And I'm struggling. Not with the plan. I love the idea of Central Dallas Ministries building 209 units for low-income residents at 511 N. Akard St., including 50 apartments for once-homeless folks. It's brilliant and long overdue.

And there ain't nothing wrong with Central Dallas Ministries' plan to put affordable housing in downtown's high-rent district, either - except some of the powers that be in Dallas are acting a little nervous. But this isn't some highfalutin', idealistic concept that hasn't been tried anywhere else.

We need to look no farther than 240 miles down the road to Houston for evidence. A nonprofit called New Hope Housing Inc. has opened three single-room-occupancy projects - SROs for short - including two in downtown Houston. It's working on a fourth.

New Hope's first SRO project, a 129-unit building, was established in 1995, and it's about 100 feet from Minute Maid Park. A second one that houses 57 low-income residents is just blocks away.

In Dallas, it's hard for some to swallow the idea of taking people from soup kitchens and plopping them in a downtown apartment replete with a concierge and cable TV.

We've already seen how some Dallas business leaders have been kicking and screaming about the city's plan to build a homeless assistance center on the edge of downtown.

So you can imagine how antsy some nearby "stakeholders," as they're euphemistically described, are feeling about creating a high-rise haven for poor folks.

All that means is that Central Dallas Ministries has a lot of selling to do. The agency's executive director, Larry James, has already backed down on plans to turn 100 of the proposed 209 units into apartments for the "formerly homeless."

Look, I understand the concerns about the scale of the project. Because this would be the first SRO in downtown, it's important to compromise, craft a feasible development plan and show that it can work without causing any major headaches.

"Forming a consensus with the community and learning their concerns strengthened our position. And now we're being asked, 'When are you going to build another one in our community?' " said Laura Hipps, director of development for the New Hope program.

Like New Hope, Central Dallas Ministries is assuring people that the project would be well run. There would be 24/7 security and a concierge. No felons or sex offenders would be allowed to live there. There would be no social services on site, only referrals. And the units would house only single adults.

Dallas City Council member Angela Hunt, who represents downtown, is carrying water for the project. "The working poor make up a large percentage of our population," she said. "It's important that we show we will help people who help themselves."

The council by and large seems to be on board, having already agreed to grant an exception to its moratorium on new tax-credit applications. The council's set to hold a special meeting Tuesday about the project's tax-credit and other funding needs. One thing is certain: The project can't afford to overextend itself financially or this probably won't work.

I asked Mr. James if he was confident his project would sail through. "Confidence is a strong word," he said. "We have every indication that it's going well."

It might help if the bigwigs in Dallas heard from someone like Mack Fowler, a Houston oil and gas executive who heads the New Hope board of directors.

"People with low incomes," he said, "tend to live in circumstances and environments that detract from, rather than add, some dignity to their lives."

Well said. Not everyone can get rich like George and Louise Jefferson, but everyone wants the same thing they strove for in that old TV show - a piece of the pie and a sense of dignity.

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