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Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Maxie Johnson speaks in front of community residents during a news conference at the District 4 Community Office on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, in Dallas.<\/p>\n
El\u00edas Valverde II\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Dallas plans to use more than $6 million in funding to bring\u00a0much-needed repairs<\/a> to homes and infrastructure in Oak Cliff neighborhoods, officials announced Tuesday.<\/p>\n Across southern Dallas, residents have long dealt with crumbling sidewalks and missing water and sewer lines, which advocates say have\u00a0burdened efforts to revitalize neighborhoods<\/a> with aging homes. The funding for Dallas City Council District 4, which includes parts of Oak Cliff, is aimed at preserving neighborhoods.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is very important to our community because now we’re seeing real action take place,\u201d said Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Maxie Johnson, who represents the district. \u201cIt’s one thing to talk about equity. It’s another thing to do equity and this morning, we\u2019re doing equity.\u201d<\/p>\n The funding, which was already secured, is being applied by the city\u2019s housing and transportation departments, officials said. The announcement comes as the city deals with a more than $30 million budget shortfall<\/a>, staff face furloughs<\/a> and officials aim to make every dollar count.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re going to start seeing changes immediately,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n Dallas has faced scrutiny over the area\u2019s infrastructure needs and incomplete promises for repairs in the area. Officials made the announcement days after The Dallas Morning News reporting showed that advocates pointed<\/a> to needed help from the city to address infrastructure and blighted, vacant lots across southern Dallas.<\/p>\n Related: Vacant lots in southern Dallas could help ease region’s housing crisis<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cPart of our job as an office is to really look at the various funding sources and see how we match those with community need,\u201d said James Armstrong III, deputy director of the city\u2019s housing and homelessness division. \u201cYou will see that there will be sort of this marrying of funding sources with the need, so that we can obviously have more efficiency around how we use the money.\u201d<\/p>\n These improvements could also help residents not far from the new Halperin Park<\/a>, a multimillion-dollar deck park stretching across Interstate 35E. Though residents have enjoyed the park\u2019s benefits, it\u2019s also raised concerns that gentrification and displacement could follow.<\/p>\n Southern Dallas Progress President and Board Chair James McGee exits a Church Street home his organization is renovating in the Tenth Street Historic District on Nov. 14, 2025, in Dallas. He said dirt was pushed into the front yard of the homes along Church Street partially burying front doors in some cases during street repaving.<\/p>\n Angela Piazza\/Staff Photographer<\/p>\n Johnson said the nearby historic Tenth Street neighborhood<\/a> now has $4 million for roads, sidewalks, lighting and other critical infrastructure that could improve quality of life for residents. This is through the transportation department, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is money that I’ve been asking, \u2018Where’s the money? What’s going on?\u2019\u201d Johnson said. \u201cIt went from \u2018We don’t have any money\u2019 to \u2018Hey, now this is where we at.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Locating that money wouldn\u2019t have been possible without the city manager\u2019s support, Johnson said. City spokespeople did not immediately respond to follow-up questions about the details of this funding, including when it was approved.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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