Photography by Victoria Gomez.
The Proxy Properties project for the Oak Cliff United Methodist Church, now coined The Jefferson, will seek up to $10 million in a City Council vote next Wednesday.
Designated as a City of Dallas Landmark in 1995 and a Texas Historic Landmark in 1999, the property has remained vacant since 2015. Over the course of eight years, encampments have come and gone through the space leading to multiple fires and one in 2022 causing fire damage.
Prior to AJ Ramler’s purchase in 2023, the property was set for demolition-by-neglect by the Dallas Landmark Commission.
The redevelopment project is proposed to include renovations and adaptive reuse while sticking to the aspects of the historic property, such as taking the three existing buildings and crafting them into flexible workspaces for commercial and retail tenants along with 45 multi-family residential units.
The estimated total cost of the project is $19.5 million. This total will fund interior and exterior improvements, site improvements for water, wastewater, storm drainage and pedestrian accommodations such as signage, lighting and furnishing like bike racks and benches.
Additionally, there are planned sidewalk and streetscape improvements along the Jefferson Boulevard and Marsalis Avenue frontages of The Jefferson.
For the total estimated cost, the developer is slated to fund $9 million through various sources. The request heading to City Council is for 51% of costs to come from Oak Cliff Gateway TIF District funding for the Bishop/Jefferson Sub-district.
The Oak Cliff Gateway TIF District Board of Directors unanimously recommended the approval of an agreement with the developer on Dec. 15, 2025.
Though all speakers at Tuesday’s Economic Development Committee meeting also expressed support of the project, District 2 Council member Jesse Moreno raised concerns about the dollar amount put into TIFs.
“The overall project is $19.5 million, we’re as the city putting in $10 million,” he said. “And so, I want to look at setting a policy that does not allow certain projects to go over a certain percentage.”
At the end of the discussion, Moreno said he believes there is an exception for historic buildings, such as The Jefferson, but that moving forward he wants to ensure a policy is in place.
Correction/Clarification: This article originally did not include the clarification of exceptions for historic buildings.
