Exline Recreation Center was filled with skeptical South Dallas residents Thursday night as Watermark Community Church shared its plans to rezone Pearl C. Anderson Middle Learning Center, now the location of Watermark’s South Dallas campus.
The 2019 purchase of the abandoned middle school through a public auction with a single bidder caused tension in South Dallas because residents felt the decision was made without community involvement.
So at this meeting, organized by District 7 Councilman Adam Bazaldua, between the larger South Dallas community and Watermark, South Dallas campus pastor Marvin Walker tried a more humble approach.
“I’ve asked for it from numerous people face to face and in large groups,” Walker said. “I ask for forgiveness, because we could have done a better job listening. I say that now and I say it again, but our hope is to link arms with the community of South Dallas and make an impact with you.”
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Until its close in 2012, Pearl C. Anderson Middle Learning Center was a place of history and growth for the residents of South Dallas. Watermark, a megachurch based in North Dallas with former campuses in Plano, Frisco, Fort Worth and now a campus in South Dallas, wasn’t needed; neither was its “savior” mentality.
“We’re not surprised at some of the feelings that have come back, and that’s something that we’ve owned, and have asked for forgiveness for,” Walker said. “But the truth is, I mean, it was a public auction and we were the only bidder. And that’s how we came across this awesome building, but we want it to continue to be used with and for the community.”
Dallas ISD left the building empty for years until Watermark’s purchase. Residents of South Dallas then and now feel as though they were robbed of history and intruded on.
Pastor Donald Parish Sr. at True Lee Missionary Baptist Church previously spoke to The Dallas Morning News and admitted he was caught off guard by the purchase, but it brought the whole community and pastors of different denominations together. He said that South Dallas has a lot to offer.
“There’s a whole lot of good things that’s happened here, but people can come in with the idea that he got to come in and rescue us, rather than come in and work with us,” said Parish, who was not at Thursday’s meeting. “It’s the difference between an invasion and an invitation. And that kind of seemed like an invasion. It was also a very sweet, lucrative real estate deal.”
That’s one of the reasons City Council member Bazaldua said Thursday’s meeting was overdue, and he wants the community’s input before any concrete zoning decisions are made with Watermark.
The South Dallas campus is currently an R-5 single-family zoning designation, and Watermark wants a straight zoning change to regional service multiuse so that it can provide food, job and clinic services.
“Anytime we have zoning changes, there’s a need for community input,” Bazaldua said. “But then there’s also a very clear, specific dynamic when we have a faith-based organization from North Dallas coming into South Dallas with the apparent knowledge of what it’s going to take to provide services for a community that they are not a part of, and quite frankly, are coming from a part of town that has historically been a part of the oppression of this community. Guards are up and guards are up, in my opinion, rightfully so.”
For 50 years, it was the only middle school in the community and most residents that grew up in South Dallas spent a few years on Pearl C. Anderson’s grounds playing basketball, running down hallways and meeting lifelong friends.
“If you were born in South Dallas, that’s the school you went to, that’s where you go to and meet people,” Billy Belton, Pearl C. Anderson alumnus, said. “Taking that away left a bad taste in your mouth. Like moreover, the legacy of Pearl C. Anderson, she donated that land so that Black people could have an education.”
Price and bidding a mystery?
Bazaldua, along with community leaders, was also surprised by the low price — $211,111.10. — for the 9-acre historic property.
“I was really mad at DISD for basically telling South Dallas that properties that they allowed to become blight in the community were worth pennies to the dollar,” Bazaldua said. “And they weren’t willing to go to the community to allow them to be a part of a process to get rid of assets. I think it was a slap in the face automatically, and it put anybody who’s acquiring the assets at a disadvantage just because of the way DISD handled it.”
The starting value was $200,000, and there were no other bidders.
“That was the mystery. Why would you have a building and it only gets one bidder? That ought to be strange,” Pastor Todd Atkins at Salem Institutional Baptist Church said. “I have no problem with DISD going through the bidding process, but if you only get one bidder, then you need to start the process over.”
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Tabitha Wheeler-Reagan, District 7′s new city plan commissioner, said that DISD let a low bid go through and did not publicize the purchase.
“DISD did not have a judge value. Most municipalities start with a judge value, that judge value was the last appraisal. And DISD did not do that. So that’s the reason that the low bid was able to go through,” Wheeler-Reagan said. “So, that’s where the outrage should be, the outrage should be directed at DISD.”
Previous focus: Damage control
Soon after an article by The News published detailing community frustration, Watermark scheduled a meeting with a group of South Dallas pastors and community leaders in November 2019. Parish, Atkins and many other pastors attended this meeting.
“They began to see the reactions from the community then it was damage control,” Parish said. “‘OK, let’s go out, meet with these people. Let’s see if we can calm this thing down a little bit.’ — That’s what I’m assuming. It would have been nice if they did this before they bought Pearl C. Anderson.”
Cynthia Wallace was also at the 2019 meeting with faith leaders and Watermark. She said Watermark was on the defensive and bridges were not built.
“They said to us, ‘Well, we’re just coming to bring Jesus to South Dallas.’ And that did not go on well to a roomful of pastors who are in this community,” Wallace said.
For Parish, that meeting did not make the relationships between South Dallas and Watermark any better.
“They had such an air of superiority,” he said. “‘We just want to bring Jesus to South Dallas;’ well I’ve been here for years, and Jesus is already here.”
Since then Atkins, Wallace and Parish have been invited to a few events, tours of the campus and meetings regarding zoning. Parish said that he is still not clear on Watermark’s plans and does not have a relationship with them.
“Every time that you try to gather or come to listen or to hear, we’ve heard a different story,” Wallace said to Walker on Thursday night. “We’ve heard, over and over, a different story. What we really want is just for you to be very transparent.”
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Watermark has hosted a few community meetings to get feedback from South Dallas residents and to inform them on zoning plans throughout 2022 alongside this meeting in January. Walker said that the first goal that they have is to be good neighbors.
“We want to be good neighbors to the faith leaders that have been doing things long before we got here,” Walker said. “Knowing that Jesus was here long before we got here and we’re the new kids on the block.”
Resident support and skepticism
Eppie Meadows lives in Rose Garden and remembers when the property was abandoned. She welcomes the change.
“We would have to call DISD and tell them they need to come mow the yard. We had to call DISD and say it’s trash everywhere. So it was being neglected just sitting here,” Meadows said. “That was one reason I was excited that a church bought it because I had expectations that they’re going to at least mow the yard and keep it clean for our neighborhood.”
Michael Sneed said he’s still a skeptic when it comes to Watermark’s involvement in his community, but he volunteers regularly with the church and encourages his neighbors to watch what Watermark is doing.
“I was the biggest enemy of Watermark there could be,” Sneed said. “When they moved Watermark over here I blew up like a time bomb. … I was very disappointed, but after I finally talked to them and came to church, I gave them a chance.”
Sneed said he doesn’t fully trust Watermark yet, but appreciates the work that they have done so far including feeding people, cleanups and afterschool programs for the youth.
Jelleta King also started out as a skeptic. Although she does not trust Watermark fully, she said that they are putting in the work to build trust with the community.
“Six months ago, I was very reluctant and I was very concerned about their real purpose for coming to the South Dallas area, and what their vested interest was,” King said. “Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to attend several other meetings, and some of their community activities. My experience has been that what they said they’re trying to do, they follow through with. I am really pleased at the progress that I see.”
The church is offering a mobile clinic, job training and financial literacy classes. Kea Johnson attended a business class from Watermark and was impressed with how much she learned. Johnson, owner of The Greener Things, said that she’s had good experiences, but Watermark still needs to put in work.
“I come in with an open mind,” she said. “They’re coming over here to help make a change so let’s give them a chance. Show me that I can trust you.”
Bazaldua said that he is also building trust with Watermark and has been having conversations with them for years on how it can best support the South Dallas community.
“I think trust is earned,” Bazaldua said. “I believe that the relationship is too new and it’s too early for me to provide that commitment. Because my commitment is to the community. And it’s ultimately not about whether or not I trust them. If I am going to commit my trust to them, it’s going to be because I see, unequivocally, that the community trusts them.”
Walker said that he’s hoping to work with the South Dallas community to help create change in the community, but doesn’t see Watermark as a savior.
“I feel great and grateful for where we are in this process,” Walker said. “It’s slow. We’re building trust and continuing to listen.”
CORRECTION, 5:12 p.m., Jan. 13, 2023: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Watermark owning properties in Plano, Frisco and Fort Worth. These locations are now independent from Watermark.
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