DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF
)- Community members in the south Dallas Forest District will now have a place to clean their clothes at low cost.
The Cornerstone Community laundromat is the first public place for residents to wash their clothes in the Forest District in decades.
Chris Simmons is a pastor at the Cornerstone Baptist Church next door, he said this was much needed. “In a study we did with Fair Park we realized many students wouldn’t want to go to school because they didn’t have access to clean clothes so we wanted to make sure they always had that access right here,” he said.
He said the building, in Ervay Plaza was once a crime ridden night club. “It was notorious for a lot of gang activity, shootings and illegal gambling,” he said.
Simmons says now it will be a place of hope and opportunity providing jobs for ex convicts in the area to get them back on their fe
et.
They bought this space 2 years ago with the goal to make change, little did he know it would be the start of something even bigger.
Thanks to the Real Estate Council, they were able to get funding to completely revamp the space.
The building offers eight washers and dryers, allowing neighborhood families to finally have access to low-cost laundry services.
Linda McMann with Real Estate Council says the Young Guns Group, made up of young real estate professionals, volunteered hours of their time to turn this building around. “They thought they were renovating a shell space but when they got into it they realized they needed to replace the roof, mechanical and it turned out to be a much bigger project….this project has taken a year and a half and almost $400,000,” She said.
McMann says the group dedicated the Forest District as its Dallas catalyst project, which includes renovations and improvements for schools, a retail center, entertainment spaces and more.
“It’s really going to change the character of this neighborhood.. this is really going to be exciting,” she said.
The laundromat opens September 21st at 11am on 1621 South Blvd.
