On Monday, a Dallas City Council committee requested a proposal that would help the city gauge developers’ interest in the site of the former University General Hospital in Oak Cliff.
The building, located at 2929 S. Hampton, has room for approximately 110 people and has been owned by the city since its city council approved the purchase in January 2022.
The plan was to develop the former hospital into permanent supportive housing for homeless individuals.
Purchased for $6.5 million by the Dallas City Council, sale of the 12-acre property was initially briefed in a closed executive session; after the purchase, many residents said it was made with a “lack of transparency” for neighborhood stakeholders.
For the most part, neighbors were concerned about the location of the site, which sits across the street from Brashear Elementary, the Hampton-Illinois Branch Library and Kiest Park.
The Housing and Homeless Solutions committee asked city staff Monday to come up with a “request for interest” document, or “RFI” to help find out if a developer might have an alternative plan for the site.
Council member Zarin Gracey, whose District 3 includes the hospital site, unsuccessfully lobbied for the city to sell the property in 2024, says he hopes the process produces ideas for alternative uses that include another purchaser.
“If there’s no interest for it, then we can also answer that question too and say ‘you know, in this case well maybe permanent supportive housing is it,’” Gracey said.
