Oak Lawn Place, at 5723 Sadler Circle, will open next month to serve seniors like Montalvo. The organizations behind the project include the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas.
Oak Lawn Place will have 84, high-quality rental units for adults 55 and older, in an environment also intended to support the LGBTQIA+ community. The apartments are available to tenants of any sexual orientation, but the people behind the project hope to make welcoming place for LGBTQIA+ residents there through community art and various programs. The apartments will serve residents who earn from 30% to 60% of the area's median income. More than half of the units are reserved for people making below 50% of the median income.
“I heard about this place, and I became real excited,” Montalvo said. With the DART rail and bus stops close by, it’ll be easy for him to visit his doctor, go grocery shopping and just generally participate in the community. “It’s just like two stops to any place I want to go,” he said.
Mike Montalvo, a future Oak Lawn Place resident, sits in the community room at the apartment complex where events will be held.
Jacob Vaughn
Since 1990, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas has awarded $400 million to fund and support 65,000 housing units across five states, including Texas. The organization sets aside 10% of its net earnings every year to support its affordable housing program.
Nonprofits compete for grants to participate in the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas’ affordable housing program, and this year they stood to get $750,000 in funding. Grants from the program also fund projects like home rehabilitation and modifications for low-income, elderly and special-needs residents. This year, the organization is making nearly $100 million in grants available to finance affordable housing.“I heard about this place and I became real excited.” – Mike Montalvo, future Oak Lawn Place resident
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“Just in general, affordable housing is needed for all citizens,” said Bruce Hatton, vice president and community marketing and outreach manager for the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas. “But … there’s never been a particular housing project for this population.”
He said the new affordable housing project will be a place where LGBTQIA+ seniors can age in place. “That is critical, not only in Dallas but just in the United States period,” Hatton said.
Sandra L. Thompson, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, came to Dallas Tuesday to tour Oak Lawn Place.
Jacob Vaughn
The development will have amenities like a community room and a computer lab, and it’s within walking distance of DART’s Inwood Road/Love Field station. “The key word I always use is high-quality, affordable rental homes,” he said. “These are great projects, the first of its kind, and we definitely want to see more like this, that’s for sure.”
Sandra L. Thompson, nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, was sworn in on June 22, 2022. She was in Dallas Tuesday for a tour of Oak Lawn Place. Before becoming director, Thompson served as deputy director of the division of housing mission and goals for the Federal Housing Finance Agency. In that role, she looked after the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s housing and regulatory policy.
“We just think it’s incredible,” Thompson said of Oak Lawn Place. “This is what we’re supposed to be doing, just filling the need. This is affordable. It’s beautiful.” She knows of a similar project in Texas, but this is the first she’s seen of its kind. “We believe that everyone ought to have a place that they call home where they feel wanted, where they feel included,” she said. “You need to be surrounded by people that can affirm you, and so we are just so happy that this community exists and that it’s going to affirm so many.”
