{"id":416851,"date":"2025-12-01T08:47:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T08:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/416851\/"},"modified":"2025-12-01T08:47:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T08:47:10","slug":"how-far-east-dallas-groups-headed-off-nimbys-with-townhome-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/416851\/","title":{"rendered":"How Far East Dallas groups headed off NIMBYs with townhome development"},"content":{"rendered":"

Founded decades earlier as Bethel Baptist Tabernacle, the church in Far East Dallas had been shrinking for years. Leaders had tried to attract new worshippers to its sanctuary on Ferguson Road, but membership dwindled until it was down to a few dozen people in the early 2020s. <\/p>\n

Mike Chism, a former associate pastor whose grandfather was a charter member of Bethel, said remaining members decided to merge with a church in Mesquite. That left Bethel with a four-acre campus of sturdy, cream-colored brick buildings surrounded by expansive parking lots they needed to sell. <\/p>\n

The situation could have deteriorated into another disheartening story about a dying church with an empty building that decays into a neighborhood eyesore.<\/p>\n

Instead, it\u2019s an encouraging tale of a church determined to see something good grow on its former property and a watchful nonprofit, the Ferguson Road Initiative, that helped ensure its redevelopment fit the area\u2019s needs. In a city where strident<\/a> NIMBYism often obstructs redevelopment<\/a>, it\u2019s a story where NIMBY never happened.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe had been members of [the Ferguson Road Initiative],\u201d Chism said. \u201cThey were aware that we were struggling and needed help figuring out what we wanted to do with the property. They put us in touch with a developer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bethel sold the property to a local developer active in the area and committed to building homes for middle-income families. The deed transferred in March. Proceeds from the sale went to the congregants\u2019 new church home in Mesquite. <\/p>\n

Dallas County commissioners agreed in November to kick in $1 million to help pay for underground infrastructure. By mid-2027, construction should be underway on 53 new, single-family, detached townhomes that police officers, teachers and social workers could afford to buy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are absolutely committed to building \u2018missing middle\u2019 housing in this community,\u201d said Vikki Martin<\/a>, the initiative\u2019s executive director. <\/p>\n

Her organization\u2019s involvement helps explain why the deal progressed relatively smoothly. The Ferguson Road Initiative has been steadily organizing neighborhood associations and crime watch groups since 1998. It does not run programs; it convenes meetings and coaches local leaders. When there\u2019s a zoning change request, or a major property for sale, the initiative has a process to ensure local residents help guide what happens next. <\/p>\n

Martin\u2019s group will arrange a preliminary meeting to bring together the developer, property owner, neighborhood association leaders, relevant City Council and Plan Commission members and a few others. The leaders take the information back to their associations and solicit comment. The process leaves room for reasonable discussion and compromise.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all very organized,\u201d Martin said. \u201cThere\u2019s no yelling.\u201d<\/p>\n

The vacant church, with its distinctive, blocky tower, still stands near the intersection of North Buckner Boulevard and Ferguson Road. After it\u2019s gone, something very different, but very much needed, will rise in its place. Bethel\u2019s final legacy in Dallas will be new homes and an example of how redevelopment can grow from trust and goodwill.<\/p>\n

We welcome your thoughts in a letter to the editor. See the guidelines and <\/b>submit your letter here<\/b><\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n

If you have problems with the form, you can submit via email at <\/b>letters@dallasnews.com<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Founded decades earlier as Bethel Baptist Tabernacle, the church in Far East Dallas had been shrinking for years.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":416852,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[852,5229,1596,11212,6083,8629,4329,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,40196],"class_list":{"0":"post-416851","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-affordable-housing","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-dallas","11":"tag-east-dallas","12":"tag-editorials","13":"tag-local-politics","14":"tag-real-estate","15":"tag-texas","16":"tag-tx","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-united-states-of-america","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","21":"tag-us","22":"tag-usa","23":"tag-white-rock"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115643445651327459","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=416851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416851\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/416852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=416851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=416851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=416851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}