Delores and Jerry Green spent decades watching their Farmers Branch house fall apart around them, including a bathroom floor that was caving in, before deciding last year they might have to leave the community altogether. Instead, last Monday, the couple received the keys to a brand-new, free home built just steps from where their old one once stood — the first of 10 houses going up under a program designed to keep longtime residents in place rather than pricing them out.
The Greens' former house was built in 1957 and purchased by Jerry Green's parents in the 1970s, according to The Dallas Morning News. Delores Green had lived in Farmers Branch for 71 years by the time the new house was finished, and she told the paper she first heard about the replacement program through her pastor. Jerry Green said the couple had considered selling their dilapidated home and moving out to the country last year before the program came through.
A Program Built Around Not Displacing Anyone
The new house is the first of 10 homes that Dallas-based nonprofit builder Builders of Hope was awarded to construct in Farmers Branch, after demolishing homes identified as beyond repair. Dallas County partnered with the city of Farmers Branch and Builders of Hope on the effort, with the county awarding $2.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to get it off the ground, per the Dallas Morning News report. A separate accounting from Builders of Hope traces $2.5 million in funding for Farmers Branch to federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program dollars distributed through Dallas County for affordable housing preservation, according to the Branch Herald.
To qualify, families had to earn at or below 80% of the area median income, and the homes come with strings attached: a deed restriction bars residents from flipping and selling them soon after moving in. The Branch Herald reports that qualifying homeowners must have owned and occupied the property as a primary residence for at least five years, hold a clear title, and accept a 15-year lien placed on the new house — rules meant to prevent property flipping and preserve long-term stability for legacy residents.
Why Repairs Weren't an Option
The math behind demolishing rather than repairing these homes is stark. Low-to-moderate income homeowners with aging Farmers Branch properties face average annual repair costs exceeding $4,000, while major structural overhauls covering foundation, electrical, and plumbing work can run from $10,000 to more than $30,000, according to Builders of Hope figures reported by the Branch Herald. In the year before the project's late-2025 launch, North Texas residential construction labor costs rose 4.1% and materials costs climbed 3.1%, adding further strain on fixed-income owners already struggling to maintain their homes.
Much of that decay traces back to the neighborhood's age. Valwood Park, where the Greens live, was largely built during the 1950s post-war suburban boom, and 70 years later much of its residential infrastructure has hit structural end-of-life, per the Branch Herald's account of Builders of Hope research. Builders of Hope crews found flooding, foundation issues, and siding problems while demolishing Farmers Branch homes for the replacement program, the Dallas Morning News reported.
Small Houses by Design
The new homes are modest by design — about 1,500 square feet, with three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, and a two-car garage. They include a ramp instead of steps and a higher-pitched roof for extra storage, and Builders of Hope based the designs on the existing architecture of the neighborhood. Residents like the Greens got to select their own paint colors, countertops, flooring, and cabinets.
Farmers Branch officials capped the homes at under 1,700 square feet on purpose, aiming to keep property tax assessments stable and avoid the kind of gentrification seen in the nearby Branch Crossing neighborhood, where larger builds priced out legacy residents, according to the Branch Herald. Delores Green put the philosophy in her own words, telling the Dallas Morning News that residents want houses rather than mansions so people like them can continue living in Farmers Branch.
A Home Worth Far More Than It Cost the Greens
A new home like the Greens' could be worth about $315,000 based on prior work, the Dallas Morning News reported. That figure lands well under the region's benchmark: in July, the median single-family home sales price across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex stood at $400,000 with 32,677 active listings, according to the MetroTex Association of Realtors. Builders of Hope executives reported in May 2025 that buying a home in the Dallas-Fort Worth region typically required a median household income exceeding $100,000, compared with target homebuyer incomes of $60,000 to $80,000 in Valwood Park.
Chris Lewis said the project would revitalize the neighborhood without displacing legacy residents, the Dallas Morning News reported. Farmers Branch Mayor Terry Lynne said the effort invests in neighborhoods and helps longtime residents remain in the community. Builders of Hope plans to complete the other nine homes by early September or sooner, giving the Greens neighbors in short order.
Part of a Bigger Push in Farmers Branch
The replacement program isn't Builders of Hope's only project in the city. The nonprofit has also expanded its footprint through The Porches at Valwood Park, completing five affordable infill homes in Phase 1 and launching a 10-home Phase 2.0 in May, according to the Branch Herald. To execute the replacement program without displacing residents during construction, the Farmers Branch City Council designated 10 city-owned lots in District 1, letting homeowners swap properties or temporarily relocate while their existing lot was rebuilt.
What remains unclear is how the city plans to handle other low-income homeowners who need a similar replacement but fall outside the initial 10-home program, a question the Branch Herald has flagged as unresolved. For now, though, Farmers Branch, Dallas County and Builders of Hope have replaced at least one aging home with safe, modern housing — and the Greens, after 71 years in the same community, get to stay put.
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