Dallas Development Proposal Would Include Tiny Homes, Workforce Training, and More

A case study of Dallas development and planning politics.

2 minute read

June 23, 2020, 8:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Sharon Grigsby, columnist for the Dallas Morning News, reports on the plans for Bonton Village, a 12-acre development in the Lake Highlands neighborhoods of Dallas that will "include a 4-acre urban farm and farmer’s market alongside 120 tiny homes for some of District 10′s most vulnerable homeless neighbors. Also on the site will be a café, coffee shop, co-working space and workforce training center."

According to Grigsby, the plans for the site have been the source of controversy in recent months. A previous plan to develop a homeless housing project on the site met opposition from local residents and local Councilmember Adam McGough. Those opponents were called NIMBYs, according to Grigsby, who argues that McGough had a better plan all along. 

"Earlier this month, the City Council’s Economic Development Committee greenlighted a key next step for McGough’s transformative project, Bonton Village @ Lake Highlands. The proposal for 12000 Greenville not only provides housing for the homeless, but jobs, commercial opportunities and neighborhood assets -- everything the original plan lacked," according to Grigsby. The proposal also allows a chance for Benton Farms, currently located in South Dallas as showcased in the video above, to expand its model for urban farming to the Lake Highlands neighborhood as a launching pad for national attention.

The source article includes more details of the remaining obstacles for the project to reach approval.

Thursday, June 18, 2020 in The Dallas Morning News

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