DALLAS — A new affordable housing development is under construction in Southern Dallas.
Workers are clearing the land and the dirt is turning on land near South Lancaster Road and Crouch Road, symbolizing the groundbreaking on The Ridge at Lancaster Apartments.
“Now, you’re getting a neighborhood that is building where there was not even rooftops or building in the last 10 years,” District 8 Councilman Tennell Atkins said during a groundbreaking event on Monday.
The Ridge at Lancaster Apartments is a $210-million investment spanning 63 acres. Staff with LDG Development said Phase I of the project will include 300 apartments. Of those units, 270 will be workforce housing, or income-restricted and available to those making less than $52,000 a year for a family of four.
30 of the units will be available at market rate.
“It’s right on the edge of everything. It’s right at UNTD, it’s right at the police station. It’s right at the DART line, it’s right at the rec center,” said District 8 Planning and Zoning Commissioner Lori Blair.
The affordable housing development is also close to the Inland Port where there are thousands of jobs.
Phase II of the project, The Reserve at Lancaster, will include 250 townhomes. Phase III will add 250,000 square feet of commercial and retail space.
Atkins calls this and other LDG Development efforts, which are underway, a plus for Southern Dallas and for the entire city.
“This project is a magnet that can grow the other parts of District 8 and other parts of District 4 and District 3, which we need more retail, and which we need more market-rate housing. We are tired of everybody moving to the suburbs,” Atkins explained.
LDG Development Manager Jake Brown said his team is excited about The Ridge at Lancaster, and designers aren’t cutting any corners.
“Granite countertops, wood-look flooring. Energy-efficient appliances. It will look, feel, and function just like a class-A, market-rate apartment,” Brown said.
The developers said Phase I of The Ridge at Lancaster is expected to be completed by late 2022.