Now that spring is finally here, I can get out in my yard and work.
I spent one recent Saturday clearing out winter debris, allowing the new growth of spring to show through. When I dig in the dirt, I allow my mind to wander and ponder wherever and whatever it may.
That day I recalled a piece I read in Southern Living magazine on gardening. The author wrote that gardening was like playing jazz because your garden is forever changing from year to year. As plants and trees grow, lighting changes, and plants that once thrived in one area may have to be moved to thrive again. You have to adjust to the changes, adapt to the environment — an analogy I think somewhat apropos to our Lake Highlands neighborhood.
I’ve been reading some of the posts on Back Talk Lake Highlands about the proposed rezoning at the southwest corner of Church and Skillman and the strip shopping center at Ferndale and Shoreview. Clearly, our community is struggling with redevelopment changes and the choices those changes pose.
Frankly, I have been taken aback at the level of discourse and the personal attacks. I expect better of my community. I believe a lot of the comments come from anger over the degradation of old apartments that were built in the past, and fear that new construction may eventually end in the same result. Writer and humorist James Thurber once said: “Let us not look back in anger or forward in fear, but around in awareness.”
I’m beginning to believe that the only change some of my neighbors want is for developers to tear down old apartments and build 4,000 square-foot single family homes in their place. This attitude is unrealistic and counterproductive for the progressive redevelopment of Lake Highlands.
Despite our disagreements, we’ve been able to see eye to eye on one thing — the Lake Highlands Town Center. The project was a long time in coming, and when the deal finally closed with Prescott Realty, there was great joy among the majority of the Lake Highlands community. I remember a Back Talk Lake Highlands post that even suggested throwing former District 10 Councilman Bill Blaydes a parade. Though we’re all hoping the project attracts higher-end shopping, it also demolished four aging apartment complexes and will add new condos, townhomes, zero-lot homes and upscale apartments to our neighborhood.
Prescott’s on a roll — the company also has pieced together three parcels of land at the southwest corner of Skillman and Church. On one parcel was a shack that has been leveled; on another is a vacant metal church building. Prescott wants to flip it to a developer who hopes to rezone the eight acres from single-family housing in order to build a retirement community.
Nearby homeowners are up in arms. They want the zoning to remain single-family. A Realtor told me the economics involved would require houses on those lots to be priced at $900,000.
Personally, I wouldn’t pay $900,000 for a house on that corner, even if I could afford it. The latest census report showed our community to have one of the largest aging populations in Dallas over 75 years old. Perhaps a retirement community isn’t such a bad idea.
The Ferndale and Shoreview rezoning, recently approved unanimously by the City Council, includes plans for five-story, high-end condos with rooftop gardens and street level retail. No apartments will be razed for this redevelopment, only an outdated, underutilized strip shopping center.
We are a diverse community and are stronger for it, but our housing should reflect our diverse needs and desires. In 2006, 708 houses were sold in Lake Highlands and 710 in 2007. Sales prices are firm. If we want this trend to continue, we need to continue to promote smart, progressive redevelopment.
Perhaps if we dig in our gardens and listen to a little Keith Jarrett, we might approach these issues with a little more calm and perspective.
