AHF’s Dallasonian housing project, now being remodeled, used to be a Best Western Hotel
The AIDS service provider expands its housing program to Dallas
DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
Taffet@DallasVoice.com
The housing crisis is a public health problem, according to Imara Canady, a spokesman for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. So the world’s largest HIV service provider decided to do something about it.
With the idea that AHF could begin providing housing faster and more efficiently than local governments were doing, the organization created the Healthy Housing Foundation. HHF then began acquiring mostly old hotels in Los Angeles and converting them into permanent living facilities to “provide decent housing units at an affordable cost to low-income people, including families with children and those previously unsheltered or homeless.”
That included not only their own clients with HIV but also those with other chronic health conditions.
The goal was “to create affordable workforce housing,” Canady said. Seniors and veterans may also qualify for HHF’s housing
To meet that goal of creating affordable housing faster and at a lower cost, HHF determined it could refurbish each unit for less than $350,000, the amount currently considered the norm. And converting existing properties would be faster and less expensive than new construction.
The organization decided to fund each project without leverage or low income housing tax credits, which carry expensive restrictions and regulations. With the right properties, the organization determined it could generate sufficient returns to “justify deploying capital in this way.”
After opening facilities in Fort Lauderdale, Atlanta and New York in addition to its original Los Angeles base, HHF has now acquired two properties in Dallas and is converting them into residences. One of the properties is the former Elegant Hotel and Suites — now The Village — on Northwest Highway near I-35. The second — formerly a Best Western and now dubbed The Dallasonian — is near LBJ Freeway and North Central Expressway.
“We tried to be innovative in our approach to housing,” Canady said.
Each of the units in the two Dallas properties will have a private bath. Some of the older buildings HHF operates in Los Angeles have shared baths.
In Dallas, HHF is planning on property security guards, laundry facilities in the building and community TV rooms.
Each of the Dallas units will have a kitchenette with a sink, microwave and refrigerator. The units will be furnished and include a bed, two televisions and a sofa.
The units are listed as single room occupancy. Rent at The Village runs from $800 to $1,164. The Dallasonian is $800 for a one-room and $950 for a suite. Utilities are included in the rent and cable is provided.
Both properties have a pool on site. AHF Regional Director for Texas Anthony Snipes said, “Both pools will be kept open since there are no kids on the properties.” That limits liability.
But, he said, they’re considering turning the pool area into a garden. Among other things, pools can be expensive to operate.
Anyone interested in applying to live at either property can apply online at HealthyHousingFoundation.net or email Keisha Tyler at The Village at HHF_Leasing@AHF.org.
“We do a light background check,” Snipes said. “But we’re one of the more flexible landlords.”
He said Tyler can assist applicants with getting housing vouchers or connect them with programs available to Dallas County residents.
“Permanency is the goal,” he said. “When they come in, they have everything they need to succeed.”
And, Snipes stressed, AHF has been consistent in not hiking the rent:
“AHF understand the housing crisis and does everything in its power to minimize impact,” he said.