Woman: Renovation plan halted by city 'bullying'

DALLAS — A woman's passionate plan to renovate a piece of Dallas history has met with an end after a city's decision to tear down a building.

However, it isn't just her plan that has gone down the drain — it's also her investment.

Jane Bryant said she fell in love as soon as she saw an abandoned apartment structure that was built in the '20s on Davis Street. The building sits near the Bishops Arts District in north Oak Cliff.

While she bought the building last August in hopes to restore it, her dreams were dashed when the city decided to tear it down.

"I want to utilize this property and save it for its historical reference to the neighborhood," she said.

Bryant said after she bought the building, she was almost immediately asked to sell by the prominent Dallas real estate investment firm called INCAP. The company wanted the building to complete a large track purchase for a development on the block.

"Their broker was aggressively contacting me," Bryant said. "And again, I told the broker I wasn't interested in selling the property."

She says just days after turning down the offer she got a call from the Dallas City Attorney's office saying her property was out of code compliance.

"It seems awfully coincidental to me that the only time I receive any communication from the city and its threatening communication, is within days of me turning down a prominent developer in the area.

She said a few weeks after she was initially contacted, INCAP made a final offer for her building, which she once again denied.

Three days later, on March 5, the city of Dallas sued her in Municipal Court without ever issuing her a citation. The city gave her 30 days to fully repair her building or have it demolished.

"I lose all of my investment," she said of the consequences if the city bulldozes the building.

Even more upsetting, Bryant said, was the inaccuracies contained in the suit.

"Failure to remove visible graffiti," high "weeds or grass," and "accumulations of bricks and lumber" are all elements Bryant said she already addressed.

Just days ago in court, the city produced photographs of garbage and broken windows, which she said are no longer a threat.

"It's totally inaccurate," she said. "The entire lawsuit is inaccurate. It's fraudulent as far as I'm concerned."

However, the city says otherwise.

"She can complain all she wants, but she's had since October to fix the property and she just hasn't," said Assistant City Attorney Jennifer Richie.

Richie said the property at 600 Elsbeth has been in substandard, unfit condition for years. She said only now has the city gotten around to holding owners responsible.

Yet to date, no code violations have ever been issued on the property and the city can't provide documentation showing the property was ever a threat, until now.

INCAP Fund Director Alan McDonald said his efforts to buy the property have no relation to the city's attempt to tear it down.

"We don't talk to the city attorney," McDonald said. "I don't even know how their condemnation process works, and I don't think the city plays those kinds of games."

But Bryant said she finds the whole situation suspicious.

"I feel like I'm being bullied," she said. "I'm being intimidated. I'm being threatened. It's just wrong."

Unless Bryant can immediately come up with the money to restore her investment, she must sell.