The Dallas City Council unanimously agreed Wednesday to sell an empty, city-owned Oak Cliff hospital that was once targeted for housing and other services for homeless people.
The city paid about $6.5 million for the property in 2022, with plans to convert the former hospital into housing and provide wraparound services for residents experiencing homelessness. But the hospital’s purchase and its proximity to a school, city library, single-family homes, a senior living apartment complex, and Kiest Park sparked opposition from nearby residents who said the city failed to inform them about its plans to purchase the property.
Community have said they’d prefer to see housing with a mix of retail spaces at the site.
Anga Sanders, who has been working to bring quality amenities to Oak Cliff, said the 14-acre property could a gated single-family community with three- to four-bedroom homes. It’s what residents have been vying for.
“Please stop dumping anything on Oak Cliff,” she said. “Give us the respect we deserve, and please protect your children.”
The City Council later voted to move forward with a public auction to sell the 14.3 acres of land. The hospital has been closed since 2014. The 2022 deal to purchase the property for $6.5 million was approved without any public discussion, leading to backlash from community .
Council member Gay Donnell Willis highlighted the $6.5 million property was purchased with dollars from the 2017 bond package, which showed voter intent to address homelessness. The feasibility research conducted, however, showed that the city is unlikely to recoup the total cost of its investment.
“We also know that the average cost of an unsheltered person on our streets is $43,000. The hospital building has 111 rooms that can save our community at least $4.7 million annually if those rooms were filled with people trying to get back on their feet," Willis said, noting that rehousing people sleeping in public spaces was a public need, but the property also offered an economic development opportunity.
Willis introduced an amendment that would direct the city manager to attract bids and then discuss the best use of the property, as the city would be selling the property at a loss.
Deputy mayor pro tem Adam Bazaldua, in of having the City Council scrutinize the bids, said Willis’ amendment added guardrails around the potential sale. He pointed out that a similar auction and sale of a city-owned building on St. Paul Street was sold for less than the price the city wanted to sell it at. At the time, city officials returned to the council to obtain approval for the sale.
Council member Zarin Gracey, who represents the area, has said he wanted to sell the property because that’s what his community has been asking for. He wanted to move forward with the sale without Willis’ amendment because the proceeds would be reinvested in tackling homelessness.
“This gives us an opportunity to use this property, put it back on the tax base and potentially convert to single-family homes, which actually brings revenue back into the district from there,” Gracey said. “It’s still going to be a city-wide effort, with or without this hospital in the picture. … So colleagues, I’m asking you to stop circling this mountain so that we can actually move forward with this and bring some tax base back into district three.”
Council member Carolyn King Arnold, among the first to voice opposition to the project, said the process was flawed.
“The community shared with me that they were not included in the conversation initially, so they felt like they were ambushed, true, disrespected, and now we’re continuing, two years later, to continue to disrespect a community that has weighed in,” Arnold said.
Council debated the item and went into executive session for more than half an hour. They came back with a middle-ground: The property will be sold if it meets the minimum price set by the city. If not, the bids will be reviewed by the City Council.