Armonia Apartments Case Study
Mixed-Income Housing in West Dallas
West Dallas at a Crossroads
West Dallas carries the weight of the past; deliberate disinvestment, redlining, industrial land use, and decades of neglect. The completion of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge in 2012 changed the neighborhood’s trajectory, attracting new investment and rising property values. However investment is not always equitable. For families who withstood these decades, the surge of market interest brought the threat of displacement.
Dallas today faces one of the most severe affordable housing shortages of any major American city.
Armonía Apartments Development
Situated at 3115 Topeka Avenue in the La Bajada neighborhood, Armonía is a 15-unit mixed-income multifamily development. The name “Armonía,” meaning “harmony” in Spanish, emerged through conversations with the La Bajada Neighborhood Community Association.
“This approach creates a more inclusive community, greater economic stability, and long-term neighborhood resilience.”
— Jason Brown, President & CEO, Dallas City Homes
Unit Mix
Six Years of Financing
Armonía began as a vision in early 2020, and nearly never happened. DCH was initially told “no.” When leftover funds became available later that year, the organization reapplied through the City’s August 2020 Notice of Funding Availability process and ultimately received a City Council resolution in October 2021. What followed were years of contracts, HUD review, and pre-construction approvals before ground broke approximately three years ago.
“It’s a lot of hands in the pot. Not every organization or individual is willing to deal with that.”
— Jason Brown, President & CEO, Dallas City Homes
Financing Stack
Brown credits layered, mission-aligned financing as the key to Armonía’s viability, noting that City-funded projects often require developers to front millions in costs while reimbursement cycles stretch six to seven months. DCH’s ability to handle acquisition, project coordination, and development in-house, avoiding “junk fees” like excess origination and title costs, was equally critical.
Under federal HOME requirements, all income-restricted units will remain affordable for a minimum of 20 years.
Listening to Community as a Development Principle
La Bajada is a neighborhood that has watched investment flow around it for generations. When DCH arrived, residents were skeptical. Reactions to the project were mixed, as Sylvia Lagos, recent president of the La Bajada Neighborhood Community Association, explained:
“We have been here for generations. We do not want our culture to be washed away… This is not Trinity Groves. This is West Dallas.”
— Sylvia Rodriguez Lagos, President, La Bajada Neighborhood Community Association
Lagos says those concerns are rooted in the neighborhood’s history and the experiences of generations of West Dallas residents who fought for basic infrastructure and institutions. Her hope for Armonía is clear:
“We would like to have some of our neighbors benefit from this new structure that we have here today.”
— Sylvia Rodriguez Lagos, President, La Bajada Neighborhood Community Association
Brown’s response to that expectation is grounded in a long-term philosophy of community stewardship:
“We’re doing work in these neighborhoods that’s going to outlast me. It’s about ensuring that folks in these communities have a voice… because my vision might not be their vision on what we want our community to look like for the years to come.”
— Jason Brown, President & CEO, Dallas City Homes
To find tenants DCH uses affirmative marketing strategies including going door-to-door to neighbors, an intentional effort to reach those who might otherwise be overlooked. Early leases include a resident from La Bajada itself and others who work nearby in healthcare, transit, and education. As Brown puts it:
“I’m real big on ensuring opportunities flow through the community instead of around.”
— Jason Brown, President & CEO, Dallas City Homes
About Dallas City Homes
Dallas City Homes (DCH) is a nonprofit affordable housing developer founded in 1989. For more than 30 years, DCH has worked at the intersection of community development, advocacy, and property management — developing and preserving more than 2,400 apartments and constructing or renovating more than 350 for-sale homes across Dallas.
DCH’s 550-in-5 initiative commits to 500 units of attainable workforce housing across Dallas County within five years. Armonía is the flagship proof of concept.
“Dallas City Homes has been actively working for housing equality for the past 30 years. It is with discipline that we have established a name for ourselves — and we are ready to deliver even more to our community.”
— Dallas City Homes
