New Year and New Starts!

The start of a new year is traditionally when we make resolutions to better our selves, our community, our world. I've never been big on New Year resolutions since I feel new starts can be made at any time in our lives but in the spirit new beginnings for a new year here some thoughts.
My only resolution is kick start this blog! I haven't posted since June of 2013 and lots has happened in the last 6 months!  To catch up and on a personal note, I left the corporate world of health care in April of 2013.  Some may call it a retirement, after all I'm past 60 but I call it a transition. I'm busy with various projects such starting a guest house business, serving on several non profit boards and working for a local credit union as their community/business liaison on a part time basis.  We're keeping our eyes out for another old house restoration/rehab project.  I'm still serving as the president of our neighborhood association but that gig is coming to a close in April of this year. That's a good thing. Change is always good and its time for someone else to pull the cart.  I have to say, however, that being the prez of our neighborhood association has been a great experience for me. I've learned lot about neighborhood and city politics, I have met some great folks as well as some folks I rather have not ever met. But most importantly it's a privilege to be involved in the process of community building.
Dignowity Hill has come a long ways in the time since we moved into the community in 2007. We continue to see private investment in the restoration or rehab of our older houses. A steady stream of new comers continues to either move in or raise the awareness of the neighborhood as a desirable place to live. On the other hand, the big disappointment is the lack of public investment in basic infrastructure improvements not just in our neighborhood but in the general area of the eastside.  The economic summits that were organized in 2010 to chart a path for revitalization in the eastside have been a disappointment as well because neighborhood needs have not been addressed properly.  Investors and potential businesses seeking to relocate to the eastside have sent a message to our elected officials and paid city staff that the basic infrastructure needs of the neighborhoods to be fixed first before consistent investment will take hold on the eastside. My hope in 2014 is that someone in city government can find a way to allocate more dollars for basic needs in the neighborhoods otherwise the already slow pace of revitalization could be slow down even further.

There are of course other bright spots even shining stars in the midst of the slow pace of revitalization. The Choice Housing Grant is starting make an impact in area of the eastside with persistent poverty. The Eastside Promise Neighborhood Education Grant is making some headway although its been slowed down by the bureaucracy of its administrative agency. These two grants represent close to $60 million in federal dollars. That's a lot taxpayer money going directly into the community. The best news to hit our neighborhood was the ground breaking for the Alamo Brewery to be built next to the historic Hays Street Bridge.  Despite the controversy that this brewery generated,  the construction of the brewery means private investment in the eastside, city support in the form of incentives and most importantly the opportunity to potentially create an environment to attract additional investment in area. It's all good at this point!

In August of 2013 a large scale mural was installed on the underpass of Nolan Street...see the image below. In many ways the mural with its dynamic use of color and free flowing graphic design represents the energy that has developed in our part of the world.  This blog has always been about the happenings in and around Dignowity Hill and it will continue to be that way as we move forward into 2014 but look for an expanded view as well and like the mural my intent is to capture that energy as we move forward into making the world a better place. Peace in 2014! 

Dedication of the Mural on the Nolan Street Underpass.

Business Realities

The other morning we had breakfast at Tommy's Cafe with Norma Witherspoon. Norma owns and operates Nick's Beauty Supply on the corner of New Braunfels and Burnet Streets. She wanted to talk about the New Braunfels street business corridor. The area she is concerned about runs from the Ft. Sam Houston gate to Houston street. Her and other small business owners along this stretch of New Braunfels street feel they may be missing on the economic development promised by the BRAC and the Eastside re-investment initiatives being promoted by the city. The gate closure at the New Braunfels street entrance to Ft Sam and the opening of Walters Street as the main entrance to the post were two reasons for the concern.

There is no question that the gate closure has had the greatest impact on businesses just outside the gate since there is no direct traffic coming in or out of the post. It's unlikely that the military will open the gate any time soon. One compromise would be to open the gate as an exit only but so far the military is not listening to community and neighborhood concerns. Further south from the gate on New Braunfels and past the interstate there is a healthy infrastructure of small businesses already in place. At the intersection of Houston and New Braunfels streets there are several anchor businesses that appear to be thriving, although a major upgrade is sorely needed to the HEB grocery store at that corner. As for Walters Street, its still too early to determine if the corridor will eventually develop into a viable business gateway. Walters street past the interstate is mostly residential and it will take some deep pockets to develop the area with new businesses.

Norma is a long time Eastside business owner and over the years she's heard many promises for economic development and seen little change. On the other hand, the way I see it the New Braunfels street corridor stands a good chance of further development if the small business owners are willing to organize themselves into a common voice and are willing to work together to bring the right kind of attention and resources. Timing is every thing in life and I think that the time is ripe for business growth along this stretch of the Eastside.....but the reality is that these business owners and the community cannot stand around and wait for it to happen.

Renewal Hope Continues for the Friedrich Building

The Friedrich building complex has been the topic of revitalization and economic development projects for over a decade. Built in 1925 it was the home of the Friedrich air conditioning company until 1990 when competitive pressures forced the company to relocate most of its operations to Mexico. Located on E. Commerce St just east of downtown it sits mostly vacant waiting for its moment of renewal. The building has a strong industrial look and feel with a healthy dose of historical significance. The old building complex is on the market again after several attempts in the past 10 years to breathe life back into it. During the recent series of economic summits that focused on the Eastside this building was chosen as among one the top 5 revitalization projects. For some in the community hope still lingers that the Eastside will someday benefit from the resurrection of this old building. In the meantime, life goes on.

Perceptions of the Eastside Need to Change

There was a recent article in the newspaper in which a developer is quoted as saying that "there are only one or two houses worth saving in Dignowity Hill". That by it self is bad enough but unfortunately for this developer he made the statement in the presence of our Council woman, Ivy Taylor, who of course, lives in Dignowity Hill. Comments like the one this developer made are uttered out of ignorance, a lack of sensitivity for a community and misguided perceptions .....and that needs to change if we're going to progress in a positive manner.
The recent economic summits have brought much needed attention to the Eastside and it's about time. Undoubtedly, there will be many moving pieces to revitalizing our neighborhoods and bringing much need economic development.
In the case of our developer, he got an instant education about the historic nature of Dignowity Hill and why it's so important to be sensitive or at least have some common sense if you're not sure of what you think you know. The lesson for those of us that live in the Eastside is that we have to do our part to continually educate the uninformed.

More Than Talk.

It's been a over a week since the Eastside economic summit was held at Sam Houston High School. More than 400 people attended which speak volumes for the importance and the critical need to make progress in bringing investment and economic development to the Eastside. This was the first of three "summits" that will identify and hopefully begin the process of changing the economic landscape on our side of town. There is plenty of hope that this time things will be different mixed with a healthy dose of skepticism. Too much history of failed promises linger in the minds of many Eastsiders. Once all the talk is concluded things need to happen in the form of launching a projects that will generate sustained economic growth, bring jobs to the Eastside as well as investing dollars in our neighborhoods in the form of incentives for homeowners to restore or rehab their houses.
At this point more than talk is needed.

Stirring the Pot

The mayor and our council person are hosting an Eastside Economic and Reinvestment Summit the second week in January. This is a great way to get folks together from the community to brainstorm and prioritize on how to bring businesses and investment into the Eastside. We don't need any more plans on what needs to happen on the Eastside. This is an opportunity to really stir the pot to get things going in terms of how to bring dollars and perhaps some incentives to the Eastside. There is much to be accomplished in regards to business development for this community.
Eastside Economic and Reinvestment Summit
Sam Houston High School
830am to 430pm