Ashley Brundage says Dallas doesn't have a housing shortage so much as a resolve shortage, and she's done waiting on somebody else to fix it. As President and CEO of Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity, she's spent two years rebuilding a program that had quietly shrunk to 15 homes a year, with a plan to get it back above 25. In this episode, Chris sits down with Ashley Brundage, President and CEO at Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity, to talk about what it actually takes to build, and finance, affordable housing in a city that keeps getting more expensive. Habitat's homeowners aren't given a house, they're buying one, with a real mortgage, alongside the neighbors who help build it. The next phase of growth isn't more volunteers on more lots, it's partnerships with private developers who can do what Habitat can't: assemble land, run utilities, and build density. And Dallas' oldest freedmen's town, Joppa, is getting a 40th anniversary spotlight this October with Rock the Block, a week of public volunteer projects capped by a neighborhood block party. Full episode: https://arringtonroofing.com/buildingdallas/ashley-brundage-dallas-area-habitat-for-humanity TOPICS COVERED: Habitat's volunteer construction model, from wall shop to move-in dayBecoming a core volunteer and a house leader through Habitat UniversityCorporate sponsorships versus public volunteer opportunitiesThe Habitat ReStores, and how they help fund the missionZero percent, zero down payment mortgages and who qualifiesNew developments in Duncanville, South Dallas' Mill City, and JoppaRock the Block, Habitat's 40th anniversary celebration this October CONNECT WITH ASHLEY BRUNDAGE: Website: dallasareahabitat.org LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ashleybrundage ABOUT BUILDING DALLAS: Building Dallas is a podcast about the people making our city a better place to build, belong, and become - produced by Arrington Media and sponsored by Arrington Roofing. (00:00) - We have to become the answer (00:34) - Welcome to Building Dallas (01:35) - Coppell kid, Aggie, mom of two (02:45) - Dallas needs welders, roofers, and plumbers (05:35) - Inside the volunteer construction model (06:20) - The wall shop: a house standing by lunch (07:50) - Corporate build days and real team building (09:10) - First-timers, nail guns, and nerves (11:30) - Catching "habititis" (13:10) - Habitat University and the road to house leader (17:35) - The ReStores: chandeliers, rugs, and $40 finds (23:00) - The homeowners build their own houses (24:10) - Not a handout: zero down, 0% interest (24:30) - Who qualifies and how mortgage readiness works (26:40) - From 100 homes a year to 15 (28:35) - Density and the vanishing starter home (29:10) - Wheatland Plaza with Monte Anderson (31:40) - Seniors, a teacher, and an 80-year-old first-time buyer (34:35) - Mill City with Matthews Development (37:30) - Joppa: the oldest freedman's town in North Texas (39:40) - Rock the Block and the roof Arrington is fixing (44:30) - The friendships built on a job site (48:45) - What 40 years taught Habitat (51:20) - Rock the Block details, October 19 to 24 (54:20) - There is no silver bullet (57:35) - Rezoning, myths, and what affordable housing really looks like (01:00:50) - How to get involved
