This year’s Associate Leadership Council (ALC) class will renovate the Royal Oak Apartments in the Forest District for the program’s 2023 community investment project.
The renovation will be completed in partnership with TREC Community Investors and Cornerstone Community Development Corporation, which owns the 12,000 square-foot apartment building located at 2806 Holmes Street, as part of Dallas Catalyst Project (DCP): Forest District.
By renovating the Royal Oak Apartments, the ALC class would maintain The Real Estate Council and TREC Community Investors’ commitment to improving housing and quality of life without displacing Forest District residents. Previously completed Dallas Catalyst Project housing renovations include The Grace at Holmes (2021 Young Guns Project) and two quadplex apartment buildings owned by St. Philip’s School and Community Center (2022 Young Guns Project).
To complete the renovation, the ALC class proposed a $108,375 project budget, requested a $75,000 TREC Community Investors grant, and aims to raise $33,735 in in-kind donations.
Built in 1964, Royal Oak Apartments features 16 one-bedroom apartments. The complex requires various aesthetic and beautification upgrades as well as new security measures and general safety improvements to bring Royal Oak fully up to code.
The ALC class selected the project in late April from several options requested by the three Dallas Catalyst Project partner organizations, which also includes St. Philip’s School and Community Center and Forest Forward. The TREC Community Investors Board of Directors approved it in early May.
In its proposed timeline, the ALC class projected design efforts and preconstruction pricing to take place between May and August. Construction is projected to begin in September and conclude in December.
Security upgrades include the installation of a new perimeter fence, exterior lighting, and remote gate access to the property and building entrance, as well as new Ring cameras for each apartment unit.
The class has also budgeted for the installation of a new HVAC unit for each apartment, repairs to an existing steel staircase, and new smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and fire extinguishers, among other minor fixes throughout the complex.
Aesthetic improvements include new paint to the building’s exterior and hallways, restriping the parking lot, landscaping, a bike rack, box planters, and outdoor gathering area furniture, as well as a fire pit and new community grill.