Dallas, TX
Vacant Oak Cliff hospital building languishes amid rancor
What was once a community asset in central Oak Cliff will likely become just another missed opportunity for Dallas.
The asset is a 12-acre tract of parking lots and dormant lawn anchored by a vacant hospital building. The city of Dallas bought the property in 2022 with $6.5 million in bond funds meant to provide housing and services to homeless people.
Three years later, it sits idle, generating mostly rancor and frustration.
It could be so much more. It’s in a convenient location. Twelve acres is nine football fields. That’s enough room for townhomes — for purchase or rent — and perhaps a modest amount of co-working or office or retail space.
There is even enough space for the empty hospital to fulfill its intended, though highly controversial, purpose as permanent supportive housing. The building’s upper floors could be repurposed into small but functional studio apartments for formerly homeless individuals. Residents would be screened before they’re offered a lease, and supervised once they move in.
With a thoughtful site plan as one safeguard, the renovated hospital could co-exist with other uses on the property. More important, it could co-exist safely and peacefully with the surrounding residential neighborhood and nearby library and Brashear Elementary school.
District 3 Dallas City Council member Zarin Gracey, who represents the area, wants to sell the property. He suggests the city could use the proceeds to renovate a vacant hotel in his district that the city also bought with homeless facility bond funds. But that wood-frame building near Interstate 20 is in worse shape than the concrete hospital, and in a much worse location. The hospital property will provide a better return on taxpayers’ investment.
In happier times, the property at Hampton Road and Perryton Drive bustled with activity.
Dallas Family Hospital, owned by a company in Pennsylvania, opened in 1985. It had 104 patient rooms, all private, eight ICU beds and a 24-hour emergency room. A Dallas ISD janitor who was struck by lightning at work was treated there, as were accident victims. Dallas high school students interested in health care careers completed short-term operating room internships at the hospital.
The campus also housed the offices of Dallas Southwest Osteopathic Physicians Inc., and its affiliated foundation, and a satellite learning center for Mountain View college. A medical building provided offices for doctors. Those buildings remain on the campus.
In the mid-2000s, Dallas ISD and the city of Dallas collaborated to build a new elementary school and branch library across Perryton Drive from the hospital. The library is closest to the hospital and connects to the school via an enclosed walkway.
Apartments for tenants over 55 were built on land behind the hospital. On the southeast corner of Hampton Road and Perryton Drive, Kiest Park sprawls south and east for 263 acres. It’s well-loved and well-used by residents of all ages.
Dallas Family Hospital changed names and changed ownership multiple times and eventually closed in 2014. The property’s ownership reverted to the osteopathic physicians’ group.
A few years later, a local developer and a nonprofit organization attempted to work with the owner on a mixed-use project that would have included affordable housing. The owners never signed off and the plan fell apart. Then the city bought the property.
To say that city leaders, both elected and professional, mishandled initial community outreach is like saying Hurricane Harvey was a bit damp: A gross understatement.
In news stories, residents said they knew nothing about the deal to buy the hospital and were angry when they learned it might be used for housing and services for homeless people. The city didn’t return calls or emails for comment for this editorial.
Two people interviewed for this editorial said an early community meeting grew so tense they were afraid it would devolve into a physical fight. Those poisonous interactions undermined the chance of developing a project that answered neighbors’ concerns and helped alleviate the city’s homeless crisis.
As challenging as it may be, we need to keep trying.
Critics have valid concerns. The vacant hospital is near an elementary school. It is not an appropriate location for a year-round homeless shelter, an inclement weather shelter, or walk-up or drop-off crisis intervention services. That said, landscaping and new construction, such as townhomes, could serve as attractive, multipurpose buffers between the hospital property and the library.
They also note that District 3 has two sites intended for homeless facilities, while a few districts have none. Small wonder some Oak Cliff residents feel their community is being asked to do more than its fair share. The city should offload District 3’s second site, the hotel near I-20, and lagging council districts need to step up.
Some District 3 residents say, as Gracey did at a recent housing committee meeting, that “right in that particular area, there isn’t a homeless problem.” That’s not what we saw.
On a recent weekday afternoon, as parents waiting to pick up their children from Brashear Elementary backed up traffic along Hampton Road, a sunburned, shirtless man pushed a grocery cart with a jumble of possessions along the sidewalk next to the school. Inside the library, another apparently homeless man sat quietly near a window, surrounded by a collection of plastic grocery bags.
Homelessness is a citywide problem.
At Gracey’s behest, the city will develop a request for information, a way to test whether there is a market for the hospital property. It’s a complicated property. Almost any redevelopment would require zoning changes, and at least one of the ancillary buildings onsite has multiple owners, according to appraisal district records.
Permanent supportive housing could succeed at the site, but only if neighbors are partners in the planning for it, and only if a different entity, perhaps a nonprofit organization, leads the process. The property has space for other uses, too. It could become a community asset again.
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Dallas, TX
New video of Lake Dallas explosion draws focus on order decades ago to remove old plastic pipes
The search for the next general manager or president of basketball operations of the Dallas Mavericks has begun. They terminated Nico Harrison in November, which was about nine months too late, and gave any available candidates clear notice that they were open for business.
The plan was always to wait until after the season to start the search. While names popped up as the season reached an end, they didn’t begin turning over the staff until the Monday after the season ended. However, Dallas Mavericks fans are not going to like how the team is going about the search.
Patrick Dumont Leading Search for General Manager
NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the Mavericks are not hiring a search firm in their hunt for a new lead executive. Instead, team governor Patrick Dumont is “acting as his own point person.”
This is an… interesting decision, to say the least. Dumont is not a basketball person whatsoever, and most organizations usually hire a search firm. The Chicago Bulls hired one as they look for their replacement for Arturas Karnisovas. Just because a firm is hired doesn’t mean a team will listen, though.
The Mavericks hired a firm in their last search for a GM. They let Donnie Nelson go in 2021 after a long tenure with the Mavs. Instead of listening to the firm, though, Mark Cuban ignored it to hire Nico Harrison, who had no previous NBA front office experience. Harrison had been an executive with Nike, which gave him connections with players like Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and plenty of others.
For a while, that seemed to be working out okay. While he still had some questionable transactions, such as trading for Christian Wood and letting Jalen Brunson walk in free agency, they were still able to make a run to the NBA Finals in 2024. Then, he blew it all up, trading away Luka Doncic for an older and injured Anthony Davis, and the team hasn’t been the same since.
It’s imperative that the Mavericks get this hire correct. The interim Co-GM setup with Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley has performed admirably, but the 2026 NBA Draft is important for the Mavs to get right. It’s their best chance to pair Cooper Flagg with another young star, as they don’t own their first-round pick again until 2031 after this.
Hiring the right GM could help bring in more draft capital by bringing in bad contracts or flipping veterans into picks.
Dumont was able to convince Rick Welts, a Hall of Famer, to come out of retirement to be the CEO and lead the charge for a new arena. Maybe Dumont pulls another rabbit out of his hat for the GM.
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For a moment, it looked like FC Dallas was on its way to another statement win at home tonight.
Petar Musa scored two first half goals, to extend his Golden Boot leading tally to nine goals. But after Dallas grabbed control, the Galaxy found a way back before halftime with goals from Lucas Sanabria and Joseph Paintsil.
The second half brought more chances and more frustration for Dallas, which finished the night with 13 shots to LA’s nine. In the end, the point stretched Dallas’ unbeaten run to five games, though just like last week, it felt like another match where Dallas left points on the table.
Key Moments
7’ – GOAL! After a poor pass back by a LA defender, Petar Musa was free to go one-on-one with the LA goalkeeper. After a touch to get ahead of a defender, Musa slotted home his eighth goal of the season from outside the penalty box.
21’ – Offside! Joaquin Valiente sent a floating ball over the Galaxy defense, where Musa was able to get behind the defense and make an easy play for what appeared to be his second goal of the night. The play was called offside despite a fairly lengthy review period.
38’ – GOAL! This one counts! Musa gets his second of the night off a great ball from Chris Cappis. Logan Farrington picked off the ball in the midfield. He then played Cappis wide to the left of the penalty area. Cappis immediately played a ball back across the goal for Musa to slide in and finish for his ninth of the season.
43’ – Goal LA. Lucas Sanabria got the ball near the top of the penalty area. He took a couple of touches to get outside the penalty box before firing a shot that beat Michael Collodi at the near post.
45+4’ – Goal LA. Gabriel Pec got the ball near the top of the penalty area. He pulled the ball back a bit, which caught a pair of Dallas defenders. This allowed Joseph Painstil to get free behind the Dallas defense as Pec played him through inside the penalty area. Pec immediately smashed home a shot above Collodi to tie the game.
75’ – Another offside goal. This time on a corner kick for Dallas, after a scrum in the penalty box, Kaick hammered home what looked to be the go-ahead goal. But after a few seconds the flag was raised due to a deflection on Osaze Urhoghide, who was in an offside position.
Instant Reaction
Yeah, this is another disappointing result for this team. In a real way, it felt like the first half against Houston from last month. Dallas grabbed the lead, looked in control, but some defensive miscues opened the game up for the visitors to climb back.
With a double-game week coming up, this will certainly be another game where Dallas will wonder ‘what if’ more than anything else…especially when you factor in the two goals called off for offside.
About the Subs
Eric Quill went to his bench for the first time in the 66th minute, as he brought on Santiago Moreno for Logan Farrington. Quill went to his bench again 81st minute with Ran Binyamin and Nolan Norris coming on for Sebastien Ibeagha and Deedson. The final sub came during stoppage time with Herman Johansson and Joaquin Valiente coming off for Sam Sarver and rookie Nick Simmonds, who made his MLS debut.
Man of the Match
No question about it tonight, it has to be Musa.
Where does this fit into the season
As of this writing, the draw puts Dallas into a three-way tie for 5th place with Real Salt Lake and Seattle. Both are in action right now and look firmly in control of their games. I’d expect Dallas to be in 7th place by the end of the night.
What’s next for FC Dallas
Dallas wraps up a three-game homestand next Wednesday night as they host Minnesota United.
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