Hilltop As Rising Gay 'Hood (28. November 2006, 13:07 by Derek Young) ~ Our Neighborhoods Are Changing
Tacoma has put a fair amount of money and energy into the theories of Richard Florida. Well…
(Denver, CO) – Whether or not you subscribe to Richard Florida’s “creative class” theory, where the gays go eventually so do higher property values, less crime, better schools, ethnic diversity and growth.
In that vane, GayGhettos.com in partnership with GayRealEstate.com, the leading resource for gay-friendly real estate transactions, has announced its inaugural list of the nation’s top up-and-coming “gay ghettos.”
Only four neighborhoods made the list per region. Representing THE WEST we have:
Hilltop (Tacoma, WA)—With one of the highest populations of gays in Tacoma, the area is cleaning itself up from its gangs and drugs past up and housing prices are rising fast. Gay-owned and gay-friendly lounges have been popping up around this district. The area will only see more gentrification in the years to come due to planned office and condo developments, affordable historic homes, great sense of community and easy access to downtown Tacoma.
Check that out.
Previously on Exit133
Link to 247Gay
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Hilltop is where my wife and I are looking to buy a little craftsman fixer home. Hilltop rules.
1 | Posted by RR Anderson | Nov 28, 01:38 PM
We just bought a place on Hilltop and are in the process of moving from the North End, where we’ve lived for many years.
Agreed – Hilltop rules.
Also can we all agree to abandon names like “Upper Tacoma”?
It’s called Hilltop. Claim the name.
2 | Posted by RCC | Nov 28, 05:13 PM
Exciting and worrisome news for the Hilltop. If added gayness will make the area a safer and more attrative one, that’s great. Tacoma’s gays desprately need an area of the city to congregate in, contribute to, and flurish. Is Hilltop it? There’s a great mix of funky and affordable properties in the area: The brick village fronting Safeway; the New Orleans flavored street fronts on MLK; century old homes to restore and decorate.
My concern lies with the existing population that now calls the Hilltop home. All too many of them renters, will these people manage to invest and benefit or be priced out? The neighborhood has a strong identity, but do the current residents have that desire to propell change and be part of the transition? The Hilltop’s leaders need to plan the next step to make sure we start in the right direction.
Welcome news, YES! Let’s make sure all of Tacoma benefits.
3 | Posted by BrettS | Nov 29, 02:14 PM
I’m with Brett. Displacing a historically poorer black community with a richer gay (and pretty safe to assume white—my hat’s off to any gay or lesbian of color who makes enough to afford to buy in the Hilltop these days)community is not my idea of progress.
It is my hope that my fellow gays and lesbians who move to this neighborhood do their best to strengthen not just its economic base, but its character. If you’re going to be in the Hilltop, be part of the Hilltop. If you are inclined to Christianity, go join a neighborhood church. Learn your neighbors history. Support the hilltop community garden. Make your neighbors your friends, not your lawn ornaments.
If we lesbians and gay men are going to become part of this jewel of a neighborhood, we need to recognize we also bear responsibility for its continued health and authenticity.
Maybe the city needs to consider rent control in this neighborhood, so that we don’t do to the blacks here what happened to the lesbian and arts community on Valencia street in San Fransisco in the early nineties.
Study your history, love your neighbors, and keep it real.
4 | Posted by Heather | Dec 6, 04:42 PM
I think you just have to let time take its course. It is neither fair or unfair.
So if you say it is wrong to displace the “historically poorer black community” was it wrong for them to displace the middle class community that was there before?
I don’t think good neighborhoods are made on the fact that the city is controlling rents to keep a certain demographic in the area.
Heather are you a property owner? Not many of those would be for rent control. The thought of anyone even thinking of that scares me. Like me and you, all people must adjust with the market.
5 | Posted by Hilltop | Dec 6, 08:38 PM
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