Question on an area of Lakewood (Dallas, Garland: real estate, house, school district)

[ssaleh]

I am interested in a home in Lakewood on Pasadena Avenue near Takalon Park. I am not very knowledgeable of the Lakewood area and wanted to know if anyone can tell me more information about this particular area.

[bencronin04]

It's a very desirable area, and if the home is really still available you better be on the phone with your Realtor RIGHT NOW. It will be gone in a matter of hours/days.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by ssaleh

I am interested in a home in Lakewood on Pasadena Avenue near Takalon Park. I am not very knowledgeable of the Lakewood area and wanted to know if anyone can tell me more information about this particular area.

Tokalon is one of the 2 or 3 prettiest streets in Dallas. Tokalon, Lakewood, and Lakeshore are the three most expensive and desirable streets in all of Lakewood.

Pasadena is in the group of streets immediately to the north where the hill swoops up to meet Gaston. It's in the " honeypot" of old Lakewood. Beautiful and pricey. Less traffic than Lakewood Blvd. Fantastic area. Steps from the country club.

If the home just went on the market, you need to march your hiney over there today to see it. As bencronin said, if it's well priced, it will be under contract by sundown....or at the worst, by Sunday.

[ssaleh]

Thanks for your Input! Is this area part of Lakewood Proper? Also is it walking distance to Lakewood Elementary?

[bencronin04]

It's about a mile from the school, so yes it's walk able. And yes that would be Lakewood Proper.

[robmab]

Pasadena is a beautiful street and that's a great area. I wouldn't, however, consider it walking distance from Lakewood Elementary. Yes, you COULD walk it, but it's a hilly area with winding streets and it would be a challenging walk to do every morning and afternoon with a kid lugging a backpack. Biking it would be more reasonable.

[Lakewooder]

Yes it's uphill on the way (your child can boast to his/her children) Westshore is quite an incline. My good Westshore story is the time a senior girl (I was too young too drive) took me to the Woodrow musical from Tokalon down that hill very fast in a little VW Bug and it scared me to death - almost...we are still friends however and see each other at the 4th of July parade every year... everytime I hear "Silly Love Songs" by Wings I think of that!

I think you would love living there. I have friends who have family homes on Pasadena, Shook and Auburn which have been in their families for around 60 years or more.

[bikerj]

What responders haven't mention is most of the homes in this area are significantly older, while they come with a premium price. The area is lovely, and it's very close to White Rock Lake, which is a Dallas landmark and very active during nice weather.
Shopping is somewhat limited. if you looked at this location on Googlemaps or something similar, you'd see Gaston Ave. just to the South a few blocks. Gaston and Garland Rd, just to the East is very old, and there's not much, except for a few mom-pop restaurants and bars. If you go West on Gaston up to Abrams, maybe 1/2 mile, then there's quite a bit going on there, including a Whole Foods grocery store that is very popular. If you go back towards Garland Rd and go North, then you come upon area known as Casa Linda, where there's an Albertson's grocery store, as well as lots of other restaurants and what I call boutique shops. Post office is just East of Garland rd. and Buckner Blvd. As others have mentioned, it is a lovely area, and it is one of the oldest parts of Dallas. The Lakewood area extends North and West. Quite a bit of small shops, banks, restaurants just NW of your position at Abrams Rd. and Mockingbird Ln., and it's a very short hop over to Greenville Ave. that is famous for it's nightlife, consisting of bars, restaurants, and small boutique shops. If you go further West down Gaston Rd, which would eventually lead you to downtown Dallas, you'd come across another area called Deep Ellum, known for an interesting nightlife with numerous small shops, restaurants, bars/nightclubs On the way, you would pass Baylor Hospital, a very good/reputable hospital. Also, Criswell College and Dallas Theological Seminary are in the immediate vicinity of the hospital, and Southern Methodist University is probably within five miles of your mentioned area, just West of Central Expressway/Hwy 75. You'll have to go up to Abrams/NW Hwy to get to any big-box stores, and the closest shopping mall is Northpark Mall, located at Central Expwy and NW Hwy., which is really old, but has been kept up very nice, and maybe somewhat pricey being it's location- this is where the really affluent Dallasites living in this area (Highland Park and University Park) tend to shop. Northpark Mall was it long ago, before the other malls in the suburbs sprung up.

If you were to go South of Gaston Ave from your location, then the area goes "downhill", more so the closer you get to I-30. I would describe Gaston Ave as a natural boundary, separating the upper middle class from the lower middle class, and even less affluent.

The Lakewood area could be considered high-rent district, particularly due to the age of home and no more than what one typically gets in terms of square footage and amenities of the average home there. It's also considered part of Dallas proper, the City of Dallas, and within the Dallas Independent School District. I do not know any specifics on the school you mentioned, but DISD, in general, is probably one of the worse, if not the worse, school district in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex. If you can afford it, then you should seriously consider sending your children to a private school, which does exist in this area.

I've lived in Dallas area over 40 years, and while Lakewood is lovely, I find real estate extremely overpriced. You'd definitely be paying for the location, but it's also really an ideal location, putting you fairly close to most of the interesting/popular areas of Dallas proper.

[seat21d]

Originally Posted by bikerj

What responders haven't mention is most of the homes in this area are significantly older, while they come with a premium price. The area is lovely, and it's very close to White Rock Lake, which is a Dallas landmark and very active during nice weather.
Shopping is somewhat limited. if you looked at this location on Googlemaps or something similar, you'd see Gaston Ave. just to the South a few blocks. Gaston and Garland Rd, just to the East is very old, and there's not much, except for a few mom-pop restaurants and bars. If you go West on Gaston up to Abrams, maybe 1/2 mile, then there's quite a bit going on there, including a Whole Foods grocery store that is very popular. If you go back towards Garland Rd and go North, then you come upon area known as Casa Linda, where there's an Albertson's grocery store, as well as lots of other restaurants and what I call boutique shops. Post office is just East of Garland rd. and Buckner Blvd. As others have mentioned, it is a lovely area, and it is one of the oldest parts of Dallas. The Lakewood area extends North and West. Quite a bit of small shops, banks, restaurants just NW of your position at Abrams Rd. and Mockingbird Ln., and it's a very short hop over to Greenville Ave. that is famous for it's nightlife, consisting of bars, restaurants, and small boutique shops. If you go further West down Gaston Rd, which would eventually lead you to downtown Dallas, you'd come across another area called Deep Ellum, known for an interesting nightlife with numerous small shops, restaurants, bars/nightclubs On the way, you would pass Baylor Hospital, a very good/reputable hospital. Also, Criswell College and Dallas Theological Seminary are in the immediate vicinity of the hospital, and Southern Methodist University is probably within five miles of your mentioned area, just West of Central Expressway/Hwy 75. You'll have to go up to Abrams/NW Hwy to get to any big-box stores, and the closest shopping mall is Northpark Mall, located at Central Expwy and NW Hwy., which is really old, but has been kept up very nice, and maybe somewhat pricey being it's location- this is where the really affluent Dallasites living in this area (Highland Park and University Park) tend to shop. Northpark Mall was it long ago, before the other malls in the suburbs sprung up.

If you were to go South of Gaston Ave from your location, then the area goes "downhill", more so the closer you get to I-30. I would describe Gaston Ave as a natural boundary, separating the upper middle class from the lower middle class, and even less affluent.

The Lakewood area could be considered high-rent district, particularly due to the age of home and no more than what one typically gets in terms of square footage and amenities of the average home there. It's also considered part of Dallas proper, the City of Dallas, and within the Dallas Independent School District. I do not know any specifics on the school you mentioned, but DISD, in general, is probably one of the worse, if not the worse, school district in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex. If you can afford it, then you should seriously consider sending your children to a private school, which does exist in this area.

I've lived in Dallas area over 40 years, and while Lakewood is lovely, I find real estate extremely overpriced. You'd definitely be paying for the location, but it's also really an ideal location, putting you fairly close to most of the interesting/popular areas of Dallas proper.

I'll take my 74 year old house near Lakewood proper any day over cookie cutter or inferior new builds in the burbs.

The new Arboretum Village shopping center is coming to the corner of Garland/Grand/Gaston, and the Lakewood Shopping Center isn't far in the other direction.

I'd also hardly call Lakewood Hills, Santa Monica, and Hollywood Heights south of Gaston to be lower middle class or 'even less affluent'.

One of the reasons homes in the area command a premium is Lakewood Elementary. There is little reason to consider private elementary with Lakewood Elementary unless you really want to consider parochial (St. Thomas Aquinas is in good company wedged between Lakewood Elementary and Stonewall Jackson).

[ssaleh]

I was driving around the area yesterday and fell in love with it. The homes that I like are built in the 1930's but have a very high price tag. Should I be concerned about the age of the homes? What should I be looking for when one gets an inspection of the property? Also, my 3 boys currently go to a charter school in Carrollton. My oldest is entering 10th grade and would like to finish high school there so I would have to consider the 35 minute commute into my decision of moving to East Dallas. I have no problem putting my elementary student in Lakewood Elementary. Still up in the air on where to put my middle school son.