Dallas, TX

Housing report highlights need for more rental units in Dallas

Published

2 months ago

September 23, 2024

Housing report highlights need for more rental units in Dallas

The latest housing data shows Dallas’ progress in adding more rental properties falls well short of demand.

And the pain is being felt most by those who are trying to find affordable housing as the city tries to find a solution.

Fast-rising home values have an impact beyond homeowners. Renters feel it too, both in rising per month cost with fewer able to enter into home ownership.

It’s two of the findings from the latest Dallas Housing Needs Assessment.

Updated data from Dallas’ Housing and Community Development Department looks at available rent inventory at a variety of price points.

The report presented to the Housing and Homeless Solutions Committee, Dallas has added 66,000+ apartments at or above $1500 per month. However, in the same five-year time period (2017 – 2022) there’s been a loss of 100,000 units priced at or below $1000.

“You’ve got a lot of people that can’t afford any more than that,” Mark Melton said.

Merk Melton is a tax attorney who started the Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center, a pro bono service for tenants facing eviction, during the pandemic in 2020.

“Their income didn’t go up by 30 or 40% like rents did,” Melton said.

The data also looks at the impact on renters based on income.

A server making about $30,000 could afford a rent of $757 per month, according to the report. In the scenario, a hypothetical restaurant server would either need a roommate, spend 160% of their budget or move outside of the city.

Some on the 5-member Housing and Homeless Solutions Committee argued the report undercounts the amount of affordable housing in Dallas.

“To say that the only option is to have a roommate or move to Mesquite or Arlington is ridiculous,” Cara Mendelsohn said.

Councilmember Chad West said by any measure Dallas is behind in the goal of providing more housing as population is forecasted to continue increasing in the coming decades. “We should be to meet our projected goals of building 20,000 to 25,000 new units per year,” West said. “We’re barely doing 10 percent of that. It’s a huge problem.”

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Dallas, TX

Cowboys vs Giants on Thanksgiving: Dallas is favored after weeks as underdog

Published

28 mins ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

Cowboys vs Giants on Thanksgiving: Dallas is favored after weeks as underdog

The Dallas Cowboys got back in the win column with a surprising upset over the Washington Commanders. Surprising in the fact that Dallas won, and surprising in that it was one of the crazier games seen in a while. The fourth-quarter alone was worth the price of admission.

The Cowboys were able to get their win even though they were roughly 10.5-point underdogs going into the game. Dallas has been the underdog for a while now, but this week they are favored. With their rivals in the NFC East, the New York Giants, coming to town on turkey day, Dallas finds themselves as 3.5-point favorites in the FanDuel odds.

The Giants appear to be falling apart after cutting QB Daniel Jones, getting rocked by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30-7, then having multiple players calling the team’s effort ‘soft’ and questioning the game plan.

Could the Cowboys actually go on a winning streak? And how does this sit with a fanbase firmly looking toward draft position?

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Dallas, TX

CeeDee Lamb made NFL history on Sunday

Published

9 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

During the first quarter on Sunday afternoon against the Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb set an impressive bit of NFL history.

By recording his fourth reception in the game (CeeDee got a lot of work early if that is not obvious) Lamb recorded four receptions for the 44th consecutive game. That is the longest streak in NFL history, according to the Cowboys’ public relations team.

CeeDee Lamb (@_CeeDeeThree) has recorded four receptions in the first quarter. Lamb has recorded at least four receptions in 44 consecutive games, surpassing Michael Thomas for the longest such streak in NFL history.
— Dallas Cowboys Public Relations (@DallasCowboysPR) November 24, 2024

Lamb surpassed former New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas to set the record all to himself. The impressive thing about a streak like this is that it crosses over multiple seasons and in CeeDee’s case even multiple quarterbacks.

Obviously this season has been a bit tough for the Cowboys, but seeing CeeDee continually perform is a bright spot throughout it all. Kudos and congratulations to him, hopefully there is a lot more history on the way for him and the team in sunnier days.

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Dallas, TX

Dallas police pension won big against the city, but there is still room for agreement

Published

17 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

Dallas police pension won big against the city, but there is still room for agreement

In August, when the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System filed a lawsuit against City Hall, we winced in concern.

The difference boiled down to which entity, the city or the pension board, had the authority to send a plan to the Texas Legislature to get the badly underfunded system back on track.

Well, the pension system won that fight in district court in Travis County. The plan it has crafted would offer substantially more funding to the pension system, with cost-of-living increases and a reduction in employee contributions in later years.

The city could drag this through an appeal, but as things stand, the pension system’s plan would become the required funding formula.

Most readers know the pension system is underfunded by more than $3 billion. The difference here boils down to how much additional money the city will contribute per year to get us back on track. Under the pension system’s plan, it would be millions more per year.

But this is a wholly negotiable matter. Two sides have different figures in mind. The sides need to hash out those differences in a way that ensures the city is aligned with a 2017 state law that was passed for the express purpose of getting this pension funded.

There are serious people on both sides. What we need now is a leader at City Hall who has the standing to get this done. Normally, that would be the mayor, but our mayor hasn’t been doing the hard work at City Hall for a long time and we don’t expect him to start now. It could be the city manager, but that job is in the hands of an interim manager now.

Mayor Pro Tem Tennell Atkins has been doing the heavy lifting for the city, but whether he can lead the city’s side in negotiations is unclear.

All we know is that there is an opportunity for a solution that gets this thing out of court and a solid plan to the Legislature that, yes, includes sacrifices but that also stops the drumbeat about this important public benefit.

Someone needs to get on the phone, book a conference room, order some takeout and work the spreadsheets. There is time, but the clock is ticking.

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