Mike Montalvo
Oak Lawn Place, housing for LGBTQ seniors, awarded $750,000 grant
CAROLINE SAVOIE | Contributing Writer
CarolineLSavoie@gmail.com
Oak Lawn Place, the long-anticipated 84-unit LGBTQ senior housing community by Resource Center, is set to open in Dallas in July, project coordinator Libby Crank said this week. She said that as of June 25, the units are 50 percent preleased.
On June 25, Sandra Thompson, Federal Housing Finance Agency director, joined officials from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) at Oak Lawn Place’s construction site. She said FHLB Dallas awarded the $31 million project a $750,000 Affordable Housing Program grant.
“There is a nationwide lack of affordable housing,” Thompson said. “For low to moderate income families, affordable rental housing remains a particularly significant obstacle. The Affordable Housing Program helps find affordable housing developments like Oak Lawn Place, making housing more accessible for more seniors.”
According to the Child Poverty Action Lab’s spring 2023 housing report, the city of Dallas has a 33,660 rental unit supply gap for its lowest-income residents. An FHLB Dallas spokesperson said that in 2024, the bank is making $100 million of Affordable Housing Program grants available to finance affordable housing.
Jamie Jordan, first vice president of FHLB Dallas, said Oak Lawn Place is the second LGBTQ housing facility in Texas and the ninth in the United States.
“This initiative addresses a critical need in our community, and we are proud to play a role in making it a reality,” FHLB Dallas President and CEO Sanjay Bhasin said.
According to Resource Center, the building, located one block from Inwood Road and Denton Drive Cut Off, will have lots of natural light, step-in showers and wheelchair-wide doors, single- and double-occupancy rooms, a gym, a private party room, a dog park, on-site classes and gatherings and Resource Center staff dedicated to making residents feel welcome and comfortable. Rent will be income-based.
“The generous $750,000 AHP grant was a component of the capital stack that has made it possible for Resource Center to create Oak Lawn Place, a welcoming residential development that we are proud to bring to Dallas,” Resource Center CEO Cece Cox said.
Resource Center partnered with Volunteers of America to develop the $30 million Oak Lawn Place. Other funding sources include $5.4 million of Tax Increment Financing, $830,100 of GP Capital (Land Equity), $5 million of American Rescue Plan Act funds, $2 million of Capital Campaign Sponsor loans and $8.4 million of Permanent Loan Funding.
An FHLB Dallas spokesperson said nearly $8.3 million of funding comes from other sources. The total cost is $30,650,068.
Future resident Mike Montalvo, a gay Dallas native, said he’s been anticipating the opening of Oak Lawn Place since its first announcement, and he’s ready to sign his lease as soon as possible.
“It’s right down the road from my pharmacy, my doctors and the bus station to get where I need to go, which isn’t far,” he said. “This place is perfect for transportation, and I’m ready to live in an accepting community with like-minded people.”
He said Oak Lawn Place is pet-friendly, so he’s able to bring along his emotional support dog.
Montalvo said the senior community he lives in now cut out all of its programming and activities, so he’s excited to live in a place that prioritizes resources and socialization. Resource Center said it will provide programming like field trips, referrals to local health services, and community events.
“I can’t move in fast enough,” Montalvo said. “I’m ready to sign.”