Up And Coming Areas of Fort Worth (Keller, Lancaster: low income, real estate)

[carp1123]

Has anyone else looked at purchasing or building a house in some of the less desirable areas of Fort Worth where the real estate is slightly more affordable? Historic Southside, Como, Oakhurst, Stockyards, Meadowbrook, United Riverside.


I'm just thinking what Linwood, River District, and Near Soutside looked like 3 - 6 years ago and the transformations are amazing. I'm not looking for this as a real estate investment but in terms of somewhere to purchase a house and raise a family without adding 45 minutes to my commute everyday.

[ChristieP]

The problem is that all of those areas are currently fairly high crime and have bad public schools. Who knows if the City will be able to get a handle on the crime rate any time soon? Until that happens, most people who would be interested in gentrification will stay away.

[abelinkkin]

Christie hit the nail on the head. Those gentrification areas are great for young professionals that want to be close to bars and restaurants. Those with kids will stay far away because of the schools.

Want close to the center of town and good schools? private school is your only option.

[ChristieP]

I wouldn't even say those areas are good for young professionals because they are high crime. Drive-by shootings and convenience store robberies are not uncommon occurrences in the Northside, Stop 6 and Poly neighborhoods. Check out the Fort Worth PD Crime Map: https://gisit.tarrantcounty.com/cmportal/

United Riverside and Historic Southside are probably the least bad of the bunch. Riverside is close to downtown, and there are some really neat old homes there. But the surrounding neighborhoods are not good, and you'll have to drive a fair distance to even find a decent grocery store. Southside still has some crime issues, and there always seem to be homeless people in the area, likely since it's not a far walk from the shelters on Lancaster.

Meadowbrook is way too close to Stop 6 and Poly. Oakhurst is heavily Hispanic and very low income.

Como will probably gentrify sooner than the others simply because it's surrounded by nicer areas such as Ridglea. But since it is Fort Worth's historically African-American neighborhood, redevelopment is slower due to community resistance to redevelopment.

[Campeador]

Originally Posted by carp1123

Has anyone else looked at purchasing or building a house in some of the less desirable areas of Fort Worth where the real estate is slightly more affordable? Historic Southside, Como, Oakhurst, Stockyards, Meadowbrook, United Riverside.


I'm just thinking what Linwood, River District, and Near Soutside looked like 3 - 6 years ago and the transformations are amazing. I'm not looking for this as a real estate investment but in terms of somewhere to purchase a house and raise a family without adding 45 minutes to my commute everyday.

FW's CD board is pretty low traffic, and the regular posters we do have are often not urban pioneers. Many live in the suburbs, some 40 minutes away. If you use the search function, you will find some older threads on this topic and that may help you.

I took a look at Oakhurst 10 years ago when we moved to FW and I really liked it. I'm guessing it's still a great little neighborhood, but must admit that I don't spend time there.

I firmly believe that this is the future of Fort Worth--Millennials refuse to spend their lives commuting and are more ecologically aware than most folks in my generation (X) and the dream of buying a home is getting less realistic / attainable over time. Today's 'rough' areas will be tomorrow's Fairmount.

[carp1123]

Thanks guys, that is kind of what I thought. I try to track on the MLS where all of the builders are buying up old homes/ lots so I can get ahead of the trend before prices get crazy. I'll go back and look at old posts but they probably point to areas that have already developed and seen large appreciation in property values.

[tcualum]

I would like to see Meadowbrook turn around. There are some lovely neighborhoods with nice older homes on large lots with huge, mature trees.

[naterator]

Second that, tcualum. I would add the adjacent Eastern Hills area, as well.

[Katera]

Keller, just north of Ft. Worth is exploding...EXPLODING!

[4Movingeast]

Oakhurst and Meadowbrook have been on the cusp for years and I think schools are the big huge sticking point. They aren't close enough to FW's private schools (other than Meadowbrook- Nolan) to make them good neighborhoods for those families. They have been popular with home schooling families for years.