Unfair Park from p4 ▼ HOMELESSNESS HOMELESS IN HEATWAVE to help homeless residents stuck outside. According to the Environmental Protec- A tion Agency, heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the U.S., and peo- ple exposed to extreme heat can suffer from heat exhaustion, heat stroke and other forms of cardiovascular disease such as heart attacks and strokes. For the homeless, who might find it diffi- cult to get out of the heat, the extreme temper- atures are a dangerous situation. According to a Dallas County and Collin County state of homelessness report from the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance, the organization found 4,410 people living on the streets during its an- nual one-night census this year. Part of the city’s effort to assist homeless residents in Dallas is to provide cooling sta- tions and give out water. The city’s Office of Homelessness Solu- tions said some Dallas shelters have recently upped their efforts, including Austin Street Center, which is offering a cooling station in its lobby, and The Bridge, which has expanded capacity to serve more than 500 people. Wayne Walker, founder of OurCalling, a faith-based organization aiding the homeless population in Dallas, said the group has seen a greater need in the community because of the heat. “We’ve already had two heat-related deaths this week,” Walker said. “We are see- ing significant health issues … heat exhaus- tion and potential heat stroke with folks.” Walker said they had an air conditioning unit fail and had to have a crane come out and replace it. “It is pretty rough,” he said. “Our facility is staying open later every day to provide cooling relief.” The group is also offering more heat-re- lated resources collected from the commu- nity and passing out items such as sunglasses, sunscreen and water. “Those are items, really, not just to pro- vide immediate relief, but also [to] build in relational equity so we can really help with the placement process and get people off the streets,” Walker said. While the heat is dangerous for those without homes, anyone without access to air conditioning can be affected by the heat. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages the state’s elec- tric grid, issued a second conservation ap- peal to Texans last Wednesday, urging them to conserve as much energy as possible. In a press release, ERCOT cited record 62 high electric demand as one of the factors causing the need for conservation. “The heat wave that has settled on Texas and much of the central United States is driving increased electric use,” the agency wrote. “Other grid operators are operating under similar conservation operations programs as Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash ERCOT due to the heatwave.” The Office of Homeless Solutions also provided a comprehensive map of the various cooling stations throughout the city and pro- vided information from DART about the My Ride North Texas Guide, which residents can call to speak to travel navigators who can con- nect callers to transit information. The Office of Homeless Solutions said Dallas residents could help out the homeless population by passing out water, imploring them to seek shelter at the cooling stations or providing them with bus passes to get to the stations. “The Office of Homeless Solutions Out- reach team, as well as area partners, are con- ducting outreach and passing out cold water to individuals who may refuse to go to a shelter or cooling station,” the OHS wrote. “We are continuing to identify additional ways for residents to access these services and how we can offer more services to those already accessing the cooling stations.” ▼ HOUSING NOT-SO-AFFORDABLE HOUSING W Extreme Texas heat can be deadly, particularly for those living on the streets. luxury clientele. Todd Interests spent $460 million in up- dating the First National Bank tower on Elm Street, converting the property into The Na- tional apartments, the Thompson Hotel and other office and retail spaces. The cost for a one-bedroom, one-bath- room, 660-square-foot apartment at The Na- tional residences is $2,495 per month. A 1,157-square-foot one-bedroom, one-bath costs $4,040-4,080 per month. Rent for a 3,064-square-foot penthouse is almost $20,000. But even with some of the highest rents in the city, Philip Todd, a partner at Todd Interests, said that it’s almost fully leased up. Todd Interests has also purchased En- ergy Plaza on Bryan Street, and according to The Dallas Morning News, is spending more than $300 million to turn it into apartments and luxury offices. Todd said he is excited about the project SEVERAL DEVELOPERS AND INVESTORS HAVE BOUGHT EMPTY DALLAS OFFICE BUILDINGS TO RENOVATE INTO LUXURY APARTMENTS AND HOTELS. BY KATE PEZZULLI ith higher demand than supply, housing in Dallas has lately come at a premium, so local develop- ers recently purchased largely empty office buildings with plans to convert them into downtown apartments. These new apartments will likely cater to at 1601 Bryan St., formerly called Energy Plaza, and emphasized the importance of preserving the building’s history. It was built by Pritzker award-winning architect I.M. Pei, who designed five buildings in Dallas, including City Hall. “It’s a pretty amazing design,” Todd said. “We’re adding 293 luxury residences, and then we’re adding about 450,000 square feet of office space, and then we’re taking the whole front plaza and doing an over-the-top garden space that has a restaurant compo- nent as well as the lobbies and a motor court. That’s pretty awesome.” Todd said that while the renovations at 1601 Bryan are not using tax-increment fi- nancing (TIF) money from the city, which requires a certain number of affordable THE TEXAS HEATWAVE IS ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS TO THOSE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, WHO HAVE A HARD TIME GETTING COOL IN THE HOT WEATHER. BY KATE PEZZULLI s the heatwave continues to blister North Texas, the city of Dallas and local advocacy groups are working units, the previous renovations they did at The National did. In order to comply with the TIF regulations, Todd said they have 30- plus units available to people who meet the requirement of earning no more than 80% of the average median income for the area. The TIF program is supposed to incen- tivize the creation of affordable housing, but it’s fallen short of that goal in the past. Dallas-based investment firm Woods Capital has also acquired buildings down- town, including Bryan Tower and Santander Tower, with the intention of creating new apartments. “You get a massive correction in terms of the office supply, and you get close to 2,500 new residential units,” founder of Woods Capital Jonas Woods told The Dallas Morn- ing News. “That will bring a massive in- crease in daytime, weekend and nighttime population downtown … [which] will sup- port the restaurants, the amenities, the ser- vice retail — all the great things that make a great urban neighborhood.” But while new luxury apartments might bring some life to downtown Dallas, for many people housing is still not affordable. Housing is in short supply in Dallas these days, and Sandy Rollins, the executive direc- tor of the Texas Tenants Union, said that Dallas especially needs more affordable housing as the gap between the lower in- come and higher income residents contin- ues to grow. “The cost of housing [is] more and more out of reach,” Rollins said. “The affordable units are disappearing. “Converting an office building is not as big a concern as if they were taking an exist- ing housing building … occupied by people paying lower rent and renovating it and jacking up the cost,” Rollins explained. “It’d be nice if they shifted their focus a tad, [but] it doesn’t sound like they’re harming any- body directly, and even if they’re not, you know, it’d be nice if they would help.” Todd agreed that there is a need in Dallas for housing for people of all income levels but said that across the country, Dallas is still rel- atively affordable compared with other cities, which is partly why people are moving here. “I do think Dallas as a whole is still a lot more affordable than a lot of other cities of our size, which is great,” he said. “When you’re moving here from New York or Cali- fornia, or even people now moving from Mi- ami because it’s gotten so expensive, they view some of the residences here as a great value to them. So, I think that’s a positive that Dallas has for it.” ▼ IMMIGRATION GOV. ABBOTT HAS ESCALATED HIS CONTROVERSIAL BORDER CRACKDOWN THAT IS NOW UNDER INVESTIGATION BY THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. BY PATRICK STRICKLAND MORE BORDER BLUSTER W hen Texas Gov. Greg Abbott goes on Fox News, he’s not too shy to brag about his anti-migrant poli- cies. Last Sunday, he told the conservative news channel that Texas and the U.S. were enduring an “invasion driven by the cartels” on the southern border. “We’ve turned back tens of thousands of migrants who tried to get across the border, MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2014 JULY 21–27, 2022 DALLAS OBSERVER DALLAS OBSERVER | CLASSIFIED | MUSIC | DISH | MOVIES | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | SCHUTZE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS | CLASSIFIED | MUSIC | DISH | CULTURE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS dallasobserver.com dallasobserver.com
