April Towery

April Towery covers Dallas City Hall and is an assistant editor for CandysDirt.com. She studied journalism at Texas A&M University and has been an award-winning reporter and editor for more than 25 years.

As Opposition to ForwardDallas Rallies, Commissioners Say They Don’t Want a Watered-Down Land Use Plan

By April Towery / April 15, 2024 /

The City Plan Commission kicked off a series of workshops last week on the ForwardDallas comprehensive land use plan. They talked about density, placetypes, and parking requirements — and they acknowledged the plan has not been well-received by a contingent of residents who are concerned it will change or even destroy their long-established single-family neighborhoods. …

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City Hall Roundup: Heavenly Homes Proposal For Infill Development in The Bottom District Postponed to April 24

By April Towery / April 14, 2024 /

Elected officials and Dallas leaders are revitalizing their commitment to housing and economic development in underserved areas.  Mayor Pro Tem Carolyn King Arnold would probably say she’s not revitalizing that commitment; it never diminished. But discussions about breathing life into southern Dallas appear to have ramped up lately as bond projects are slated and new…

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Citing Code Issues With Stemmons Building, Development Services Moves Back to Oak Cliff Municipal Center

By April Towery / April 12, 2024 /

There’s been some recent buzz about how the office responsible for issuing building permits had to vacate its new building because it didn’t have the proper permits.  That’s not exactly how it went down, according to Assistant City Manager Majed Al-Ghafry, but the department — which has struggled recently to improve permit turnaround times and…

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Developer Says Preston Center West Project Complies With Area Plan, Will Add 180 Housing Units 

By April Towery / April 12, 2024 /

Developers with Ramrock Real Estate unveiled plans for redeveloping Preston Center West into a mixed-use concept with retail, office space, and 180 housing units — and insisted it’s compatible with the  Northwest Highway/Preston Road Area Plan approved in 2017.  About 70 people attended a community meeting Wednesday to express concerns about the proposal. Chief among…

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Architect Tipton Housewright Says Too Much Parking is ‘Bad Urban Design’

By April Towery / April 11, 2024 /

A Dallas code amendment slated to go before the City Plan Commission this summer would eliminate minimum parking requirements for new development and improve walkability and bicycle safety, city planners said Tuesday.  The code change also establishes a Transportation Demand Management Plan for qualifying project developers to “think comprehensively about their impact on transportation systems.” …

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