Dallas plan commissioners recommended last week approving a rezoning request allowing the construction of a four-story, 120-unit retirement community on the southeast corner of Cockrell Hill Road and Blue Ridge Boulevard. The South Loop 12 development could help address the lack of affordable housing specifically suited for senior citizens.

Homes will cost about $265,000 at the Palladium USA development, which includes a theater, game room, library, fitness center, resort pool, and pickleball court. The site is about 250 feet away from the nearest single-family residence.

District 3 Plan Commissioner Darrell Herbert, who represents the area, attempted to defer the matter to Aug. 22 so he could meet with neighbors and quell concerns about traffic, sidewalks, and a detention pond. Ultimately the panel opted to move forward and conduct neighborhood meetings before the matter goes to the Dallas City Council in late August.

Developers with Palladium attempted to object to the delay but the public hearing portion of the meeting was closed and they weren’t able to explain why that would be a problem.

“Ordinarily I wouldn’t mind supporting a motion to hold, but I’m familiar with at least two other affordable housing projects in the city that have died in the last two months because the city was too slow,” Commissioner Melissa Kingston said. “I don’t know what this developer was about to say, but I’m guessing that his lending was in jeopardy or something else was in jeopardy, and we’re about to kill another project that is going to provide much-needed affordable senior living.”

Senior citizens are the fastest growing segment of the population in Dallas, however only a small percentage of new affordable housing units are designated for seniors, housing advocates report.

You can watch the July 25 City Plan Commission meeting and review the case report and development plan.

Neighborhood Response to Cockrell Hill Development:

Thomas Melton, minister of the nearby Cliffwood Church of Christ, said developers with Palladium USA have been good partners in uplifting the community.

“We are excited to be in partnership with the community and with Palladium,” Melton said. “We see a long-term investment in the community. We see our congregation growing. We see restoration. Cockrell Hill is being restored. Businesses are coming to South Loop 12.”

Guadalupe Avenue resident Curtis Redmon said he lives about 400 feet from the development site.

“I think this is not a good use for this property,” he said. “It’s a nice project. It shouldn’t be put in this location.”

Blue Ridge Avenue has a steep hill, making ingress and egress difficult, Redmon said. Guadalupe Avenue gets the cut-through traffic, congestion, and spillover parking from Cockrell Hill and Blue Ridge, he added.

Zoning consultant Maxwell Fisher, representing Palladium USA, said the 5.3-acre site was zoned office and single-family, “which is not really good from a market standpoint.”

“We think that senior, age-restricted living is a better use here, given the grade of the site,” Fisher said. “There’s a steep grade down to Cockrell Hill. The site has been underutilized for several years.”

Fisher addressed vehicle traffic, noting that while the development is age-restricted to 62 and older, it’s not an assisted living facility.

A traffic impact analysis showed about one-eighth of the trip generation at the retirement community than that of a typical apartment complex, Fisher said.

Density and Impact on Surrounding Neighborhoods:

CPC Chairman Tony Shidid pointed out that the developers are building just 120 units on almost 5.5 acres. Fisher said that 27% of the units will be market-rate.

“If we were to have two to three times the number of units, we would have that much more impact on the area,” Fisher said. “This site is challenging. Having 120 units, it allows the staff to better serve the residents at that scale versus a larger development. This would be about 22 units an acre. We feel like that’s an appropriate density given the prevailing single-family zoning in the area.”

Shidid later said this was a good project. By code, Palladium could have asked to build 269 units.

“When they engaged the zoning process and [engaged] with the community and the commissioner, it became a custom project,” Shidid said. “It was customized to the site and to the community at 120 units serving a population that needs it. I’m happy to support it.”