DALLAS—Family Gateway, which provides stability and support to children and families affected by homelessness, increased its capacity to serve more North Texas families through the opening of the 6,300-square-foot Simmons Family Gateway Resource Center. The center located at 1421 W. Mockingbird Lane is housed in space that Family Gateway leased from building owner Catholic Charities Dallas.

"Simply put, given the high demand in our community, we were running out of room for families at the shelter," said Ellen Magnis, president and CEO of Family Gateway. "Now, with distinct spaces for shelter and operations, we can serve more families by adding beds to what was previously office space. We appreciate the financial support of the Harold Simmons Foundation and an anonymous donor who helped make this possible, and for Catholic Charities' willingness to lease their surplus space as intended to a complementary nonprofit. It was the perfect solution, and we look forward to working together to serve more families with our respective services."

Family Gateway's 35-room emergency shelter in downtown Dallas, which previously housed the organization's offices, is now dedicated solely to shelter services.

Family Gateway was represented in the transaction by Eliza Solender of Solender/Hall, who negotiated the deal with the two nonprofits in the seven-year lease.

"As commercial real estate continues to increase in value, nonprofit organizations are seeing more of their budget go toward rent and real estate-related costs, thus they have to become ever more creative in how they fulfill their space requirements," said Solender. "A transaction like this is so satisfying because it is a win-win for both organizations. We have an understanding landlord who recognizes the unique needs of a nonprofit service provider and wants to find opportunities for collaboration. Both organizations will be able to focus more of their scarce resources on critical community services."

Dave Woodyard, CEO of Catholic Charities Dallas, said when Catholic Charities acquired the building in 2017, its intention always included welcoming a few nonprofits to the campus.

"This lease provides Catholic Charities an additional income stream to help offset our operating expenses while providing Family Gateway with a below-market lease," Woodyard tells GlobeSt.com. "More importantly, it enables both organizations to serve more people and to provide additional complementary services. Family Gateway is a highly respected organization, and we couldn't be happier to help them solve their space issue."

The Simmons Family Gateway Resource Center houses the organization's high-volume assessment and diversion practice, supportive housing case managers, administration, and a vocational/employment case manager. The space was created with trauma-informed design elements, and includes an oversized waiting area, private consultation rooms and a call center. Families with children experiencing or near homelessness will now be assessed at the new space and then triaged to the emergency shelter or to partner shelters as needed. As a result, four additional rooms have been added to its downtown shelter.

"In Dallas, most nonprofits providing human services have been priced out of the downtown area, Deep Ellum, Design District, Uptown/Oak Lawn and the various medical districts where they used to be located," Solender tells GlobeSt.com. "The process of securing affordable office and flex space at rates less than $20 per square foot including expenses has become a creative process and, in many cases, forced nonprofits into recognizing that formerly 'out of bound' areas must now be seriously considered."

Office net absorption in fourth quarter 2019 had large gains from the previous quarter, with more than 1.48 million square feet of space taken up, yielding a 3.49 million square feet total for 2019, according to a CBRE report. This was the third-highest year of net demand for the decade.

Office vacancy dropped only slightly in fourth quarter, despite the large positive absorption figure. This is largely due to approximately 1.9 million square feet of competitive inventory introduced to the DFW market and tenant appetite for efficient high-quality space, says CBRE.

Instant Insights /

Nonprofit Increases Capacity to Serve North TX Homeless

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