The City of Denison was presented with the 2015 Municipal Excellence Award at the Texas Municipal League 103rd Annual Conference and Exhibition, held in San Antonio. Denison earned the award for its affordable housing program.
The first step the City of Denison took was to remove several dilapidated buildings that posed both health and public safety risks. Empty lots became common-place in certain areas of town. To deal with the vacant lots without current owners, the City of Denison created a neighborhood empowerment zone to encompass the areas where these lots were prevalent. With an initial goal of completing ten projects within a two-year period, the city partnered with local financing institutions, a local building supplier, and local builders to develop 30 lots in the zone. Currently eight builders are participating in the program.
The City of Denison is implementing more innovative solutions to the growing demand for housing. The city has taken multiple approaches to answer the need for housing options on all levels, ranging from the affordable housing program, multi-family and high income housing. The result is new housing starts, in all price ranges, are at the highest levels since 2006. The boost in housing permits comes as the city has made the creation of housing options on all income levels a focus. In July, the city’s new housing task force met for the first time to form a plan for the future development in housing.
The city’s affordable housing program created 13 of the 46 housing permits issued in 2015. Pinnacle Park Subdivision, located near Shannon Road, has two homes that have been sold and are currently occupied with nine more under development. There are 40 lots in the development.
One of the biggest and most complex developments is the new “Gateway to Denison”. Gateway Village is located at FM 691 and Highway 75, stretching north to Loy Lake Road and Highway 75 and west to FM 131. Gateway Village encompasses 600 acres of housing, retail, dining and medical facilities patterned very much like Watters Creek in Allen. Infrastructure is already in place and new construction in three neighborhoods of Gateway Village is expected to begin in January 2016. The three subdivisions, Fawn Meadows, Saddle Creek and Greenway Park, will provide more than 80 new residences in Denison in their first phase of development. These homes range from 1,700 square feet in Fawn Meadows to 3,000 square feet in Saddle Creek.