Bethlehem Baptist Church, the oldest predominantly African-American church in Tarrant County, broke ground April 29 in Mansfield for a $20 million affordable housing development with units renting for as low as $400 a month.
The 113,500-square-foot complex is under construction on 5.5 acres at 1197 W. Broad St. The project will be built and managed by Dallas-based Carleton Residential Properties and Carleton Management Services.
Plans stretch back more than a decade for Bethlehem’s Pioneer Place, a living facility with 135 one- and two-bedroom units for tenants age 55 and older.
Bethlehem Baptist’s senior pastor, Michael Evans Sr., has led the process.
“We are standing on the shoulders of our foreparents – the pioneers of this city, former slaves, sharecroppers – the citizens of the past who made Mansfield a place where all could call her home,” said Evans. “Today, I believe, we mark the beginning of the renaissance for the West Broad corridor.”
Pioneer Place is the first major housing development in more than 50 years in the once impoverished sector of Mansfield. It will include elevators, Wi-Fi, a fitness center, a business center, a library, meeting rooms and a community garden. It is schedule for completion in the summer of 2019.
The church developed the Historic West Mansfield Texas Community Development Corp. to champion initiatives to enrich the community. The organization obtained tax-exempt funds to construct the project.
It took more than 10 years to secure full ownership of the property, years of failed attempts for a 9 percent tax credit by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, and an arduous review process by the City of Mansfield Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council.
“We know that we serve a God who majors in the impossible,” Evans said during the groundbreaking.
“Today begins a new day in the City of Mansfield and the West Broad corridor,” said Mansfield Mayor David Cook. Mansfield City Manager Clayton Chandler agreed.
“There is a real need for what is being built here,” said Chandler. “There’s been a need in Mansfield for a long time.”
Also at the groundbreaking were state Sen. Konni Burton (R-Fort Worth), state Rep. Bill Zedler (R-Arlington), and staff from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs.
The name Pioneer Place refers to the area of Mansfield where the city’s founders, Ralph S. Man and Julian Feild, came to the area to build a grist mill. Between 1856 and 1859 the two built a mill on the land that is now at the southwest corner of East Broad and South Main streets.
SALE
Marcus & Millichap has announced the sale of Park Glen Market Place, a 9,540-square-foot retail property at 5421 Basswood Blvd. in Fort Worth, according to Tim A. Speck, first vice president and district manager of the firm’s Dallas office, and Kyle Palmer, vice president of the firm’s Fort Worth office.
“We successfully marketed the property for the out-of-state owner and sourced multiple offers from both in-state and out-of-state offers and ultimately closed with a private buyer from Texas,” said Chris Gainey vice president of investments in Marcus & Millichap’s Fort Worth office.
Philip Levy, senior managing director for investments in Marcus & Millichap’s Dallas office, and Gainey represented the seller, an out-of-state private investor. They also secured the buyer, an in-state private investor.
The strip center is mixed-use retail and medical. The sale signifies a shift in market place for neighborhood strip centers and how they are adapting to nontraditional tenant types.
LEASES
Mentor Texas LP extended its 39,992-square-foot lease at 555 Airline Drive in Coppell. Blake Kendrick with Stream Realty Partners represented the landlord, GLP. Tim Vogds with CBRE Inc. represented the tenant.
Black Horse Carriers Inc. leased 63,911 square feet at Park West Crossing, 501 Southwestern Blvd. in Coppell. Jeremy Kelly and Ryan Boozer with Stream Realty Partners represented the landlord, MLRP Park West Crossing F, LLC. Bryan Graham with BLG Commercial RE represented the tenant.
Send real deals to Robert Francis at rfrancis@bizpress.net.
