A Dallas nonprofit that operates one of the largest LGBTQIA+ community centers in the U.S. and serves as a primary HIV/AIDS service organization in North Texas is now working to help provide housing for the seniors they serve in their elder years.

Resource Center CEO Cece Cox [Photo: LinkedIn]

On Friday, Resource Center broke ground on Oak Lawn Place, an 84-unit senior living center at 5723 Sadler Circle in Oak Lawn near Maple Avenue and Inwood Road. Resource Center partnered with Volunteers of America to develop the project.

Oak Lawn Place will provide “high-quality affordable rental housing” for residents 55 and over, with “a further goal of creating a supportive environment for members of the LGBTQ community and individuals affected by HIV in Dallas,” Resource Center has said.

“With this project, North Texas’ LGBTQ older adults, including the LGBTQ community, will have access to a safe, affordable and welcoming place to call home,” Resource Center CEO Cece Cox said in 2021, when the project was still in the planning stages.

Resource Center raised $4 million to help fund the project, according to the Dallas Morning News, which noted that other funding includes Texas low-income housing tax credits, a Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas grant, and tax-increment financing from the city of Dallas, along with funding from multiple nonprofits and additional funds from the American Rescue Plan Act granted through Dallas County. Units will be set aside for residents earning up to 30%, 50% or 60% of area median income, the DMN added.

Perkins&Will is the designer on the project, with Matthews Southwest as the developer.  is slated for completion in 2024.

Resource Center’s Community Center is less than half a mile away from the Oak Lawn Place site, at 5750 Cedar Springs Road, offering future residents additional support and connection.

Resource Center is marking its 40th anniversary

Resource Center was founded in 1983 with a focus on education and service, and a goal of achieving recognition and equal rights for gays and lesbians in North Texas. In 1985, the agency mobilized to deal with the HIV/AIDS epidemic, becoming a source of community awareness, prevention education, legal services, emergency funding, and basic needs. Today, Resource Center has a staff of over 70 members supported by over 1,200 volunteers and serves more than 62,000 people each year through programs that address the needs of the LGBTQIA+ community and services that provide critical assistance to people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS, the nonprofit says.

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