City Hall Roundup: Council Questions Low Occupancy at Vantage Point Homeless Housing

Renovations are substantially complete at Lake Highlands’ Vantage Point housing development for the formerly homeless and about one-third of the units are leased. Dallas City Council members questioned the occupancy rate last week, pointing out that there are still a lot of unhoused residents sleeping on public roadways. 

Vantage Point, a former extended-stay motel — deemed the “hotel from hell” by neighbors on the north side of Vantage Point Drive west of Greenville Avenue — was rezoned in May 2022 to make way for the permanent supportive housing facility. 

In an Aug. 26 meeting of the Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee, St. Jude Catholic Charities Chief Operating Officer Shannon Ortleb said her team is working with partners including Austin Street Center and Housing Forward’s All Neighbors Coalition to offer the housing option to those seeking shelter. Rent is about $1,250 per month and includes utilities and WiFi.

“I think all eyes are on Vantage Point, which is where we want them to fill the rooms,” Ortleb said. 

So why are just 47 of 136 rooms occupied, committee members asked. 

Occupancy Rate at Vantage Point

Far North Dallas Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn said she passed about 25 people sleeping on the street on her way to City Hall for last week’s Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee meeting. 

“Who’s going out there today to get them into housing?” she asked. 

Office of Homeless Solutions Director Christine Crossley reiterated that St. Jude is working with partners to get those who need housing into a facility, but it’s the choice of the resident whether they want to accept help. 

“We can’t make people go there,” she said. “This is an option that is definitely being promoted. We have seen an uptick in that leasing process.” 

The rooms were completed in phases, the last of which was completed in July, Ortleb said. Leasing began in March, but had a slow start, she added. Most residents have “choice vouchers,” meaning they can choose where they live. 

Mendelsohn said it was shocking that 90 units are available and remain vacant. 

“Our shelters are brimming full,” she said. “I have to question the outreach to the providers … something’s not working here. How do we have all these rooms available and all these people that are homeless and no one is going into housing?” 

Crossley said the Vantage Point facility is “not the only pathway to housing.”

“If this was the only pathway to housing it would certainly be full in a heartbeat, but it’s not,” she said. “We have people who need housing, we’re working with them as fast as we have the capacity to do so, and if we had more affordable housing, we would be able to move more quickly.”

Councilwoman Gay Donnell Willis said she was “flummoxed” that there wasn’t a waiting list but said perhaps there are limitations for families because the rooms at Vantage Point are all single-occupancy. 

Other Permanent Supportive Housing Facilities

During last week’s briefing, Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization Assistant Director Darwin Wade also provided updates on other facilities that have been designated for permanent supportive housing at Fort Worth Avenue, Hampton Road, and Independence Drive. 

The facility at Fort Worth Avenue, also operated by St. Jude Catholic Charities, is forming a community liaison committee. Preliminary renderings of St. Jude Oak Cliff Center were released late last week. 

“I think it will be something that the neighborhood can certainly be proud of and celebrate,” Wade said. 

The Independence Drive facility is in a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) process through which the city is seeking applications from potential developers. The deadline for applications is Sept. 13 and several developers have shown interest, Wade said. 

“Our plan is to have that before the [housing] committee in November and it’ll be on a council agenda by December,” he said. 

The Hampton Road facility was not discussed at length, but Crossley said options will be presented to the HHS Committee at its September meeting.