Dallas Housing Authority

Dallas Housing Authority CEO MaryAnn Russ Says Site Can't Be Used for Market Rate Housing, Pushes Forward With Doubling Project's Size

By Joanna England / September 30, 2013 /

We published an unedited statement from Dallas Housing Authority President and CEO MaryAnn Russ on Friday, in which she said that DHA clients have just as much right as nearby residents to live in an upscale neighborhood, and that the property on Kings Road must be affordable housing because of federal laws.

OK, that makes sense, but the main gripe of community advocates isn’t having low-income housing, it’s how much of it is planned for the site. Before it was demolished last year, many nearby residents said that the Kings Quarters development, a 70-year-old 200-unit public housing project, was rife with drugs and crime. DHA plans include more than doubling the number of units and decreasing parking. It’s a recipe for disaster, says a former neighbor to the DHA development that was razed.

Dallas Housing Authority Chief MaryAnn Russ Responds to Community Outcry on Oak Lawn Project

By Joanna England / September 27, 2013 /

MaryAnn Russ, President and CEO of the Dallas Housing Authority, responded today for our request for comment regarding a meeting between the DHA and community advocates on Tuesday. We published a story Thursday about the public outcry over the Oak Lawn DHA project set for Kings Road, citing a letter sent from advocates running the Rezoning DHA website.

Jump for the letter in its entirety.

DHA Won't Budge on Rezoning Plan to Add Hundreds More Low-Income Housing Units to Kings Road Development

By Joanna England / September 26, 2013 /

We covered this project not too long ago. It’s a sticky situation wherein the Dallas Housing Authority made plans to construct more than 400 low-income housing units in Oak Lawn without any kind of community dialogue. The units are to be built on the site of a razed former DHA development that was riddled with crime…

Planned DHA Rezoning in Oak Lawn Increases Density, Decreases Parking, And Isn't Sustainable

By Joanna England / September 3, 2013 /

There used to be a time when I decried “NIMBYism.” It seemed shallow for some people to object to city developments that would be good for several people just because it would impact a nearby homeowner. That was before I bought my first home. Now, I’ll admit to having a few NIMBY moments of my…