Denison welcomes residents to first housing workshop

DENISON, Texas (KXII) -The City of Denison hosted its first housing workshop after being selected to apply for federal grants.

“This is like a once in a lifetime opportunity for a city so to get to partner with someone that’s nonprofit for 2 years is huge,” said Denison City Council Member Brian Hander.

Hander is grateful because the money to pay for the project won’t cost the city or homeowners a dime.

These funds can help update roads, sidewalks, and even homes in neighborhoods surrounding downtown.

“This is kind of going to guide our community and how we redevelop some of our historic sections of town and different areas and I live in one of those areas so I’m very invested in the future,” Hander said.

The non-profit, ‘buildingcommunityWORKSHOP’ put together a hands-on activity.

The residents are placed in front of a map with stickers of different categories such as history, infrastructure, and building design.

“So they’ll be able to use the sticker and say ‘hey we need this over here or I’m really pleased with this’ and they’ll put it over here but then we’ll be able to put them on display so they community can see it and it helps us document the conversation as we’re moving through,” said Mary Tate, Denison’s Director of Development.

Tate said she’s pleased with the turnout, “to have people that we don’t normally see at council meetings or sitting on committees is a great start.”

While the first year is just planning, the city encourages all to express their questions or concerns, “it’s really going to help guide us as we grow and we’re growing,” Hander said.

Existing housing needs will be addressed at Friday’s workshop in City Hall at noon.

For more information on this project and community workshops, click here.

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