One of the more interesting things the city’s development director, Theresa O’Donnell, mentioned both at the recent town hall meeting and in interviews for our April cover story was the need for more diverse housing in our neighborhood. The typical feeling in Lake Highlands is that we already have enough diversity, especially with all of the apartment complexes around, but O’Donnell’s point is that there aren’t enough single-family options — and that includes townhomes, zero lot homes and condos, in her explanation.
“One of Lake Highlands biggest strengths is it has a remarkably strong identity,” O’Donnell told me. “There is a loyalty of Lake Highlands people who were raised there, and people who raised their children and grandchildren there and want to stay in Lake Highlands. Right now it’s a great place for people who can afford a 3,000-square foot house on a 10,000-square foot lot and everything that’s incumbent with that.
"There’s a narrow range of choices, and what we’re hearing is we need to broaden those choices. I heard from a gentleman not too long ago, ‘When my wife and I have to sell our home, we don’t want to move to Turtle Creek to be in a condo — we want to stay in Lake Highlands.’”
At the town hall meeting, she said that Dallas, as compared to other cities, has a lower-than-average homeowner rate, and District 10 has a lower rate than the city. “Not everyone can afford a $300,000 or $400,000 house,” she continued. “That’s a big jump on the economic ladder. We’ve got to put more rungs on that ladder so that people can get into the market.” Condos, townhomes and garden homes (or zero lot homes) were the key to this, she insisted.
I told her when I interviewed her that some neighbors are incredulous that condos and townhomes would sell in Lake Highlands when they’re having a hard time selling in places like Uptown and along Lower Greenville. What I understood from her is that townhomes and condos wouldn’t mean the same thing in Lake Highlands as they would elsewhere in the city. They wouldn’t necessarily be clusters of young, urban hipsters; they would be a solution for new homeowners who want to move in and retirees who don’t want to leave.
