The Dallas City Council gives more tax breaks to billionaires in one more corportate giveaway while simultaneously telling the homeless they can not ask for money on street corners.
City Council approved an “incentive” to facilitate a new mixed-use and mixed-income development project proposed by Kroger Co. and its development partner Southeastern called One City View at N. Hall Street and Flora Street.
The project, the second in collaboration with Kroger in recent years, will bring a full-service grocery store and affordable housing to the downtown/uptown area.
“The mixed income component of this project brings 375 new housing units, including a much needed 75 affordable units to Dallas,” District 14 City Council Member Paul Ridley said. “I welcome such opportunities to partner with the private sector to achieve the city’s objective of creating more affordable housing close to jobs, transportation and community resources.”
The new five-story development will include a Kroger grocery store (approximately 80,000 square feet) on the ground level and almost four hundred apartments on the upper four levels. At least seventy-five of these apartments will be rent restricted for households earning a maximum of 60% Area Median Family Income (AMFI). The total project cost is estimated at $108 million.
The incentive approved by the City Council to facilitate the project authorizes a real property tax abatement agreement for a period of ten years in an amount equal to the City’s taxes assessed on 50% of the increased value of the property.
“This partnership is a step towards greater economic and equitable development in communities with untapped potential. We look forward to collaborating with Kroger and Southeastern and hope this project will serve as a beacon to attract similar partnerships,” Chief of Economic Development & Neighborhood Services Dr. Eric Anthony Johnson said.
Johnson has previously been accused of running bait and switch programs for small business expansion in Dallas.
Other Tax Breaks To Billionaires
In 2019, the City Council approved an initial partnership with Kroger for a new $100 million fulfillment center located at 4241 Telephone Road in the Southern Dallas Inland Port. The Dallas-based automated fulfillment center, in partnership with Ocado Solutions USA Inc., will source, package and prepare grocery products for direct delivery to consumers throughout Dallas and neighboring communities.
Tennell Atkins was overjoyed by the news saying in a city issued statement, “this partnership will lift and leverage our efforts to achieve equitable development in Dallas. We are happy to support Kroger in this project, and hope to see more positive and impactful collaborations like this one in our City.”
Atkins is Chair of the Economic Development Committee.
The City of Dallas also provided $3M to a South Dallas grocer with almost no strings attached after city council intercession. It reeked of the economic devlopment problems of the old South Dallas/Fair Park Trust Fund and todate has not provided additional jobs or additional food options.
That move has since been lambasted as another giveaway to developer friends of local city council members.
Construction of the latest taxpayer funded boondoggle is reported to be nearing completion. 350 full-time positions for the new facility will begin to ramp up in the coming months.
In addition to providing the tax break for Kroger and Company, the City of Dallas is also coordinating with the company to use tax dollars to provide employees to Kroger via city run job fairs.