<\/p>\n
Dallas City Council Member Maxie Johnson speaks, Thursday, June 4, 2026 at Dallas City Hall, with other city leaders and pastors about the \u201cimportance of keeping the Dallas Mavericks in downtown\u201d. He does not want the move to see southern Dallas left behind.<\/p>\n
Steve Nurenberg\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
In the flag room of City Hall, southern Dallas leaders pleaded with the Dallas Mavericks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re asking the Dallas Mavericks, don’t turn your backs on southern Dallas,\u201d Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Maxie Johnson said that day. \u201cWe want you here. We need you here.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was June, and after the NBA team\u2019s plans for moving to the former Valley View Mall in Far North Dallas became public, Johnson, who represents part of Oak Cliff on the City Council, swiftly gathered the group to address a familiar pattern.<\/p>\n
Leaders say an unyielding expansion north, both in Dallas and across North Texas, draws resources away from the south. Southern Dallas has a place in the city\u2019s future, the group said, with it having long been called a linchpin in the city\u2019s growth. But Dallas leaders told The Dallas Morning News there\u2019s a cost to overcoming historic disinvestment, and when business moves elsewhere, it only makes it more difficult for the area to reach its full potential.<\/p>\n
Related: Vacant lots in southern Dallas could help ease region’s housing crisis<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the central tax base is systematically starved by capital fleeing north and to the suburbs, the funds available to invest in historically marginalized communities will completely dry up,\u201d said state Rep. Venton Jones at the June news conference<\/a>.<\/p>\n Leaders say progress in southern Dallas depends on the city\u2019s current success, and the city\u2019s long-term success depends on that progress.<\/p>\n As Dallas confronts budget pressures, corporate departures and continued growth toward its northern suburbs, leaders are making a renewed case for investment south of Interstate 30. Southern Dallas has abundant land and growing development, but decades-old disparities in infrastructure, jobs and amenities remain.<\/p>\n Angela Piazza, The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n \u00a0Despite holding around half of the city\u2019s land<\/a>, southern Dallas holds much less taxable property. Southern Dallas represents less than a fifth of the city\u2019s taxable property value, according to the economic development department. That\u2019s despite roughly 45% of residents<\/a>, a majority of them Black and Hispanic, living south of Interstate 30.<\/p>\n Residents have advocated for grocery stores<\/a> and healthcare facilities, which have clustered north. Others have asked for more work opportunities or shops. Even hotly contested, large data centers are being debated far away in suburbs to the north or south<\/a>, regardless of whether residents want them.<\/p>\n A construction crew works to build a retaining wall and install utility pipeline for a planned mixed-use development in University Hills, Dallas, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. UNT is seen in the background.<\/p>\n Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News A construction crew works to install a utility pipeline that passes under a creek for a planned mixed-use development in University Hills, Dallas, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026.<\/p>\n Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News A construction crew works to install a utility pipeline that passes under a creek for a planned mixed-use development in University Hills, Dallas, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026.<\/p>\n Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News A construction crew works to build a retaining wall for a planned mixed-use development in University Hills, Dallas, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026.<\/p>\n Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News A construction crew works to build a retaining wall for a planned mixed-use development in University Hills, Dallas, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. UNT is seen in the background.<\/p>\n Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News UNT Dallas is seen behind University Hills, a planned mixed-use development in southern Dallas, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2026.<\/p>\n Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News UNT Dallas is seen behind University Hills, a planned mixed-use development in southern Dallas, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2026.<\/p>\n Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News UNT Dallas is seen behind University Hills, a planned mixed-use development in southern Dallas, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2026.<\/p>\n Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News UNT Dallas is seen behind University Hills, a planned mixed-use development in southern Dallas, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2026.<\/p>\n Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News Downtown Dallas seen behind University Hills, a planned mixed-use development in southern Dallas, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2026.<\/p>\n Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News A demolition crew knocks down the City Inn & Suites hotel along Interstate 35 and Ewing Avenue in Dallas, Friday, Aug. 14, 2026. The site will become parking for the park.<\/p>\n Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News A demolition crew knocks down the City Inn & Suites hotel along Interstate 35 and Ewing Avenue in Dallas, Friday, Aug. 14, 2026. The site will become parking for the park.<\/p>\n Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News A demolition crew knocks down the City Inn & Suites hotel along Interstate 35 and Ewing Avenue in Dallas, Friday, Aug. 14, 2026. The site will become parking for the park.<\/p>\n Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News A demolition crew knocks down the City Inn & Suites hotel near Halperin Park in Dallas, Friday, Aug. 14, 2026. The site will become parking for the park.<\/p>\n Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Related: Dallas City Council approved a record $6 billion budget, boosting police, saving libraries<\/a><\/p>\n Recent citywide budget issues and high-profile talks of corporate departures from the city center<\/a> have only raised concerns. Leaders hope it won\u2019t impact the funding and attention needed to usher in improvements and overcome a longstanding imbalance<\/a>.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n City investment marks change<\/p>\n Across southern Dallas, growth is showing up around a new $300 million deck park<\/a> near the Dallas Zoo and at the reimagined Shops at RedBird<\/a>, which has attracted several healthcare facilities. Entire blocks in some neighborhoods have filled with new houses, with more on the way.<\/p>\n Along Martin Luther King Boulevard in South Dallas, an area near the city\u2019s center, the Forest Theater is undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation to serve as a cultural hub. Nearby, St. Philip’s School and Community Center and Cornerstone Baptist Church are working on revitalization as well, and there\u2019s been an injection of funding <\/a>to complete the work.<\/p>\n In August, more than 10 miles from City Hall, acres of flat dirt drew city leaders to southeast Oak Cliff to celebrate progress on the billion-dollar, 270-acre University Hills project<\/a>.<\/p>\n State Sen. Royce West speaks at a ceremony celebrating infrastructure improvements for a planned mixed-use development in University Hills, Dallas, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026.<\/p>\n Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n It\u2019s one of several projects expected to transform the area near the University of North Texas at Dallas campus, bringing new housing, amenities and hope for a long-desired grocery store to nearby neighborhoods.<\/p>\n Costly infrastructure needs have served as a barrier for developers looking to build<\/a> in southern areas. Neighborhoods lack sidewalks, street repairs or utility connections that foster growth. But that day in August, leaders celebrated the completion of work that will facilitate the creation of hundreds of single-family homes, commercial space and more.<\/p>\n \u201cDays like this continue to remind me how important it is for us to hold onto our hope for southern Dallas,\u201d City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert told the crowd. \u201cIt is also a testament that government can be a positive force in lifting up and strengthening communities, and truly championing goals that allow for us to deliver on our promise to make all parts of this city strong and vibrant.\u201d<\/p>\n Developer Mike Hoque said the work to create a mixed-use district is now 18 months ahead of schedule. It\u2019s part of a strategy to rebalance growth in the north and south.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Related: Vacant lots plague southern Dallas as builders balk at infrastructure costs<\/a><\/p>\n Mike Hoque, CEO of Hoque Globals, speaks at a ceremony celebrating infrastructure improvements for a planned mixed-use development in University Hills, Dallas, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026.<\/p>\n Angela Piazza\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Leaders point to the combination of incentives, city support and private investment as driving change. As that change takes hold, southern Dallas areas are seeing increases in housing, incomes and workers. For all that progress, leaders also said there is still a long way to go.<\/p>\n \u201cThe southern sector of Dallas is wonderfully diverse and trending in the right direction, but the work must continue to decrease the long-standing disparity in tax base between historically under-invested neighborhoods and the rest of the city,\u201d said Kevin Spath, director for the city\u2019s economic development office, in a statement.<\/p>\n What do Dallas\u2019 numbers say?<\/p>\n Increasing growth, along with the persistent impact of neglect, are showing up in the numbers. Southern Dallas is growing faster than fuller neighborhoods to the north.<\/p>\n Spath said that in 2025, southern Dallas had 19% \u2014 or nearly $37 billion \u2014 of the city\u2019s taxable property value. This excludes \u201cbusiness property.\u201d Business property is typically considered personal property, like furniture or equipment, used to produce income.<\/p>\n That\u2019s up from 2011, when southern Dallas had about 13% of the city\u2019s taxable value, or around $10 billion, including business property, Spath said.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The ratio is \u201cunacceptable,\u201d said Tennell Atkins, who represented Dallas\u2019 southernmost areas on the City Council over a span of about 20 years before his term ended in 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cYou cannot maintain this [city] trying to grow north,\u201d he added. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to go south.\u201d<\/p>\n Related: See how Dallas’ budget has changed in 4 charts<\/a><\/p>\n At the same time, Spath said that between 2020 and 2025, the rate of growth for taxable property value was about 94% in southern Dallas. That\u2019s compared to nearly 55% to the north, which includes downtown.<\/p>\n An array of economic tools are being deployed to help facilitate hundreds of millions in private investment. Over the past 20 years, Dallas has seen significant investment to the south, much of it \u201cintentionally stimulated and catalyzed,\u201d Spath said. Investments come from the city, county and state, along with DART.<\/p>\n Spath pointed to demographic changes, along with an increase in housing, to show how areas are changing.<\/p>\n Southern Dallas ZIP codes have increased their labor force participation, along with incomes. Fewer people lack a high school diploma. Commute times have also shortened, Spath said, pointing to workers getting jobs closer to home.<\/p>\n In 2023, the City Council approved a new economic development incentive policy directing resources to areas where the poverty rate is 20% or greater. These communities are spread across Dallas, Spath said, but 78% of target areas are located in southern Dallas.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Still, not every dollar available gets used promptly in Dallas. For example, city officials recently announced millions in 2017 bond money going\u00a0toward infrastructure repairs<\/a>. Other times, officials and developers have pointed to delays \u2014 bureaucratic or practical \u2014 pushing projects back.<\/p>\n The data isn\u2019t fully reflective of the realities of what southern Dallas residents have said they are dealing with: crumbling streets and sidewalks, a housing crisis and a lack of food and healthcare options<\/a>.<\/p>\n Residents said they drive outside their neighborhoods, or outside the city entirely, to spend on groceries and other amenities they don\u2019t have nearby. When areas do experience growth, displacement worries rise with property values<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe really have to have a serious conversation about what economic development and economic growth look like for the southern sector of Dallas, and how do we not leave the people behind that have made up those areas for generations,\u201d Jones, the state representative, said.<\/p>\n Dallas\u2019 climate raises worries<\/p>\n When Johnson called the news conference at City Hall, the Mavericks’ exit was only the latest concern for local officials.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Dallas Stars are planning a move to\u00a0Plano<\/a>, along with AT&T. Comerica left its tower. Neiman Marcus, after more than 100 years, plans to close its flagship store<\/a>. These moves mean a loss of workers and patrons, expected to leave some downtown buildings empty without a new tenant. They also draw potential tax revenue, which could go toward improvements for the city, further away from southern Dallas.<\/p>\n Johnson said his call to action went beyond opinions on sports teams or the City Hall building, though he has said he wanted to keep the teams downtown and supported exploring other options for City Hall. He said in an interview that he\u2019s fighting for \u201ceconomic equity\u201d in southern Dallas.<\/p>\n \u201cYou’re going to start seeing more work being done,\u201d Johnson said, \u201cwhere we’re cleaning up our communities to bring in strong economic development that creates jobs and creates opportunity instead of more opposition.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"As](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789688674_812_rawImage.jpg\")
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