Affordable housing in North Oak Cliff was later replaced with single-family homes selling for between $350,000 and $500,000. But the company failed to sell the land to another developer, and the properties went into foreclosure nearly a year later. I n 2007, Incap, a real estate development company, acquired and tore down 1,500 apartment units in Bishop Arts to make space for new development. “Those are often the examples cited by supporters of the redevelopment and gentrification,” he says. While some of the longtime homeowners in his area were able to sell their homes for more than they bought them for, Shearer believes that is more of the exception than the rule. While good arguments could be made that more jobs have been created in the neighborhood during the past decade of growth, he questions whether they pay well, given that only a quarter of adults between ages 25 and 34 in Dallas county earn a living wage. Shearer has publicly said that the city of Dallas has done very little to protect residents in Oak Cliff from soaring property values that force them to sell and ultimately push them out. So many that are either actively participating in gentrification, or passively benefiting from it, believe it will happen regardless of our actions,” Shearer says. “I see my role now as one of speaking out against the perceived inevitability of gentrification and displacement. As someone who has witnessed how gentrification has changed the neighborhood that’s been his home for two decades, he feels a duty to protect it. Originally, Shearer was attracted to the neighborhood’s sense of community, which he claims was driven by the neighbors, not by retail and restaurants in and around the Bishop Arts district. He bought his first home in the North Oak Cliff neighborhood of Winnetka Heights for $145,000 in 2003. Shearer is increasingly involved with efforts to protect neighbors from displacement. People actively participating in gentrification, or passively benefitting from it, believe it will happen regardless Then, a restaurant offering farm-to-table dishes at slightly higher-than-average prices brought Dallasites from all over to the neighborhood – and 13 years later it certainly appears it was a harbinger of the significant change to come. “There was little visible sign of commercial gentrification outside of a small number of restaurants and shops in Bishop Arts.” There were a handful of spots, but it was not remotely the entertainment destination it is today,” says Rob Shearer, 47, a 20-year resident of Oak Cliff. “The Bishop Arts district in 2001 was sleepy. Shops on Jefferson Street, between Polk and Tyler. A large inventory of fixer-upper homes gives the neighborhood its up-and-coming vibe, if not the large apartment complexes and condominiums being built on every corner. It has become a tourist stop for out-of-towners and a weekend release for locals. N orth Oak Cliff is now described in local magazines as “Dallas’s best-kept secret”, filled with independent boutiques, mom-and-pop restaurants and urban coffee houses. ![]() The Hispanic population still makes up 71% of the total inhabitants. Between 20, the white population increased by 15% to make up 24% of residents, while the Black population decreased by 14% to just 3%. ![]() Today, the neighborhood is still predominantly Latino, but is experiencing a Black and brown decline. The big Latino community made it easy for Vargas’s grandmother to find work doing various jobs at local Latino-owned businesses. When his grandparents arrived 40 years ago, the neighborhood culture was completely different. Vargas’s grandfather planted the trees behind him. Antonio Vargas with photograph of his childhood home.
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