A short walk away from the center of the Bishop Arts District, an empty lot is a step closer to becoming a complex with multiple stories as part of a project that has been in the works for years.
The Dallas City Plan Commission supported a change to a deed restriction on the lot in a 12-2 vote during its March 5 meeting, recommending the removal of a restriction on how the lot could be used. The measure still has to be considered by the Dallas City Council.
If approved, the change could clear the way for a mixed-use complex that has been planned by the property owner for over a decade. The lot at 715 W. Davis St. has sat vacant for years as redevelopment plans have been met with hurdles and objections.
Developing plans
Rick Garza, an architect and Oak Cliff resident, has owned the property since 2008, often under the company Bishop Davis Urban LLC, according to the Dallas Central Appraisal District.
D-FW Real Estate News
After purchasing the property, Garza presented plans to build a five-story mixed-use development on the lot, according to a 2012 Dallas Morning News article.
During the March commission meeting, Robert Baldwin, a zoning consultant who represented Garza for the zoning change application, said plans for the development include four-story buildings closer to residents and six-story buildings on the south side of the property.
Additionally, the lower floor of the complex would house businesses, and the complex would include an open space on the east side of the site.
Garza didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.
Route to rezoning
Zoning restrictions have complicated the development of the project, but the zoning of the area has been steadily changing.
In 2010, a zoning change increased the maximum building height of structures along that stretch of Davis Street to 75 feet, according to The News article. Garza served as the chairman of a residents committee that proposed the zoning change.
During its March meeting, the commission considered a deed restriction dating back to the 1970s that limited the use of the northern half of the property to warehouse, office and parking space. It also limited the height of the warehouse in the space to 14 feet.
However, Baldwin said the current zoning of the area wouldn’t allow for a warehouse. Additionally, the deed restriction would require an 8-foot wall separating the complex from the neighborhood.
The lot was previously used as a storage area for Sewell Automotive, Baldwin said at the meeting.
The commission’s vote supported a change to the deed restriction that would allow for developments other than a warehouse, drop the requirement for a wall and require a portion of open space.
Years in the making
This meeting wasn’t the first time Garza applied to change the deed restriction.
In 2019, the commission denied a request to lift the deed restriction, according to an Oak Cliff Advocate article. At the time, commission members said lifting the restriction would have cleared the way for the complex.
Since that meeting, zoning laws have changed with the passage of Senate Bill 840, which allows apartments and mixed-use residential buildings in zoning districts that allow office, commercial, retail or warehouse uses without rezoning.
Baldwin said his client would prefer to avoid an SB 840 case because the zoning restrictions would still require a wall be put in place.
The empty lot that is set to become a five-story apartment building located on Bishop Art’s W. Davis St. photographed on Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Dallas. Homes are seen across the street on Fouraker St.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
Mike Sims, a member of the commission, said that SB 840 was the biggest change since the issue was considered by the commission in 2019.
“The questions before us is today Mr. Chair is not whether … we permit something to be built, but what it is that we permit to be built here,” Sims said.
If the restrictions stayed in place, a multistory building surrounded by the three walls could be built, Sims said. He said changing the deed restriction and requiring a portion of open space would produce a better result.
Commissioners Thomas Forsyth and Jack Kocks voted against lifting the restrictions.
Objections to development
Several residents opposed the change to the deed restriction and said they objected to the potential development.
There are several residential homes on the other side of Fouraker Street where the development could be built.
The empty lot that is set to become a five-story apartment building located on Bishop Art’s W. Davis St. photographed on Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Dallas. Homes are seen across the street on Fouraker St.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
Some community members said they also opposed the development in 2019 when it was considered by the commission.
During the March meeting of the commission, residents and a representative of the Kidd Springs Neighborhood Association said they had concerns with issues like the height of the building, its proximity to homes and its impact on parking in the area.
The next time the City Council could consider this issue is during its April 8 meeting.
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