Dallas (1080 KRLD) - A developer has started construction on the first four homes in a neighborhood south of Downtown Dallas renamed, "The Bottom District." The neighborhood spans an area just south of the Trinity River between Interstate 35E and Corinth St.
Dick LeBlanc, the founder of Texas Heavenly Homes, says he intends to build on 85 lots in the area.
"I was receiving a lot of phone calls. There's a lot of interest in the Bottom District," he says.
"This will be some of the most spectacular views in this particular city," says State Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas). "It's taken a while to get here, but it appears as though we're finally here."
LeBlanc started working with the City of Dallas in 2008, receiving a loan to buy land in the area for development. These are the first houses being built in the neighborhood.
"This has been going on for quite some time," he says. "It's been a complicated thing to try to get from point 'A' to point 'B'."
First, he says the city needed to repair basic services in the area.
"Over these 15 years, what we learned was the infrastructure, the streets, sewers, water, was just old," LeBlanc says. "They were, in many areas, worn out and needed total replacing."
Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price says the Bottom District will gain popularity with new investment from both the city and private developers. He says the homes being built will be within walking distance of Dallas ISD's Ewell Townview Center and a new park.
"At first, you didn't want me. Now, I'm hot," he says. "The Bottoms was a throw-away."
LeBlanc says common areas in the development will be landscaped with custom street signs and lights.
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