[emersonbiggins]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'R')ising Texas land prices confound Habitat for Humanity

02/25/2007

Associated Press

Rising land prices in North Texas is making life tough for Habitat for Humanity officials, who try to build affordable houses at an average price of $60,000.

Fewer parcels of unused land exist in the Dallas suburbs, officials said, and those that remain are selling at prices too high for Habitat, a housing organization that builds homes for the working poor.

"It affects our mission," said Ann Chappell, who oversees Habitat for Humanity chapters in North Central Texas.

Habitat chapters in the suburbs of Plano and Garland are finding too few unused lots on which to build, and have nowhere else to go because those communities are surrounded by other cities.

In Plano, for example, lots in the historically black Douglass Community that measured about one-fifth of an acre typically sold for about $25,000, said Dick Taylor, the Plano chapter's executive director. But there are few remaining lots, and similar-sized plots of land in other parts of Plano sell for about $70,000 and up.

...

In McKinney, the high cost of land has forced the McKinney chapter of Habitat to look outside the community. The solution: rename itself the North Collin County Habitat for Humanity and build in Anna, Celina, Princeton and Melissa. The chapter began building outside of McKinney about five years ago, said Jim German, the chapter president.

"The cost of the land forces us to," German said.

The Dallas chapter, unlike the suburban chapters, has a paid staff member who searches for useable, affordable lots. Dallas has land available, but much of it is in undesirable areas, forcing the chapter to build entire neighborhoods, such as Joppa in southern Dallas County.

Dallas Morning News article (scrip req'd)

[dinopello]

It all goes along with holistally building a healthy community rather than just specializing in one thing or another - here providing "units" of a particular type. and, you are probably right that out there the SFD is the only type they think of as worthy housing. Here, we have the same land affordability problem, only worse. It appears that the government may start partnering with faith-based entities (churches) that often have land in very expensive transit areas and grant air-rights above for housing.

Here is some info on a project that was just approved 2 days ago after being approved 2 years ago and then getting sued by the neighbors for violating the zoning. The neighbors won the suit but then the county just changed the zoning ordinance (which they are allowed to do) and reapproved the project. Its actually a pretty innovative project. Provides 70 apartments 1-3 bed at 60% of median income along with 30 market rate units that help offset the subsidy. All within 500 ft of a heavy rail metro station in the most sought after location.

Local Paper Article

The Church's site

[TommyJefferson]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('emersonbiggins', 'W')hy can't groups like Habitat see the folly of building 50 miles out of the city...If you can't afford it, you can't afford it - period.