Dallas Free Press appreciates our sponsors. Become one.

Two proposals are on the table: a 25-story tower on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and the elimination of South Dallas GoLink.

Tonight and tomorrow night, South Dallas neighbors can weigh in on both proposals.

The first community meeting is tonight at 6 p.m. when Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) hosts a public hearing at DART Headquarters downtown. The hearing asks for input on "potential service and fare changes for possible implementation in January 2026," which DART's appointed board will vote on in August.

Those "changes" include the elimination of DART's South Dallas GoLink zone. A grassroots group of neighbors worked tirelessly to advocate for one of the curb-to-curb service zones starting in 2018. When DART agreed to a pilot, neighbors pressed for more weeknight and weekend hours, and more convenient spots in South Dallas where neighbors could purchase and reload GoPass Tap cards.

They were so successful that by the end of 2023, South Dallas ranked third in ridership among DART's 32 (now 34) GoLink zones throughout Dallas and the suburbs.

"We the residents, we the riders, we located hosts of retailers in the community where reloading could happen. We even put our pennies together to retain consultants to help us market the program," lifelong South Dallas resident and former City Councilwoman Diane Ragsdale told DART officials at a June 17 community meeting. "And now, after all of this struggle, after we've proven that we need it and that we use it, and now there is the consideration to do what? To eliminate the South Dallas GoLink, which is disgraceful."

DART says the South Dallas zone now sees an average of 291 riders a week. That popularity can be costly because DART contracts with Uber and Lyft to provide the service at a flat cost — $3 per one-way ride.

Jeamy Molina, a spokeswoman for DART, told Ragsdale and others in the packed Singing Hills Recreation Center room that the proposed cuts are "a worst-case scenario to make up the funding that is needed" to meet the demands of seven Dallas suburbs whom the board recently decided could keep a portion of the sales taxes they pay to DART.

Neighbors who can't attend can fill out the form at the bottom of this page to make public comments through the end of tonight's meeting, which will be live streamed. 

"We think it’s going to be a packed house, so could go on for quite some time," Molina says.

Above: Diane Ragsdale asks questions at a June 26 community meeting at St. Philip's School about the proposed 25-story Winners Tower. Below: A slide from a June 17 pre-public hearing community meeting at SInging Hills Recreation Center detailing the potential discontinuation of DART's South Dallas GoLink zone.

Then tomorrow night, July 9 at 6:30 p.m., Winners Tower hosts its second community meeting at St. Philip's to ask for community support for a zoning change that would allow a 25-story hotel, condominium and office tower to be constructed at 1709 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. 

Currently, the highest tower in South Dallas is the 13-story Dallas Housing Authority Park Manor at 3333 Edgewood. It's a few blocks from the site of the proposed Winners Tower.

Winners Assembly, the church who owns the land and meets in the 2-story building at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Colonial, pitched the project at a June 26 community meeting that featured a lot of "amens" but few details.

Neighbors who asked for more details on the plans may be disappointed tomorrow night, based on emails sent out today by Shenita Cleveland, whom Winners Development hired to handle community engagement. 

"There will be no formal presentations or decisions made during this session," Cleveland says. "It is designed to create space for open dialogue and to ensure community voices are heard as we reset and move forward." 

The update calls tomorrow night's meeting a "community listening session" and promises a new schedule of community engagement events starting July 30, with "transparent timelines and clear topics for each session (e.g., design, housing mix, traffic, amenities)."

Meanwhile, the developers' requested zoning change, to mixed-use (MU) 3, is on this Thursday's City Plan Commission agenda. City staff says the request "is not in alignment" with plans, and instead is recommending a zoning change that would allow up to 80 feet and 5 stories in height.

Staff says this change would with the City's Forward Dallas plan, mirrored by the recently approved South Dallas Fair Park Area Plan, which calls for a neighborhood mixed-use placetype for that section of the MLK corridor. This placetype allows for "residential, retail, and small-scale commercial uses to meet local needs" and "emphasize[s] walkability and compatibility with surrounding neighborhoods, fostering a sense of community."

A change to allow up to five stories may be likely no matter what happens with the Winners Tower request. City Planner Lindsay Jackson expects to launch the authorized hearing process — to change South Dallas' zoning to match the approved area plan — in August when City Council returns from its July recess.

What South Dallas said.

A collection of South Dallas quotes culled from other content. Content behind a paywall is noted with $.

"When I heard a 25-story tower, I went, 'Oh, that’s going to be really tall over here because it’s flat.' ... Statistically, not everybody will be able to stay. You have a huge renter population over here."

—Cydney Walker, Queen City resident, on the proposed Winners Tower and its impact on South Dallas residents. WFAA

"This isn’t going to happen. Everybody who’s seen the website and the renderings has said, ‘They can’t be serious.'"

—Pastor Chris Simmons of Cornerstone Baptist Church, which is next door to the Winners Assembly. $Dallas Morning News

"In my time we launched our Grocery Connect Initiative, created the Seedtime to Harvest Apprenticeship, started the construction of a 36 unit apartment building and Resource Center, were preparing to have two locations in DFW Airport, and opened the first Wellness Center in the community. I’m proud of what we accomplished together."

—Gabe Madison, president and CEO of Bonton Farms, announcing that she has stepped down from her role. LinkedIn

Check out these related South Dallas stories: