Why Acres Homes escapes gentrification (Houston, Aldine: low income, school district, landlords)

[hbcu]

but when people say Acres Homes, where exactly? The fringes by Oak Forest? Ain't no one putting a $300k townhome on West Montgomery and Dollywright.

[AcresHomes44]

Originally Posted by hbcu

but when people say Acres Homes, where exactly? The fringes by Oak Forest? Ain't no one putting a $300k townhome on West Montgomery and Dollywright.

I consider Acres Homes as Tidwell, W. Little York, Pinemont, Dollywright, W. Montgomery, Garden City; those are the principal streets of AH.

[LocalPlanner]

Gentrification is already starting down near Pinemont. Acres Homes is a big community area-wise, it will take awhile for value increases to move very far north because there's so much land available. We'll see if any of the efforts of Inwood to revitalize to the west will bleed over.

[DejaBlue]

Originally Posted by hbcu

but when people say Acres Homes, where exactly? The fringes by Oak Forest? Ain't no one putting a $300k townhome on West Montgomery and Dollywright.

LOL, true. Leave your $300-400k house and go get some chicken at the Chick N Chung. I think not.

[Vicman]

When you're desperately poor it's almost impossible to get ahead enough to afford the taxes.

In the cases of people in rental houses it's the landlord who benefits from the property valuation, not the tenant.

Gentrification is something the 610 Loop area needs but we need to acknowledge the downside.

Originally Posted by Houston parent

This post gives you a hint at why many poor people stay poor. Rising property values are a bad thing only if you have no desire to get ahead. I'm glad my house is worth more than the amount I originally paid - the equity adds to my net worth and helps me build something to hand down to my kids.

[AcresHomes44]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

Gentrification is already starting down near Pinemont. Acres Homes is a big community area-wise, it will take awhile for value increases to move very far north because there's so much land available. We'll see if any of the efforts of Inwood to revitalize to the west will bleed over.

If anything, the western portion of AH will gentrify, but not so much the eastern half.

Acres Homes has benefited from street expansions and its proximity to 290, 249, I-45, 610, etc. but that's about it. I've been fortunate to know a few folks from there and spent time there in my younger days and why would some of those folks leave when they know what they have?

That's the only benefit of AH, it's proximity to 4 major freeways. Those freeways have different exits that will take you to Acres Homes. You can get off on 45 at W. Little York and be in AH.

I wish the area wasn't split between 3 school districts

Ironic you should mention that because I went to Eisenhower HS, but I was also zoned for other HS schools in the community.

[Vicman]

Originally Posted by hbcu

I wish the area wasn't split between 3 school districts to really develop community pride but that was planned years ago as the only way to hold us down is to split us up. Sad those kids spent more time on buses than classroom time to fill quotas.

Would you support Aldine ISD consolidating into Houston ISD? I would like to see the Bush Airport area go into the HISD service zone.

Anyhow if such a merge happened would you consolidate BT Washington HS into Carver HS, or vice versa?

[hbcu]

Acres Home was used a place to boost integration numbers as then you had MC Williams in play, Aldine and then Klein ISD. A

At that time, it was Klein High which made it even more ridiculous to do that to those kids as how can you live across the street from a school but be zoned to a school miles away such as the way it is with Eisenhower.

[Houston parent]

Originally Posted by Vicman

When you're desperately poor it's almost impossible to get ahead enough to afford the taxes.

In the cases of people in rental houses it's the landlord who benefits from the property valuation, not the tenant.

I can understand why tenants would oppose gentrification, but I had the impression that those are not mostly rental properties in Acres Homes. If they are mostly rental properties, then the OP makes more sense.

[hbcu]

you have more people own properties in Acres Homes than off of 610 as that was the reason its called that. And then there are neighborhoods on the border of Acres Homes that claim the area which plenty of homeowners also. Only thing gentrifying is undeveloped land that's close to the loop.

These large areas were often divided by the acre and not by the plot, hence the name "Acres Homes". The farm capabilities of the home sites attracted many rural settlers, who dug their own wells, and built small, sanitary houses.[citation needed] Kristen Mack of the Houston Chronicle said that Acres Homes was originally marketed as "a bit of genteel country with quick and easy access to the city." The community was also touted as a place where African Americans could own houses and land instead of being in more dense urban areas.[1] At one time it was the largest unincorporated African-American community in the Southeastern United States.[2]