The historic Barrio Anita is getting renewed attention with new homes popping up.
Local developer Southwest Urban built and sold one new home in the small neighborhood just north of downtown, and two more are under construction.
The bungalow-style homes are on once-vacant lots — at least vacant for quite a while.
“We knew something had been there because there was a curb cutout,” said Len Casebier, a developer and broker with Southwest Urban. “We found nothing, no foundation or pipes.”
He said the appeal of the neighborhood, immediately west of the railroad tracks, was its history.
“We didn’t feel like it was noticed,” Casebier said. “We looked at those vacant lots and thought if we don’t build something, someone else will.”
Trying to stay true to the look and feel of existing homes, Casebier and his business partner Adam Lundquist, created the design of the homes. One has a front porch, because of the views of “A” Mountain; another has a flagstone patio with lights because the front view is of an apartment complex.
“We wanted to honor the people that live there by bringing in people who want to be there,” Casebier said. “It’s a working-class family neighborhood.”
The new homes are on the northern end of the neighborhood, 1041 and 1045 N. Anita Ave. and are about 1,650 square feet in size with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. They will be priced around $400,000.
Not all residents are happy with the new homes, said Gracie Soto, president of the Barrio Anita Homeowners Association and co-owner of the iconic Anita Street Market.
“These old neighborhoods are beautiful and historic and are what they are because of the families,” she said, “the nanas that grew rose gardens and had ‘virgencitas’ in the front yard.”
The price of the new homes is a concern, Soto said, because some residents fear it will impact their property taxes. She said the average homes in Barrio Anita are valued at between $180,000 and $200,000.
First platted in 1903, more than 90% of the homes in the barrio were built by 1920.
The neighborhood of about 500 residents is home to the David G. Herrera / Ramon Quiroz Park — where the Oury Park Tigers baseball team once drew hundreds of fans — and Davis Bilingual Elementary Magnet School.
Soto is working with local agencies to try and designate the remaining empty lots in Barrio Anita for affordable housing projects.
Still, she said, there is relief that the new homes are for homeowners and not renters.
“We’re pleased that someone wants to live and spend their years in Barrio Anita and we’re welcoming,” Soto said. “But I hope they don’t think this is a sleepy, quiet neighborhood because we’ll have fiestas and parades in the streets ... once we can do that again.”
