DBJ Article on CDM: Rees-Jones Foundation gives $5M to Dallas homeless project - Dallas Business Journal:

Thank you to Brooke Cowlishaw from the Dallas Business Journal for covering the construction launch of our http://www.citywalkatakard.com project:

http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2008/08/25/daily23.html

Rees-Jones Foundation gives $5M to Dallas homeless project

The Rees-Jones Foundation awarded a $5 million grant Tuesday to kick-start citywalk@akard, a homeless and transitional housing project being built in downtown Dallas.

Citywalk@akard is a project of Central Dallas Ministries and the Central Dallas Community Development Corp., which celebrated the grant and the commencement of construction during an event Tuesday at 511 N. Akard St., the location of the project.

The development will house 9,500 square feet of ground-floor retail, 18,600 square feet of office space spread over two floors, 50 apartments reserved for formerly homeless people and 150 units for those making less than $27,000 per year. The project also will have five condos, of which four have been sold.

Central Dallas Community Development Corp. Executive Director John Greenan said the $5 million contribution came at a critical time, when the project needed a “serious injection of capital” to survive.

The money complements nearly $18 million in public funding for the development.

T. Hardie, president of the Rees-Jones Foundation, said the organization was eager to “invest in the leadership that is shown by these organizations.”

The Rees-Jones Foundation is a Dallas-based private foundation founded by Jan and Trevor Rees-Jones.

Occupancy is expected in spring 2009.