Tag: Jefferson

Lowell and Jefferson, Inner City Fresno Neighborhoods Poised to Revitalize

This evaluation includes all of the Lowell and Jefferson districts, which are north of Divisadero St to the highway. Some consider this part of Dwtn but given its strong residential character I consider it a separate neighborhood.

Lowell-Jefferson began developing in the 1880s when Fresno experienced rapid growth. The neighborhood still hosts a great array of turn of the 20th century American residential architecture, especially in the more poach western sections of Lowell. Historically the neighborhood experienced great socioeconomic diversity with working class homes often mixed in on the same blocks with upper middle class residences. By the mid-century with the rise of autocentric suburbs the neighborhood declined. This neighborhood decline was deepened with the drawn out demolition and construction of the east-west portion of the loop (Highway 180), which took several decades to materialize not opening until 1995. Crime and poverty depended in the 90s and 2000s and many of the single family homes were cut up into apartments. By the 2010s, however, the neighborhood began to rebound with an uptick in renovations and homeownership. Yet there is still much revitalization to do especially along the unattractive commercial corridors of Fresno, Belmont, and Blackstone. Given the neighborhood’s close proximity to Downtown and the City’s relative Californian affordability,  it feels only a matter of time before it revitalizes.

Click here to view my Lowell and Jefferson albums on Flickr

Urban Strengths:

* Generally good sidewalks throughout but ADA standard curb cuts are more the minority than the norm.
* Decent urban density.
* Excellent access to Dwtn Fresno being only 0.5-1 for these neighborhoods.
* A handful of dedicated bike lanes on the edge of the district. Unclear if there are any bike share stations hear.
* Solid street connectivity.
* Good age diversity and lots of families with children living here.
* Some very nice historic housing remains primarily in Lowell where lots of upper middle class SF homes were built. Jefferson has much more working class housing.
* Good number of public highs schools in the neighborhood or nearby with mixed ratings.
* Pretty good housing diversity and affordability with 2-beds selling btwn 100K-300K, 3 & 4 beds sell btwn 150K-500K.
* Same with rentals… 1-beds lease btwn $850 & $1300, 2-beds btwn $900 & $1,500. Some 3 & 4bed product as well. Good # of dedicated affordable rentals as well.
* Culturally the neighborhood has a large # of restaurants (esp. Mexican) and a handful of cafes & bars. There are also a couple live music venues and great access to the Dwtn cultural amenities.

Urban Weaknesses:

* The commercial streets Fresno, Belmont, and Blackstone are all pretty shabby and uninvesting. But they still have some stretches with decent urban form. 
* Very Hispanic neighborhood (73%)
* Very high poverty levels (around 40%).
* Both neighborhoods experienced high levels of crime in the 1990s-2000s which also led to a lot of disinvestment. Things appear to have stabilized in the neighborhoods and organic investment of the existing housing stocks appears to be underway.
* Some decent in-fill along the Dwtn edge but lots of unattractive auto centric commercial.
* A handful of small & medium sized parks.
* Tree canopy isn’t great but gets better in the wealthier western edge of Lowell.
* Okay retail amenities including several Hispanic grocerias, a pharmacy, a couple boutiques, a gyms & bakery, many churches, and a major hospital and connected doctor’s offices. Tons unattractive auto related stores but good access to quality retail amenities Dwtn.

Jefferson- A stable working class neighborhood on Cleveland’s Westside

Jefferson is a staple middle/working class district on Cleveland’s Westside with relatively good occupancy and in tact urban form. It is also a very affordable neighborhood  attractive to immigrant groups and one of Cleveland’s most diverse areas. About 14% of the population is foreign born and over half of the population is a minority. One can find an array of ethnic restaurants, bakeries, markets, along Lorain and West 105th Street.

The district also excels at great transit access and park recreation. It has decent walkable schools. ADA infrastructure, historic homes, and connectivity. My hope is that the general revitalization of nearby Cleveland westside districts (Lakewood, Kamm’s Corner, and Detroit Shoreway) will arrive in Jefferson. The neighborhood has good urban form but has remained in a similar place for many decades leading to a static maintenance of existing homes and commercial fabric with very little new urban infill. The biggest urban areas to improve include: urban infill long Jefferson’s commercial districts and more cultural and neighborhood amenities.
 
Click here to view my Jefferson Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Highly diverse neighborhood including sizable Middle eastern and Hispanic community. Considered the center of Middle Eastern community at Lorain and West 117th in Cleveland. Also great economic and generation diversity. Lots of families here.
* Excellent public transportation access especially along Lorain and near the Red Line Transit Stations.
* Many attractive brick and wooded streets with solid owner occupancy.
* Recent streetscape investments on Lorain west of W. 117th including mid-block pedestrian crossing.
* Several great park assets pretty well distributed throughout the neighborhood including Gunning Park Recreation Center, Jefferson Park, Halloran Park (includes an indoor ice rink), Mohican, and Worthington Park.
* Pretty good pre WWII architecture mixing in brick and woodframe styles. Historic commercial is mostly 2 story brick structures.
* Good Tree canopy.
* While not all the schools are highly rated, good mix of walkable schools including several grade schools and the John Marshall High School focusing on engineering.
* Culturally a wonderful array of ethnic restaurants, several diverse bars, and some cafes. Not much else culturally.
* Good array of retail amenities although much of them are auto centric. This includes a target, office max, tons of ethnic grocerias, a couple supermarkets, several drug stores, post office,  a hardware store, and other typical neighborhood retail.

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

* Rentals are kinda limited but generally very reasonably priced.
* For Sale product is stable but pretty inexpensive. Most homes sell between 75K-150 and are 3 & 4 bedrooms with decent sized yards. Great neighborhood for a starter home. Some nicer product between 150-200K. But sale prices are too low for any quality new in-fill. In-fill is generally crummy auto centric stuff.
* Some blight in the neighborhood especially along the commercial districts where there is a fair amount of unoccupied store fronts
* Limited bike infrastructure.
* Urban form of commercial district is a mixed bag. Decent stretch along Lorain between W 136 and 117. The W 117 & Lorain node has the best form. Some very auto centric areas near Lorain and W 140th. parts of W 117th, Puritas, and W 150th.