Developers want to plant what they’ve billed as the “tallest building between Dallas and Houston on I-45” in South Dallas. Residents aren’t sure the neighborhood will benefit.
The proposed 25-story Winners Tower could bring high-rise living to a part of the city long bypassed by major development, WFAA reported.
The $240 million mixed-use project planned for Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard would include luxury condos, a hotel, office space, a grocery store and medical services. The address wasn’t reported.
The development is being funded through the EB-5 investor visa program and is affiliated with the Okpa Company, a Dallas real estate and consulting firm led by commercial appraiser and previous Dallas mayoral candidate Edward Okpa. Okpa is serving as lead advisor and consultant on the project.
Also connected to the venture is local pastor Raphael Adebayo of the Winners Assembly Christian Church of God, who is included in the project’s website. The business entity named on the website, The Winners Development Corporation, does not appear in public development filings and is not registered with the Texas Secretary of State.
The group is seeking zoning approval for the building, which would stand out dramatically in the flat, low-rise landscape of South Dallas. Okpa said the goal is to bring dignity and investment to an area too often written off.
“If you look at any street in America named Martin Luther King, what do you say is overlooked negatively?” he said. “We think the time is right now to do something other than what is there.”
The team is projecting $10 million in annual tax revenue and has pledged $50 million toward community programs. But some residents are wary.
Local resident Cydney Walker stressed the need for locals to have a seat at the table when it comes to shaping the kinds of businesses and services brought in. Walker unsuccessfully ran in the May election to unseat Dallas City Councilmember Adam Bazaldua, who has consistently embraced economic development through tax increment funding in South Dallas.
“Statistically, not everybody will be able to stay,” Walker said. “You have a huge renter population over here.”
— Judah Duke
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