During a brief meeting of the Dallas City Council’s Government Performance and Financial Management Committee, officials said Wednesday that among the city-owned properties that could be developed or redeveloped, depending on appraisals and investor interest, are an old courthouse building, two libraries, an auto garage and an airport.
According to an April 23 memo from Vice Mayor Robert Perez, the properties under consideration include:
- Executive Airport
- Canton Street Service Centre
- Hutchins’ Dallas Water Works property
- Ville Big Auto Pond
- Oak Cliff Municipal Center (OCMC)
- North Oak Cliff Library
- Park Forest Library
- Family Gateway Building
- Downtown Court Building 5th floor
- 606 Good Latimer
Next steps for municipal real estate
Perez provided updates on several properties during Tuesday’s GPFM meeting.
Staff is considering the Vilbig Auto Pound, Oak Cliff City Hall, North Oak Cliff Library and Park Forest Library for mixed-use redevelopment.
“we [identifying] $600,000 to support the recruitment, use and development of intermediary services [requests for proposals] “For these facilities, the two libraries are included in the 2024 bond program, so there are funding opportunities between the library proposals and the economic development and housing proposals for future development,” Perez said.
An assessment of Dallas Executive Airport will cost $43,000 and will be funded by the Aviation Department, Perez said in the memo. The Housing and Community Redevelopment Authority has identified potential uses for the fifth floor of the downtown courthouse building.
“We’re looking at the possibility of redeveloping it for veterans,” Perez said. “We’re actually taking it off the list. [Notice of Housing Funding Availability] And then we’ll see if there are opportunities we can leverage.”
Hutchins’ evaluation of the Dallas Water Facility is nearly complete.
The assessment of the remaining seven properties will cost about $36,000, Perez said, and an interdepartmental committee is looking for funding sources to complete the work.
Because the Good Latimer and Family Gateway properties are relatively small, the RFPs will be written in-house.
GPFM Committee Response
GPFM Committee Chairman Chad West said Perez’s update was something the committee had in mind when it requested a review of the city’s real estate portfolio. City officials learned during the budget process last year that Dallas owns about 50,000 acres of land.
“We want to be thoughtful about how we leverage it. [these properties]” West said.
He said the evaluation will be completed by the next commission meeting and asked that the airport property be presented then. He also said he would like to know more about plans to house veterans in the courthouse building and the services that a brokerage firm would provide.
Perez said it would be beneficial for brokerages to participate because they have the ability to reach a broader audience, including venture capitalists and investors.
“They’ll basically be actively promoting these opportunities and reaching out to funding partners that we might not be aware of,” he said.
Are you planning to sell for your pension fund?
City Councilwoman Kara Mendelson pointed out that the memo states staff are looking at 10 properties “from a development or redevelopment perspective.”
“Some of these properties [the police and fire] “We also need to reform the pension system,” she said. “I think there are parallel efforts going on.”
Perez said he would share appraisal information with GPFM upon request.
“But we don’t want to lose sight of what’s next on some of these items,” he said, “but the committee and council will have an opportunity to offer their input on what direction we should go.”
Mendelson said he is concerned that staff is moving further than they should on redevelopment and requests for proposals (RFPs) despite “what may not be the will of the council as a whole.”
“It’s good that the housing authority is thinking about what they want to do with the court building, but I don’t know if that’s what they’ll decide to do if another opportunity arises,” she said. “So I don’t want to stop efforts to quantify the value associated with it and other opportunities.”
West noted that in the past, multiple committees have looked at city-owned property.
“Now that everybody is starting to pay attention to real estate issues in the city, we need one filter, whether it’s the full council coming together or at least starting here and pushing up there,” West said. “As Chairman Mendelson pointed out, just acknowledging that there are interests beyond development can help.”
