Central Dallas CDC, formed in 2001 as a sister organization to Central Dallas Ministries (CDM), acquired the vacant office tower located at 511 N. Akard in 2006 and is in the process of converting the property into “CityWalk@Akard”--206 high-quality residences, ground floor retail and two floors of offices, including new headquarters for Central Dallas CDC and CDM. Two hundred of the residential units will be affordable, workforce housing for rent and fifty of those units will be set aside for formerly homeless individuals who qualify for the permanent housing development. Six of the units are for-sale condominiums.

The rehabilitation, which will be completed this summer, is by far the largest project undertaken by Central Dallas CDC and one of the largest nonprofit housing developments ever undertaken in the State of Texas.

The acquisition was made possible by $12 million in low-income, housing tax credits awarded by The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA), $2.25 million in funding from the City of Dallas and grants from a wide variety of sources, including the Rees-Jones Foundation, the Terry Foundation, the Baron and Blue Foundation, The Real Estate Council Foundation, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago and others.

Additional partners in CityWalk@Akard include JPMorgan Chase Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, the Enterprise Community Loan Fund, the Corporation for Supportive Housing, Fannie Mae, WKMC Architects, McCaslin Properties, Key Construction, LVI Facility Services, and Pinnacle.

Originally built between 1957 and 1959, the mid-century building is being restored to its original 1950s luster. Interior features such as marble-walled lobbies, stainless steel lighting fixtures, and original flooring will be restored and preserved. The hexagonal room and roof deck located on the third floor, originally the board room for the Baptist Annuity Board, will be converted into a community room for the building’s tenants.

Downtown is the heart of Dallas’ thriving business community, and has a burgeoning residential population, but that heart could not beat without the thousands of low-wage working people who keep Downtown’s office buildings, arts venues, convention center, stores, hotels, restaurants and parking lots functioning. CityWalk@Akard will reserve a space for these workers to live where they work, in Downtown Dallas.

CityWalk@Akard is modeled after similar projects in cities like New York, Seattle and Houston, but will be the first of its kind in Dallas.

We think CityWalk@Akard can change the way we think about workforce housing, about how we treat people without homes and how we think about the City of Dallas, our home.

Central Dallas CDC has received support from all corners of the city, from City leaders to business leaders. We are proud of this development, we hope it proves to be a model for what is possible, and invite your comments on the CityWalkTalk blog located at the following link.