A fence surrounds the Knox Villa project, which includes plans for 12 home lots and a model home. Three homes are under contract, the developer says.
Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
Neighbors in Dallas’ Knox-Henderson community gathered in a church seeking answers — but not from a priest.
Instead, the Knox-Henderson residents turned to a developer. John Paul Kosub said he was ready for tough questions.
“I do appreciate the turnout, as silly as that might sound to someone who knows that he’s about to catch a little bit of heat,” Kosub said. “But I do appreciate you guys showing up, because it obviously shows that you guys care about the community.”
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About 25 Knox-Henderson residents met at The Chapel of the Cross church on June 22 to raise concerns about a construction zone at 4423 Cole Ave. The site is set to become a dozen multimillion-dollar homes, but residents said construction has dragged on and disrupted their lives.
Developer Kairoi Residential is building a community of 12 custom homes at the site. A representative of Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty, which is marketing the homes, previously told The Dallas Morning News that pricing for the homes starts at $4.5 million.
The project includes 12 home lots and the company plans to build a model home, a home for a prospective buyer and has three homes under contract, said Kosub, a development manager at Kairoi. The custom homes are replacing a condominium complex called Somerset II.
Kairoi closed on the land in July 2025 and took time to demolish buildings on the property, some of which had asbestos, Kosub said. Offsite utility work started in October 2025. During the meeting, Kosub said the project was waiting on a certificate of acceptance from the city before it can get building permits released. Construction of each home will take about 10 to 12 months, he said.
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An adjoining site on Travis Street is also owned by Kairoi, but Kosub said the company hasn’t decided what to do with that property.
A crew works at the Knox Villas construction site in Dallas. Some Knox-Henderson residents expressed concerns about the project, including trash and debris being left at the site.
Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
Some of the residents hadn’t met each other ahead of the meeting, but they had similar concerns. They said people had been working outside of Dallas’ construction hours and that trash and debris had remained at the site.
Kosub said he was aware of a contractor who worked outside of the city’s work hours and was reprimanded. Additionally, he said the company would start doing regular street sweeping and doing other site maintenance.
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One resident said workers were using electricity from their property and using their water to mix concrete. Kosub said he had gotten information from the residents about increasing utility bills and planned to compensate them.
Several residents also said mud was flowing from the site into areas near their homes, which was worsened by recent heavy rains.
Shelley Potter, a resident who helped organize the meeting, said residents had previously come together when Kairoi planned to put a high rise on the property. She said they were thrilled when the developer changed the project to homes at a lower height level. She said the construction has been challenging and the meeting was meant to find solutions to some of the biggest issues.
Developer Kairoi Residential is behind Knox Villas, a community of multimillion dollar homes in Dallas’ Knox-Henderson neighborhood.
Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty
Soren Lindstrom, one of the residents at the meeting, said the community wants the developer to be successful and build beautiful homes, but other developers in the area have been more sensitive to neighborhood concerns.
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“I don’t even know how you sell a $5 million home, how the site has been looking,” Lindstrom said during the meeting. “I mean, I’m not surprised that you haven’t sold more than three, because it’s been looking like a mess, a dump, for a year.”
Kosub said a meeting like this is helpful and the company wants to be a better neighbor.