Oak Cliff United Methodist following a fire last year. Advocate photo.
A group of Dallas investors has purchased Oak Cliff United Methodist Church at Jefferson and Marsalis and has plans to renovate the property.
Despite being a historic landmark, the church faced potential destruction in 2021 under the demolition-by-neglect statute in Dallas’ development code due to its disrepair. To make matters worse, it caught fire in January 2022 (the “result of a homeless person starting a warming fire on the second floor too close to combustible materials,” according to Dallas Fire-Rescue).
Even before the fire, the building showed signs of water damage, cracked walls and damaged window sills. A YouTuber’s video from August 2021 showed signs of squatters.
But Proxy Properties, a real estate firm focused on rehabilitating and preserving old Oak Cliff sites, plans to save the classical revival-style building.
Proxy’s AJ Ramler says they closed on the land at 549 E. Jefferson earlier this week.
“We’re super excited to be able to be involved in the restoration,” Ramler said in a phone interview.
There is a ton of work to be done to prepare the building for its new life, he added.
First they will secure the property, which has been habitually trespassed upon and vandalized since its 2015 shuttering as a place of worship.
The Proxy team also will work to place the property, which is designated a city and state historical landmark, on the national historic registry. “Which is warranted,” Ramler said. “I mean, it is historically very significant, built in 1915 by a prominent architect [Sanguinet and Staats, as explained on the historical marker].”
Another step will involve requesting that the City of Dallas rezone the property. “We want something that will allow for mixed use. We do not have a plan in place yet, but we have an idea it will include a variety of uses.” The address today is zoned for retail use only.
Meanwhile, they are “getting a game plan together” and hiring an architect. There are only a couple people in town who do this level of work, Ramler said, so he is pretty sure who the architect might be, but has not solidified that arrangement to date.
Included in administrative preparations, the real estate group will apply for TIF funding, Ramler said. “Because historic renovations are expensive.”
That refers to getting a Tax Increment Financing District in place at the address. The city’s TIF department works with private developers to implement plans for under-performing real estate. The city and developer strike a deal to reinvest a portion of property tax revenues generated from the redeveloped property back into the area or property. The idea is to encourage the redevelopment’s ongoing success. (TIF districts generally cover more than one property, so it could cover a wider area, but it will be a while before a specific request is determined.)
Physically, Ramler and squad will be working on a plan with their yet-to-be-announced architect, repairing leaks and taking other steps to prevent further damage to the church.
“Before we can actually start on the real heavy lifting section of it, we want to have plans in place and make sure we do the project right,” he said. “Hopefully we can start around this time next year actually swinging the hammers and building the project.”
A history of saving old buildings
While this is Proxy Property’s biggest undertaking, they have proved successful rehabilitating other properties in our neighborhood. This is their fourth landmark building, said Ramler, who lives with his family in one of those properties, the 130-year-old “Struck House,” that you can read about here.
His real estate firm also saved the building at 919 Morrell, which they bought about a year ago. Known as The Oak Cliff Assembly these days, it’s been host to art shows, concerts and parties and is now under the care of a nonprofit arts center.
They also have the The Madison at 1159 Madison, an erstwhile boarding house that burned down, which they turned into rentals.
They also own and manage residential, commercial and mixed-use developments around the metro area.
With the loss of so many old buildings in our neighborhood, the team at Proxy calls the Oak Cliff United Methodist deal a win.
“Our two favorite kinds of projects are historic and ones that we get to be creative on,” Ramler said, and “this one checks both those boxes.”
