Braniff Hostess College: From High Flying to Supportive Housing

Officials in Dallas are looking to help redevelop the historic Braniff International Hostess College building in Oak Lawn into permanent supportive housing for people living with or impacted by HIV/AIDS.

The five-story adaptive re-use project dubbed Braniff Lofts calls for 48 apartments (12 studios and 36 one-bedroom units) and a host of amenities and on-site social services for residents, including a fitness center, business center, movie theater, laundry facilities, a resort-style pool, financial literacy classes, health and wellness programs, and tax preparation assistance.

Storied Dallas-Original Landmark Had a Groovy Past

Braniff International Airways, the colorful Dallas-based airline of days gone by, maintained the building as a dormitory and training center for its female flight attendants, who were known as “hostesses” back then.

Joy Donovan previously took our readers on a trip through the building’s history in a great retrospective on the airline’s accommodations for aspiring flight attendants.

Coffee, Tea, or Hostess College? Braniff International Hostess College is a Trip Back to Groovier Times

Emblematic of the times, Braniff International had an iconic look in the 1960s, the decade it built the college. Everything from its aircraft to its hostesses’ outfits screamed of the decade, with the young ladies sporting Emilio Pucci uniforms in lavender, pink, orange, and green.

The 60,000-square-foot property at 2801 Wycliff Ave. changed hands a number of times after Braniff consolidated its training operations at Dallas Love Field in 1974. Owners reportedly included an oil services firm, a retirement community, and Centurion American Development Group, which considered turning the building into a Braniff-themed boutique hotel before deciding to put it back on the market.

In 2021, the property was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Sometimes Permanent Supportive Housing Makes the Most Sense

Members of the Housing & Homelessness Solutions Committee met on Monday to receive a briefing on the project, which is a joint effort by Sycamore Strategies, LLC and AIDS Services of Dallas.

During the committee meeting, Council Member Cara Mendelsohn (District 12) raised the issue of upcoming “significant” cuts to the federal Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program, which currently includes rental assistance for low-income individuals living with HIV/AIDS.

“What happens if this is built and there aren’t enough people with a HOPWA voucher?” she asked.

Zachary Krochtengel, representing Sycamore Strategies, said the project would be allowed to pivot to other populations with permanent supportive housing needs, per Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs rules.

Financing for Braniff Lofts will be coming from various private and government sources, including state and federal tax credits. For its part, the Dallas City Council will consider authorizing a loan of $7 million in gap financing in April to support construction.

A council memo lists total development costs at over $32 million, $8 million of which will be used to acquire the property. Construction costs are estimated at just under $14 million.

Sycamore Strategies Developing Affordable Housing, Hotel Lodging in Downtown’s Magnolia

Krochtengel explained to the committee that a market-rate or affordable housing development would be difficult to pull off at only 48 units. Considering the range of qualifying funding available at the state and federal level, permanent supportive housing appears more feasible.

City staff said they were supportive of the Braniff Lofts project, stating that it aligns with the city’s housing policy and mixed-income housing goals.

In a statement to Dallas Business Journal, Krochtengel said the development would represent “a meaningful step toward addressing housing insecurity in Dallas and providing our most vulnerable residents with new opportunities.”

Council Member Jesse Moreno (District 2), the committee’s chair, called the property a “really cool, iconic building.”