With community support, historic Black neighborhood near downtown getting 400 new affordable homes
After over a decade of waiting, serious work is being done on The Bottom District redevelopment project on the Trinity River in southeast Dallas.
Construction began with four homes on South Denley Drive, and on Tuesday community leaders and property developers gathered to break the ground for the project, which will eventually include up to 400 new homes costing between $ 200,000 and $ 300,000.
The project began in 2008 when the city partnered with Dick LeBlanc, President of Texas Heavenly Homes, to buy and develop land in The Bottom. At a press conference at the groundbreaking ceremony, LeBlanc said it was challenging to get to that point. The rededication of the area and the modernization of the entire infrastructure, such as water systems, sewage and roads, took longer than expected.
“This has been going on for a while,” said LeBlanc. “It was a complicated thing to get from point A to point B.”
Before the Great Depression, The Bottom was a thriving black neighborhood. After that, however, the community was left with a dwindling infrastructure and a growing number of vacant lots.
Councilor Carolyn King Arnold, a former teacher at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center School for the Talented and Gifted for over 20 years, said that all her time at that school she would look out the window and wish there were more for The Bottom. She said that this community is her priority.
“When these houses are built, I don’t want to say that it will be heaven, but it will be the perfect place to live,” said Arnold.
A recent resident of the area is Pastor Jeffery Parker, executive director of Restoration Outreach of Dallas, a LeBlanc co-founded ministry that serves former prisoners. Parker moves away from Rowlett because the population he serves live near the Bottom District. He sees The Bottom as one of Dallas’ best kept secrets.
He also understands the concerns some may have about new developments in the region.
“There are concerns that change could have a negative impact on those who have lived and struggled in this community for some time,” said Parker.
However, Parker said there was more support once the community saw the full plan.
“We will have more affordable housing and a safe place for children to play,” said Parker.
Calvin Berry of BT Construction, one of the local construction companies involved in the development, saw the changes firsthand. A former student at Roosevelt High School just minutes up the street, Berry takes pride in building new homes in The Bottom, including Parker’s home.
“I remember this church and the area was pretty rough,” said Berry. “To see where it is now, you say, ‘Maybe I contributed something to get it where it is’.”
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