City of Mesquite launches housing study to address affordability and demand

File photo
Courtesy of the city of Mesquite

Mesquite News
By Winston Henvey / Star Local Media
​​​​​​October 13, 2023

The city of Mesquite is looking at its housing to better ensure quality and affordability for its residents.

At a Monday joint city council and planning and zoning meeting, city leaders discussed how Mesquite can address recent demand for more housing.

According to Planning Director Jeff Armstrong, the city particularly noticed an increased demand for apartments and senior living last year. The study was set in motion to take an inventory of what the city offers, what’s working well for Mesquite’s housing market, and where it’s falling short of key income levels.

“We all have an idea of what's needed and what's happening with the market, but we wanted to conduct this study to bring in a consultant who could help us figure out where we're at and where we need to go,” Armstrong said. “We're pretty far along in the process.”

In addition to looking at where the city falls short, based on housing for different income levels, the city’s also looking at attracting demographics they typically haven’t seen – namely, young professionals.  

“We don't have the type of environments they would like to live in,” Armstrong said.

Another demographic the city aims to target when looking at where to provide affordable housing, are residents who are not so low on the economic scale that they qualify for benefits but are still not making enough to afford much of the housing offered in Mesquite, Armstrong said.

While discussions are preliminary, the city talked about adding residential density in key commercial areas like Downtown Mesquite and Town East Mall to promote more long-term sustainability and allow residents easy, walkable access to nearby stores and restaurants.

In the coming months, the city of Mesquite aims to hold several public hearings when both city council and the planning and zoning commission meet to allow residents to provide input on Mesquite's housing needs.

Winston Henvey is the reporter for the Mesquite News, Allen American and Plano Star Courier. Email him with story suggestions at whenvey@starlocalmedia.com.