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DALLAS, TX - The Office of Economic Development announces two major development projects in southern Dallas. The first, a new Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) center for Georgia-based company Chime Solutions. The second, a substantial rehabilitation of the former Urban League of Greater Dallas building on South Lancaster Road for office and retail use.
Chime Solutions is a human resources and staffing firm headquartered in Morrow, Georgia. The company’s new 51,000 square foot BPO center, its first outside of Georgia, will be located at Red Bird Mall. By 2021, Chime anticipates creating over 1,000 full-time jobs at the new center. The range of jobs will include customer service agents, human resource specialists, desktop support specialists, trainers, operations managers, and a site director. Annual wages are expected to range from $29,000 to $80,000+ and all jobs will include a full benefits package. This business development project is the first office incentive project located in southern Dallas in at least 20 years. Chime Solutions is a privately-owned and certified minority- and woman-owned business. The Dallas City Council approved an economic development grant of $2 million to facilitate this project.
Red Bird Mall, located in southern Dallas at US Highway 67 and Interstate Highway 20, is currently undergoing a $220 million redevelopment which will transform the mall into a mixed-use development, with new options for shopping, dining, entertainment, residential multifamily, office space, medical offices, and a hotel and conference center. It also features the recently opened Dallas Entrepreneur Center (DEC) at Red Bird, which provides a variety of services for entrepreneurs and startups, as well as a new Starbucks.
The former Urban League of Greater Dallas building, located at 4315 South Lancaster Road, will undergo a substantial rehabilitation by E Smith Communities, a real estate company owned by former Dallas Cowboys star Emmitt Smith. Upon completion, the building will include workforce readiness, community wellness, and retail tenants. The 29,686 square foot building will build upon the success of the adjacent Lancaster Urban Village, a mixed-use redevelopment project completed in 2014, and is located across the street from the VA Medical Center and DART rail station.
The $4.4 million project will provide opportunity for local employment and services to the surrounding challenged residential market area with an anticipated 100 jobs to be created. The Dallas City Council approved an incentive to provide gap financing for the project in the form of a $750,000 grant.
In addition to these two projects, the City Council also approved a $500,000 grant to The Golden S.E.E.D.S. Foundation for neighborhood enhancements in The Bottom, a residential neighborhood south of the central business district, as well as the creation of the Southern Dallas Investment Fund, a $2,500,000 fund to support small businesses in southern Dallas.
“These projects attest to the City’s larger focus on southern Dallas,” said Mayor Mike Rawlings. “Through today’s actions, we will positively impact local residents by providing employment, retail, and wellness options in the heart of their communities.”
Since January 2018, the Office of Economic Development has facilitated the approval of projects citywide that are expected to generate a total private investment of $1.24 billion leveraged by a total City investment of $83 million. Based on the contractual commitments of these projects, an estimated 5,474 jobs are to be created and 3,414 jobs are to be retained.
As a subset of the above numbers, it is estimated that projects in the southern sector of the City will account for a private investment of $502 million (40% of the citywide total) leveraged by City investment of $53 million (64% of the citywide total). Based on the contractual commitments of these projects, an estimated 3,609 jobs (66% of the citywide total) are to be created.
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About the City of Dallas Office of Economic Development
The City of Dallas maintains a full-service economic development program that leads the City's business and real estate development efforts. The Office supports existing and prospective Dallas businesses as well as development and redevelopment within the city of Dallas. For more information, visit www.DallasEcoDev.org.
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