The next HGAC Livable Centers Study Community Workshop 2 is happening Wednesday June 16, 2010, 6:30-8:30pm at the MD Anderson YMCA, 705 Cavalcade. See the flyer below…
HGAC Northside Liveable Centers Study Flyer Community Workshop 2
According to this article in the Houston Chronicle, http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7027794.html , the Near Northside is on the cusp of a boom. We’re on the edge of immanent redevelopment that seems to be following the light rail extension as it is being built. This was all a matter of time. The Near Northside, with its vintage stock of wood frame houses, proximity to downtown, and some old-neighborhood character, was like a sitting duck for redevelopment. In fact, I would imagine that most of the changes the article mentioned were only just biding their time, waiting for the light rail to break ground before they went forward. I’m sure there are more changes already in the works since the rail construction began.
Isn’t it about time? It seemed to me that the Northside had been neglected for decades; neglected by outside forces, but mostly neglected by ourselves. I remember thinking when I was younger that I needed to move out of the Northside in order to have a happier, safer, more comfortable life. It wasn’t until I got the chance to travel when I realized that the Northside already had all the qualities of a livable, walkable community that I liked about New York and Chicago.
Other neighborhoods are also on the verge of a lot of changes that are coming with the completion of the light rail extensions. The East End will likely see bigger changes and faster redevelopment than the Northside. The new row houses (town-homes), bars and restaurants along Washington Avenue has already changed the entire look and function of that corridor. With the increased density of these areas, Midtown will likely see a second surge. I think that as Northsiders we need to make sure that the changes that are on the way can benefit us, and that we can take advantage of the opportunities that are already becoming available.
Tonight we attended the Near Northside Strategy day meeting at Moody Park Community Center. It was really ecxiting to see so many people attending. It wasn’t just Northsiders, either. It turns out that there are quite a few other folks, organizations, and endeavors interested in our neighborhood and our community. With so many people committed to seeing good things happen, it would really take some effort to prevent the inevitable. I mean about the potential for investment in the community. There will always be a danger of re-gentrification and re-development, but many of the residents and people at this meeting sounded very much in support of investing in this community for the benefit of the current community. Part of what makes this neighborhood great is its character, its people, and its history. re-developing and re-gentrifying would of course not be beneficial to anyone in the long run.
It looks like we have a network of support that is ready to make stuff happen. However, nothing can really happen without the commitment of the residents and the local businesses. We have to take an interest in our own neighborhood before some else takes their own interest in it. Go Near Northside. I was inspired today.
We now have curb-side recycling in the neighborhood! We just got our green cans from the City. This is very exciting for us since we have been taking our recycling to the depository on Center St. behind Star Pizza for a long time. WE felt like we were doing a good thing even though sometimes it was more work than we wanted to deal with. over the last year or so, I started noticing more folks from the neighborhood using the same depository. I guess someone from the Solid Waste department found a way to track that or something and figure out that lots of us over here were really into it. I wonder how much of the neighborhood is getting this “experimental program”? Is it going all into Lindale and this side of the Fifth Ward? Are we just getting some kind of spill-over from attention being paid to the Woodland Heights or the First Ward?
The Davis High School Marching Band at the naming Ceremony for the Leonel Castillo Community Center
Last weekend, we thought we heard a parade in the distance. Once it got closer, we figured there was a parade on some major street near by. Nope, it was a parade into our little neighborhood down one of the old, tiny streets. It turns out that there was a small pardade with the Davis High School Marching Band, Cheerleaders, and Pantherettes (sp?) for a ceremony to officially name the Leonel Castillo Community Center. It looks like this community center will be in the old, abandoned Robert E Lee Elementary School building.
I have always loved that building. It’s right on the bank of the White Oak Bayou and you can see it when you drive on I-45 near Quitman. I have never been inside, but I heard that it was torn up by Tropical Storm Allison.
So far, I haven’t been able to find anything online regarding Harris County’s plans for this community center. I don’t know if the building will be renovated or what. The rendering on the sign on the lot makes it look like they will keep the building, but you never know. If anyone happens to know anything, please feel free to post a comment.