Truett Hunt spent part of his Monday morning in a familiar building, though the room was a bit different. The Oak Cliff Municipal Center on Jefferson Avenue houses the city’s permitting offices, a regular stop for contractors, builders, electricians and plumbers.
On Monday, Dallas launched Dallas Now, a new online system designed to streamline a process that builders have long described as frustrating and slow.
The platform merges permitting, planning, engineering and inspections into one centralized digital system.
To help with the transition, the city’s planning and development department turned an employee break room into a makeshift classroom. Builders and contractors sat at tables, getting help from city employees to set up their accounts.
“To have people on hand to walk you through the system and maybe explain the changes that are coming, it was probably a good idea for sure,” said Truett Hunt, a Dallas homebuilder.
Vernon Jones, the department’s deputy director, said the new system will help the city respond more effectively to the needs of the development community.
“We’ve made sure that we’ve communicated to our customers that we care about them, and this is not just a new software implementation,” said Jones. “This is a new way of doing business.”
The change follows a recent report showing the city reduced residential permit wait times by 88%. Commercial construction permit wait times have also improved, though the average turnaround remains at 189 days.
Hunt, who builds luxury homes in Dallas, said the system could save both time and money if it works as intended.
“Anything that speeds up the process on the builder’s end is going to be beneficial to the homeowner, too, for sure,” Hunt said. “If it (Dallas Now) works smoothly and you’re able to get online easily, then it will be great.”
