Developers and residents push for improved storm water drainage in South Dallas to boost development.
DALLAS — Every month, you’ll find Ferrell Fellows at the Pointe South Revitalization Committee meeting in South Dallas. She started Kingdom Legacy Company advocating not just for the building she owns but for its residents.
“We need jobs here. We need increased income levels here,” said Fellows during the meeting.
She owns an apartment building at Meadow Street and South Boulevard. While she tends to everything inside, it is the outside causing problems.
“We have a problem with stormwater drainage that leaves our intersections flooded,” said Fellows.
The committee shared a video with WFAA of rainfall from last year showing how the area floods.
“People have to walk into oncoming traffic just to be able to get around those areas of flooding,” said Fellows. “We need infrastructure funding we need our leaders to do what they said they were going to do we need to see the investment going into the community.”
Hank Lawson is the committee chair. He said they learned of the issue when another developer went to the city.
“One of our members has that site and went to the city about this catalytic effort only to find out that there’s no storm sewer,” said Lawson.
Another developer who owns property in that area did not want to be identified, but he shared a map of the drainage system which stops at MLK Jr. Boulevard and Meadow Street.
“The people in that neighborhood get a water bill every month and in it has a fee for storm sewer, yet there is no storm system storm,” said Lawson.
WFAA reached out to Deputy Mayor Pro Tem, Adam Bazaldua, who represents the South Dallas neighborhood. His office said, they “…have not had this issue brought to our attention. As far as we are aware, there’s a collaborative effort being made by the city and property owners to address critical needs in the surrounding area.”
They said they are also reaching out to other city departments.
However, Lawson was surprised by the response.
“What bothers me is that there have been some very hard conversations about that, personally with Bazaldua,” said Lawson.
Many like Lawson said infrastructure needs must be addressed to attract more developers such as Fellows.
“People have always had their eyes on South Dallas. We are the gem of the city we truly are an amazing place to develop. I believe with greater investment we’ll begin to see greater traction and there will be an attraction to this area where developers will come here and want to build,” said Fellows.
