Story by Lizzie Sexton. Photos by Katharine Bales, Jedarrian Jones, and Jennie Trejo.
St. Philip’s School and Community Center is leading what they call a “transformation” in South Dallas, bringing affordable housing and economic development opportunities to the neighborhood. Through a combination of housing initiatives, business support, and revitalization efforts, the school is working to create a thriving, self-sustaining community where families can live, work, and grow.
Developer Ferrell Fellows, a South Dallas resident whose son attended St. Philip’s, has seen firsthand how the area is changing. Once plagued by crime and neglect, the neighborhood is beginning to see new investment and a renewed sense of safety.
“Students can’t turn a blind eye to what they are experiencing when they walk out of the school,” says Fellows, who served on St. Philip’s community advisory committee from 2018 to 2020. “A community means people need to feel safe to go to the park or walk down the street, and that’s what it’s starting to mean again because of all that St. Philip’s has done.”
Fifty years ago, 373 liquor-related businesses saturated a four-mile area of South Dallas, according to St. Philip’s website. This was largely due to legislation that allowed multiple liquor stores to crowd a single block. Of those businesses, 48 were located within four blocks of St. Philip’s campus. Today, thanks to St. Philip’s efforts to repurpose these spaces, only five remain.
“The neighborhood transformation begins to invite people to live in the same community,” Fellows says. She recently sold a home to a St. Philip’s family looking to move closer to the school. “It invites them to feel safe, to become residents, to become business owners, and to truly create what a community is all about.”
This transformation is part of St. Philip’s broader mission to provide vital services in South Dallas. In addition to acquiring and revitalizing old liquor stores, the school launched new initiatives to foster economic development and housing stability. The deliverables include the creation of a business hub to support local entrepreneurs and a housing development strategy designed to encourage families to live in the neighborhood.
“There’s so much untapped potential in South Dallas. We want to create a space where people can express themselves and grow, right in their own neighborhood,” says Julie Saqueton, chief community advancement officer at St. Philip’s.
Affordable housing is a key component of St. Philip’s redevelopment strategy. Their plan focuses on building townhomes designed for long-term affordability. By ensuring these homes remain accessible to low- and moderate-income families, the initiative aims to stabilize the neighborhood and prevent displacement, Saqueton says.
Drawing inspiration from successful models like Boston’s Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, which used community land trusts to control housing prices, St. Philip’s is implementing strategies that prioritize community ownership and affordability.
According to Nicole Raphiel, Community Development Project Manager at St. Philip’s School and Community Center, the organization has secured four lots with seven housing units in total, including two duplexes and two single-family homes—one of which has an accompanying Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU). Two of these units are expected to be completed by the end of March.
“These homes are designed to serve residents earning between 60-100% of the Area Median Income (AMI),” Raphiel says. “With subsidies from the city of Dallas, applicants must complete income verification through the city to qualify. We want to ensure these homes remain affordable for families who are rooted in this community.”
The pricing for these homes ranges from $197,000 to $240,000. To promote awareness and accessibility, St. Philip’s has actively advertised to local residents, including teachers and staff members. They have also invited neighbors to homebuyer seminars hosted at The Hub, providing education and guidance to potential buyers.
“It was important for us to incorporate community input into the design process,” Raphiel adds. “These homes reflect architectural styles similar to The Gables, making them a natural fit for the neighborhood.”
Applications for these homes remain open, and St. Philip’s continues to encourage community members to apply.
“Affordable housing is about more than just having a place to live,” Saqueton says. “It’s about creating a foundation for families to build their futures.”
St. Philip’s neighborhood revitalization fund is also assisting existing businesses through commercial renovations. When House of Parts’ roof caved in after a recent storm, St. Philip’s stepped in to help repair the structure as part of their broader strategy to address the physical disrepair of commercial properties on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
“When the storm hit and [House of Parts’] roof caved in, it was our responsibility as a landlord to help repair it,” Saqueton said in an email. “House of Parts did have insurance that covered their contents. We have insurance too, but, unfortunately, the claim was denied and we are in the process of appealing it.”
Since reopening, House of Parts owner Karl Hegwer has already seen a monumental change in the community.
“It’s uplifting to see. When you see something every day, you don’t always notice the change,” Hegwer says. “Because of St. Philip’s, you do.”
To further support local businesses, St. Philip’s Community Center opened The Hub at 1612 MLK Jr. Blvd. earlier this year. The Hub serves as a launchpad for entrepreneurs who are not yet ready for a permanent brick-and-mortar location. The space offers pop-up opportunities, allowing businesses to test their products and services while gaining exposure.
“The Hub concept is part of a continuum of services in the Forest District that help prepare entrepreneurs to become thriving small business owners,” Saqueton says.
The timing for The Hub’s opening is ideal, she adds. The number of small businesses in the 75215 ZIP code—which includes most of MLK Jr. Boulevard—has steadily grown. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 265 small-scale businesses in the area by 2022, showing a consistent upward trend since 2019.
Nonprofit CEO Lafe Cook says he hopes that people from within the community will take advantage of these opportunities to create their own businesses.
“Politics isn’t the answer to what is going on in our city. We are,” Cook says.
For long-time residents like Hegwer and families in South Dallas, St. Philip’s is more than a school– it’s a catalyst for change.
“South Dallas has always been a special place,” Saqueton says. “Our goal is to make sure it stays that way for generations to come. There’s so much untapped potential in South Dallas. We want to create a space where people can express themselves and grow, right in their own neighborhood.”
Ava Bates and Katharine Bales contributed to this story.
This article is a part of a Solutions Journalism Network grant-funded collaboration between Dallas Doing Good, Dallas Free Press, and Southern Methodist University journalism students enrolled in summer and fall 2024 feature-writing classes. Their collective goal was to capture the efforts of South Dallas residents and businesses to preserve and revitalize Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Dallas, TX. Read more stories from the Revitalizing MLK Jr. Boulevard series.
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