Bennett Miller Co. builds Ninth Street Townhomes in Dallas' Oak Cliff

Townhome prices geared toward renters
10:55 PM CST on Friday, December 28, 2007
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
stevebrown@dallasnews.com

A Dallas builder who pioneered housing on the near south side of downtown is breaking new ground in Oak Cliff.

Bennett Miller Co. has started construction on the Ninth Street Townhomes near Adamson High School in north Oak Cliff.

The 22 Craftsman-style homes will start at less than $168,000.

"I've gone back to building a home that's priced for someone paying apartment rent now," said Mr. Miller, who's been providing housing in Dallas' center city for more than two decades. "I want people who work downtown to be able to live close in."

The two- and three-bedroom townhouses will start at about 1,400 square feet.

"Just like everything else we do, no one knows where Ninth Street is," Mr. Miller said. "This is our first venture in Oak Cliff, and I think we are right on track with it."

So far Mr. Miller has had good luck at identifying up-and-coming urban neighborhoods.

In the 1980s, he developed Dallas' first loft apartments in old commercial buildings south of downtown.

And in the early 1990s, he built one of Uptown's first new housing communities, turning an old oil company complex into apartments and townhomes. Magnolia Station is now a neighbor to the high-rise Victory Park.

More recently, Mr. Miller has been building modestly priced townhouses in the Cedars neighborhood near Old City Park. His latest project there, Millers Ferry Row, has 13 homes and is almost sold out.

"From now on, I'm going to focus on smaller, more affordable homes," Mr. Miller said. "There are still affordable building lots to be found near downtown.

"But you have to work hard to keep the prices down."

The first of the Ninth Street Townhomes will be ready in the spring.