define a secure City facility as one which does not need Dallas Police Department to clear it before it is accessed, one that is free from unauthorized inhabitants, and one which does not present biological hazards to authorized personnel,” Moreno wrote in his memo.