MaryAnn Russ

Hearing For Proposed Oak Lawn DHA Development Slated For Feb. 6 as Neighbors Seek Accord With Housing Authority

By Joanna England / January 8, 2014 /

You remember the huge DHA project that is scheduled for the former site of the housing authority’s Kings Road project. A rezoning proposal that increased the scale, reduced parking and could perhaps exacerbate security issues on the property, had rubbed some neighbors the wrong way. Mike Harper, who runs the RezoningDHA.com website, is hoping that…

Read More

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.

Read More

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…

Read More