Troubled Transformation
Lopez and Promise Zone backers may be happy, but that's a feeling countless other East Side residents have yet to experience.
For 80-year-old Mildred Bailey, who lives near the railroad tracks by the intersection of St. Charles and Rudolph streets, the flood of revitalization leaves only standing water — literally.
In late March, following strong rains, Bailey stood outside her Dignowity Hill house stamping down wet gravel laid down by the city in its effort to soak up the standing water.
"The water would come around the corner and it would just stand," Bailey explained. "It would be so high because it rained just about two or three days ago. So it's kind of gone down some."
There are no curbs on her street or sidewalks, and brown murky water filled potholes. The problem escalated during the workweek.
During the summer, brush in the area draws stray dogs and cats while stagnant water attracts mosquitos and other pests.
Bailey has lived here for more than three decades and has yet to see her quality of life improve.
"Sometimes I have to go to the doctor and I have to call the VIA bus transit and they'll pick me up, but they have to come way up there," she said, pointing to an alley. "I can't walk out down here because of the mud and water."
Yet she's practically down the street from the new Cherry Street Modern complex, thus highlighting the apparent hodge-podge nature of the East Side comeback.
"All this different development, it's random," said Juan Garcia, a resident of Dignowity Hill and former president of its neighborhood association. "It's organic, but really random."
On any given street, overgrown vacant lots with leaning chain-link fences sit next to rickety homes making one wonder how they're still standing. That's a stark contrast with the smell of fresh sawdust at historic houses being refurbished for sale just down the street.
But even the vacant lots and rundown houses have something in common with structures undergoing renovations: for-sale signs.
"Prices have more than doubled in the seven years I've lived here," Garcia said.
For instance, five years ago, vacant lots were selling for $10,000. But now, it's not uncommon for lots to sell between $40,000 and $60,000. And then there are the houses.
"People are flipping properties like crazy. One property was valued at $90,000. This guy turned it around and sold it for $119,000," Garcia said. "And the guy fixing it up right now is going to sell it for $350,000."
While the nuts and bolts of renovating East Side homes – many are considered historic – are difficult in their own right, maneuvering between historic commissions, building boards and zoning requirements while applying for city incentives is a tall order.
Syngman Stevens, who grew up in Dignowity Hill, said he meant to renovate a house he bought four years ago and was ready to invest $250,000 to fix it up, but cost estimates came in at more than $500,000. Stevens, a businessman who owns Tong's Thai on Austin Highway said all his efforts ended up in yet another vacant lot.
"What I find is big business or commercial contractors can maneuver easier than someone in the neighborhood that's trying to be engaged," Stevens said.
Because of the high price, he planned to demolish the home, which was considered historic, and build anew. But he actually couldn't do that on his own – he had to get approval from the city's Historic Design and Review Commission. He didn't have any luck.
"The average home here was $50,000. For most people, economically, fixing them up is a hardship," Stevens said. "But I was ready to put $250,000 in this home and $250,000 in another I owned."
He appealed to the Building Standards Board, which allowed the demolition, trumping the HDRC for public safety reasons.
If the HRDC had approved his plans he could have built a new house as originally planned, but instead, since the building was condemned, he'll have to wait five years per city regulations if he still wants to build on the property.
"They was against me. They wanted to fight, but they lost the war because now we got another empty lot," he said.
And there are a lot of empty lots. Garcia estimates there are at least 100 in Dignowity Hill alone.
"None of this was a problem until revitalization. What I see isn't fair to some of the people who live here. The city is writing citations right and left, which I like. But I worry about it," he said. "I have resources, but some of my neighbors don't."
So the nature of the East Side's rejuvenation is spotty. While the Promise Zone is seeing an influx of federal money and private developers are pumping cash into neighborhoods like Dignowity Hill, others have yet to reap the same benefits.