The Top 10 Dallas City Hall Newsmakers of 2024
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As 2024 comes to a close and we look back on the hundreds of stories about new real estate projects, City Hall shenanigans, and developers with innovative solutions to the affordable housing crisis, a few names stick out. Some were heavily criticized; some were hailed as heroes. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, here are your newsmakers of 2024.
District 14 Councilmember Paul Ridley
When Dallas City Councilman Paul Ridley offered a compromise to the ForwardDallas 2.0 comprehensive land use plan that — gasp — a majority of the council supported, he was called a great American hero.
“You just won your bid for re-election,” I told him at the time.
Filing begins in mid-January for the May election, and Ridley announced on the Dallas Dirt podcast that he’ll seek to retain his District 14 seat.
While election results are never guaranteed, Ridley made big strides with his constituents by adding language to the land use plan that made single-family homeowners feel protected and rest assured that cheap apartment complexes wouldn’t go up next door. ForwardDallas 2.0 is a vision document that doesn’t dictate zoning, but residents were concerned that its passage would make it easier for developers to bring in dense, incompatible projects. At the end of the Sept. 25 City Council meeting, the land use plan was adopted with the Ridley compromise. Not everyone was happy, but Ridley’s fan base was significantly larger than it was the day before.
The councilman is now waging war on digital kiosks proposed as a revenue stream and widely criticized as hazardous and unnecessary. If approved, most of them will be in the downtown and uptown areas Ridley represents. We expect to hear more on that in the new year.
Deputy Director of Planning and Development Andrea Gilles
A lot of folks gave Andrea Gilles a hard time during the ForwardDallas update process. She led many of the public meetings and stood before the City Plan Commission and City Council to answer tough questions. Some implied or outright accused Gilles and other planners of orchestrating the plan to further their personal agendas of having a more dense, walkable Dallas.
Gilles, who did not single-handedly write ForwardDallas 2.0, remained level-headed throughout the process and appeared on the Dallas Dirt podcast in March with Chief Planner Patrick Blaydes in an attempt to explain the plan before the misinformation got out of control.
The misinformation got out of control anyway, but at the end of the day, Gilles proved she is cool under pressure and earned a top spot in our Newsmakers list, although she’d probably rather lay low and just do her job.
Fun fact about Andrea Gilles: She’s bilingual and frequently serves as a translator at town hall meetings so Spanish speakers can engage in the process.
Proxy Properties Developer A.J. Ramler
Real estate developer A.J. Ramler has been around for a long time but he hit our radar in a big way in 2024.
Ramler has rehabilitated old churches, upgraded dilapidated buildings into apartments, and restored historic sites. His latest project, a $10.6 million adaptive reuse venture in South Oak Cliff, was supported by the City Council, other industry professionals, and residents who live in the area.
Ramler was awarded about $2.7 million in tax increment financing funds for the new proposal, a repurposed 1915 icehouse that will soon become leasable commercial space at 900 E. Clarendon Drive.
The 62,000-square-foot building — deemed the East Dock redevelopment project — will feature offices, retail, and restaurants.
District 4 Councilmember Carolyn King Arnold
District 4 Councilmember Carolyn King Arnold has always provided entertainment during council meetings. Her catchphrases — “stay woke,” “we don’t want to moonwalk,” and “standing on business” — often evoke a chuckle from her colleagues.
But Arnold is serious about ensuring that the priorities of her constituents are conveyed at the horseshoe.
The council member and her appointed plan commissioner Tom Forsyth stood in solidarity with single-family neighborhoods during the ForwardDallas land use plan update, and Arnold recently championed a townhome project that will offer homeownership opportunities for residents of South Oak Cliff.
Dallas Plan Commissioner Christian Chernock
District 1 Plan Commissioner Christian Chernock came under fire when he announced his plan to pursue a rezoning for the Kessler Commons development of townhomes, apartments, and houses near North Boulevard Terrace and Hampton Road.
A discussion ensued about the ethics of a sitting plan commissioner asking his peers to make zoning recommendations on projects that would bring the appointed official personal profit.
Green builder Chernock, who also operates short-term rental properties in the Bishop Arts District, maintained that the ethics situation was fully vetted by the City Attorney’s Office. The Plan Commission is a quasi-judicial board that does not approve or deny zoning cases and members frequently recuse themselves when a conflict of interest arises. Chernock ultimately withdrew the Hampton Road case and told CandysDirt.com he doesn’t have immediate plans for the site.
Sycamore Strategies Developer Zach Krochtengel
Developer Zach Krochtengel of Sycamore Strategies made big waves this year with a groundbreaking at the old Cabana Hotel, announcing plans to redevelop the legendary site into housing: 60% market rate and 40% affordable units.
The Design District housing project — aptly deemed Cabana — will include an 11-story tower with 153 housing units, a four-story tower with 22 units, and a multi-level parking garage. A rezoning was not required for the land at 899 N. Stemmons Freeway. It should be open for tenants in 2026.
Krochtengel also made the news with his downtown West End Lofts project, a transit-oriented development that will offer 154 units, 63 of which are income-restricted.
District 12 Councilmember Cara Mendelsohn
Far North Dallas Councilmember Cara Mendelsohn will be on the Newsmakers list as long as the Newsmakers list exists. She is quoted in almost every City Council story because she always has a hot take that is occasionally unpopular with her colleagues but overwhelmingly supported by her constituents. She says things like, “We are terrible at developing property.”
Mendelsohn is not afraid to call out a fellow council member or staffer when she disagrees with them, when their math ain’t mathin’, or when they don’t do what they said they would do in a timely manner. She is a watchdog of the panel on which she sits and is consistent in her approach to the stewardship of taxpayer money and being strategic about housing density and location.
She’s told us many times she’s not against affordable housing; she just wants to be thoughtful about placement. While that approach is sometimes viewed as a thorn in the side of multifamily developers, it’s scored her many points with her constituents.
We expect to see her name on the ballot this May. In the 2023 election, Mendelsohn was the only incumbent who did not draw a challenger.
Builders of Hope CEO James Armstrong
James Armstrong, CEO of Builders of Hope Community Development Corp. also earned a repeat appearance on the Newsmakers list, and 2024 is undoubtedly his biggest year to date.
Armstrong and Builders of Hope Chief Community Development and Policy Officer Stephanie Champion unveiled their anti-displacement toolkit at a November public meeting. If you’re not fired up after watching this short recap video, check your pulse.
Anti-displacement strategies and a neighborhood overlay are included in the aforementioned ForwardDallas 2.0 land use plan, and we expect to see the toolkit go before the City Council for adoption in early 2025.
District 9 Councilmember Paula Blackmon
Although she wouldn’t confirm or deny that she wants the mayor’s gavel when I asked about her future plans on the Dallas Dirt podcast in August, District 9 Councilmember Paula Blackmon has proven this year she’s no shrinking violet.
She fought aggressively to keep the Skillman Southwestern Library open after it was put on the chopping block during budget cuts — and won, at least for a year. Blackmon also has taken staff to task over an expensive communications plan and penned a memorandum seeking more council oversight into the city manager search.
District 1 Councilmember Chad West
We haven’t run the numbers but it’s likely that District 1 Councilmember Chad West is neck-and-neck with his colleague Cara Mendlesohn in terms of coverage on CandysDirt.com. For years, West has been at the forefront of an effort to create more affordable housing in Dallas, and, well, that’s our wheelhouse. He also had a big year with some authorized hearings that came out of 2022’s West Oak Cliff Area Plan.
North Oak Cliff’s JImtown is now poised to become the first Dallas neighborhood to allow accessory dwelling units by right as the result of an authorized hearing. Nearby Elmwood petitioned to change its parking requirements so mom-and-pop coffee shops could operate without rigorous and unmanageable restrictions.
Councilman West also has continued his push, as chair of the Government Performance and Financial Management Committee, to evaluate City-owned assets that could be sold or repurposed. A Far West Oak Cliff report revealed new opportunities for an area that District 1 inherited as the result of redistricting, and a 1,000-unit housing challenge was met, more than three years in the making, bringing more homes near Dallas Area Rapid Transit stations.
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Nailed it!