Churches have been destroyed, mobile home parks dismantled, and neighbourhood hangouts have been replaced with fashionable eateries and luxury apartment complexes in the capital of Texas, which has become one of the fastest-growing places in the nation in the past few years.
The transformation has perhaps been most noticeable in East Austin and the Montopolis neighbourhood, a 2.5-square-mile patch of land southeast of downtown where unobstructed views of the city’s ever-expanding skyline have made the historically Black and Latino neighbourhood a sought-after neighbourhood for residents.
Additionally, the upward trend seems to be continuing. Longtime residents have watched with growing anxiety as chic coffee shops, yoga studios, and pricey bars have crept closer and closer to their homes as construction sites and cranes become more permanent fixtures in the neighbourhood. Construction sites and cranes have become more permanent fixtures throughout the neighbourhood.
It was inevitable, said Francisco Nuez, who lived at the Cactus Rose Mobile Home Park for nearly two decades until it was sold to a developer to make way for luxury apartments that now rent for more than twice what he used to pay in rent. “We knew it was coming,” said Nuez, who now pays more than double what he used to pay in rent.
It was just a decade ago that Austin, the state capital of Texas, was considered one of the most cheap locations to live in a firmly conservative state. A new projection made by Zillow, a real estate business that measures affordability, predicts that by year’s end, the Austin metropolitan area will have surpassed California as the most unaffordable large metro region for purchasers outside of California. Even hot markets like Boston, Miami, and New York City have yet to be eclipsed.
With an estimated 180 new inhabitants relocating to the city every day in 2020, real estate agents have said that the city’s housing availability would be severely depleted. Offers from many parties, bidding wars, and huge queues in front of open houses are all regular occurrences.
Austin has always been a desirable area to live, thanks to its proximity to the University of Texas flagship campus, pleasant rolling hills, and thriving music culture. Rising housing prices, on the other hand, have precipitated a brewing housing crisis that is reshaping the city of nearly 1 million people and pushing mostly low-income Black and Latino residents.
The presence of homeless encampments near City Hall and beneath major roads has served to highlight the paucity of affordable housing options. Since voters passed a public camping ban this year, the city has lately begun steps to remove them.
At least 35 Austin areas were entering some level of gentrification in 2018, despite the fact that the city was seeing exponential expansion. Following the city’s lead, researchers from the University of Texas performed an investigation that found that another 23 communities were at high danger of being displaced.
Austin officials have been concerned about the displacement of low-income residents in a city where approximately 13 percent of the population lives below the poverty line to the point where they have hired the city’s first displacement officer this year as a result of a grassroots movement to address the issue. Even as cranes continue to dot the skyline and new buildings rise increasingly higher, Nefertitti Jackmon is tasked with the difficult job of avoiding widespread gentrification.
She said that, although plans are still in the works, her office would be granted around $300 million over the next 13 years to be spent on resolving displacement issues such as obtaining more affordable homes in impacted communities, among other initiatives. In explaining the difficulties that lay ahead, she is blunt and direct.
When Dr. McGhee came out of his house on a recent day, he pointed in a number of locations, including construction sites and recently constructed luxury complexes. Ms. McGhee recalled that “not so long ago, this was just swamp.” “All you can see now is new developments or proposals for additional projects.”
A total of 18 of the 19 properties that were on the market this spring sold for more than the asking price, a 113 percent increase over last year, according to Mr. Gordon, who lives in the Northwest Hills area about 20 minutes northwest of downtown and where he performs the bulk of his business. This property was advertised for $975,000 and sold after a lengthy bidding battle for $1,395,000.
As new projects continue to be permitted and developed in ever more distant areas of the city, many of those who left the neighbourhood are concerned that they may be forced to move from their new homes once again.
