COMMENT OF THE DAY RUNNER-UP: THROWING OUT SOME NUMBERS ON THE FIFTH WARD “The 5th Ward as a whole is light years away from a full gentrification, but the part south of I-10 and west of Bringhurst is about 60% there.” [LRS, commenting on What’s That Cooking on Bringhurst and Clinton?]
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He is 50% right 100% of the time
UrbanLofts is prepping for their next community on Meadow Street in that area and Urban Living has their signs on huge empty lots.
It’s a ghetto, people. Houston isn’t San Francisco, prices aren’t so high here that you have to live in gangland. I can’t imagine anyone I know ever buying there or investing in that area, there are still parts of The Heights that needs gentrification, why buy some poorly built thrown up junk in a very bad part of town. It’s one thing to be urban pioneers in Montrose, Third Ward, The Heights, but the 5th Ward?? Oh hayll to the no! Do you see people in Dallas moving south of Fair Park?–no way!
If you want a newer townhome super-close to downtown for $200K-ish or less, this is where you’ll move. Obviously some folks are willing to put up with the transitional nature of the area (at least for awhile).
@Mr. Clean19
Can’t be right all the time. If 50% is what it is, I am fine with that, but I will accept that I am not right, other people won’t.
@WASP
Someone previously mentioned how nobody wanted to invest in the Washington/Shepherd area, and how once they did, it yielded excellent results. It’s easier to make large profits where buying land is cheaper, and as far as I remember, the 3rd ward (west of 288) isn’t any better, and midtown wasn’t that different 20 years ago. And there is no need to bring up Dallas. The world doesn’t revolve around Dallas.
The Heights was a ghetto, too.
I would say that The Heights is an extended work in progress. Some of it still is a ghetto.
meh – some of y’all think anything that’s not Piney Point or The Woodlands is a ghetto.
Whatever. I hope that cocoon isn’t too tight.
The Heights had once been a very nice neighborhood, thus it had all these great houses (Norhill is beautiful), the 5th Ward was never a nice area, it doesn’t possess the great old bungalows and cool Esplandes. Do any of you actually live in Houston? I wonder sometimes.
5th ward the roughest area in town (or it used to be); builders have been buying up lots for awhile. Close to downtown. But I’d much rather pioneer the near northside or the 3rd ward. Heights was never like the 5th ward.
@Greg…Amen
The nickel reminds me of that great swath of outer belt between 45N and 290. Kashmere Gardens is like a more urbanized version of Acres Homes. But unlike Northwest, the Fifth is scarred by massive rail yards and the ship channel. The importance of its proximity to downtown is greatly diminished by the existence of other employment centers like Galleria, the Energy Corridor, etc. There’s simply too much working against it, and too many other sectors of town that need less effort to turn around.
I think we’ll see the western outer belt neighborhoods recover long before we see a revitalization. Spring Branch and Sharpstown will benefit from neighboring Memorial Villages and the GOOF, and Bellaire, respectively. I’m biased (work in the area) but I see promise there.
Gentrification will chip away at the edges of that area while lower income hispanic families continue to water down the perceived hardcore black neighborhoods, which will soften it for eventual erasure/reform, especially in the southern and western edges.
Did y’all know that Montrose used to be within the 4th Ward, or that Midtown and EaDo used to be mostly within the 3rd Ward? The neighborhood that the original commenter referred to (south of I-10, west of Bringhurst) needs to be rebranded because it actually is different in character and is affected by different factors than what exists north of I-10.
And I really hate to say that because it’ll pick up some cliched cutesy-ass name at some tremendous expense to the community in consulting fees. But as I can see from the comments on this thread, the results would amply compensate for the expense and embarrassment.
Spring Branch yes, Sharpstown no, 5th Ward hayll to the hayll to the no
The part of the 5th Ward near White Oak and Stutemont is getting nice, but still pretty ghetto.
No one really knows where the original boundaries of the Wards are, it’s all perception and that’s all that really matters. Yes, I’m aware Riverside Terrace as well as The Museum District is Third Ward and Montrose is actually zzzzzz, and it really doesn’t matter because no body associates Montrose with a Ward or the Museum District, all that matters is that to most people third ward and fifth ward equals danger and the ghetto, right or wrong that’s a fact, so yes maybe rebranding is in order…good luck
I wish the city hadn’t named super neighborhoods after wards, it confuses so many otherwise intelligent people.
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Generally speaking, when someone references the second, third, fourth or fifth wards, they are referencing the area that comprises the current super neighborhood, not some archaic moniker from over a century ago, that would be silly.
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Yes, parts of the east end, and all of midtown was in the historic 3rd ward, but neither are a part of the super neighborhood called ‘The Greater 3rd Ward’, or ‘Super Neighborhood 67’. and EaDo, is actually in the Downtown Super neighborhood, so while EaDo is the stupidest name ever, it is very descriptive of what it actually is, east downtown.
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Likewise, super neighborhood 55, or ‘The Greater 5th Ward’ comprises areas ranging from buffalo bayou in the south to Elysian on the west and Collingsworth in the north. It doesn’t matter that just north of the bayou it doesn’t have the same ‘feel’ as other areas of the super neighborhood.
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There’s a very handy map on houstontx.gov for those of you who are confused.
I own property in 3rd ward, 5th ward and Kashmire Gardens.
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3rd ward is great (relative). 5th ward is okay, but not the best.
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Kashmire gardens is a dump. I hate to say it. The only thing it has going for it (and the reason we invest there) is you’re still in the loop — minutes from downtown, freeways, etc. So the area sucks, but it’s damn near close to areas that don’t.
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So personally I’d rather live in 5th ward and risk getting shot then live in Katy and shoot myself due to the daily commute.
Something people fail to consider when talking about this area of the 5th is that there is so much open land for development. The age range of the 5th is primarily older now and has a lower crime rate than that of the heights/montrose.
The area does have its issues but because of these issues it has made our little area all that much closer and well connected. Combining HOAs, Neighborhood networks and proactive people in the area will help make this a successful area.
toasty: I’ve never seen a good map that shows all the neighborhoods. I hear various neighborhoods called out on this site all the time and really don’t know where they are. There doesn’t seem to be anything ‘official. I tried to make one up using the google map tool but gave up :)
Cody: And, it’s cheaper to own a house in the Fifth and buy a good rifle than it is to buy a house in Katy. So as long as your kids can get into Vanguard, you’re good…
Did ANYONE watch Drugs, Inc. when they filmed in the fifth ward?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-7iBnfn2zY
Enlighten yourselves.
There are only two facts about the current state of the 5th Ward:
(1) Someone spent $27 million dollars for 130+ acres of land in the 5th for a reason.
(2) 130 new townhomes are going up in jan/feb 2014 at the intersection of jensen and clinton.
Changes are happening and people will move to this area.
Such an old thread…well I bought a $350,000.00 townhome in the area six months ago, I think my price has gone up a little so I might even have a little equity, I ride my bike to work and I believe that some of the areas between Quitman and Jensen are being cleaned up, old houses are being demolished and I see signs going up for the Hardy Yards and an extension of the Hardy Tollway to connect it to downtown is on the works…before I bought my house there I spent a good six months studying the area and even driving around the neighborhood at all times of the day, evening and even past midnight well into 2 or 3am. I am not sure how bad the area was before and I can recall only once or twice having been there when I was younger or in High School. I have lived in Houston for a good 30something years. I think is not as bad as it used to be. But I think research and re-educating ourselves about certain areas is the only way to know for sure whether it will work for us or not. I for one don’t have any traffic to deal with, I work 10 minutes away from home, enjoy all the parks and activities in downtown, midtown and the Heights too much to move back to the suburbs. I rarely even go to the Galleria unless I have to (to shop or eat out with friends). Prices are also going up in that area, my house is well constructed and it is not a dump, pretty much what I am trying to say is that I am fairly happy with the area.