***SEE UPDATES SECTION BELOW FOR THE MOST CURRENT INFORMATION AVAILABLE***

SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE ALDREDGE HOUSE

The Aldredge House, which was built in 1917 and is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (1982), was donated to the Dallas County Medical Society Alliance & Foundation (the “Foundation”) by the previous owner, Rena Munger Aldredge in 1975.  The House maintains its original interior, and is one of the finest and few remaining examples of the French Eclectic architectural style in Dallas.  The Aldredge House is also the only residential landmark of its kind that is currently open to the public.

For the past 40 years, the Foundation has peacefully co-existed with our neighbors, making Aldredge House available, at no charge, for meetings and events of the Swiss Avenue Historic District and over 50 non-profit organizations throughout Dallas.

Rental income from special events is the primary source of funding for taxes, upkeep, and operations of the House.

CURRENT CRISIS
In May, a few neighbors raised some concerns about operations at Aldredge House...concerns immediately addressed by changes in our policies and procedures. So we were stunned to find a Board of Adjustment sign in our yard - our only notice that an application had been filed with the city to revoke the “legal non-conforming use” status under which Aldredge House has operated within the Swiss Avenue Historic District Planned Development District for 40 years.

If that application is granted...
- Aldredge House will revert to single-family use and will have to be sold; it will no longer be open to the public
- the Foundation will lose its home, its property rights, and their 40 year investment in preservation of the Aldredge House
- the neighborhood, community and non-profit organizations that utilize our facilities at no charge will lose that venue
- the City of Dallas will lose one of its very few historically and architecturally unique houses that is open to the public

WE NEED YOUR HELP!!
It is our hope that we can maintain our long-standing relationship with the Swiss Avenue Historic District through a 2-step process:

1. Defeat the application for revocation of our legal non-conforming use status at the Dallas Board of Adjustment hearing on October 21st.
2. Develop a new planned development district (PD) by working with neighbors to define the uses and requirements of the Aldredge House. The new PD (if granted) would codify how and when Aldredge House could be used and would provide an enforcement mechanism through the city.

Here’s what you can do to help save Aldredge House:
- Please sign our petition lending your support to preserving the history of the Aldredge House, and to encourage the Dallas Board of Adjustment to deny the application to terminate the legal non-conforming use status at its hearing on October 21.
- Plan to attend the Board of Adjustment hearing on Oct. 21

Thank you so much for your support!