{"id":227,"date":"2017-05-02T18:16:19","date_gmt":"2017-05-02T18:16:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stories.kera.org\/no-place\/?p=227"},"modified":"2017-05-24T16:24:19","modified_gmt":"2017-05-24T16:24:19","slug":"after-eviction-notice-some-west-dallas-families-have-no-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stories.kera.org\/no-place\/2017\/05\/02\/after-eviction-notice-some-west-dallas-families-have-no-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"After Eviction Notice, Some West Dallas Families Have No Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

The days are numbered for 305 weathered rental homes, most of them in West Dallas. The city said they aren\u2019t up to code, so the landlord had to choose: Fix them or close up shop.\u00a0He picked the latter.\u00a0With a June 3\u00a0deadline looming, many families living in those homes already have left. But some people remain with no plan for their next move.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 The latest:<\/strong> Landlord offers to sell rental homes to longtime residents; judge extends move-out deadline<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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‘I call it the wall’<\/h5>\n

West Dallas in 2017 is a tale of two neighborhoods. The Trinity Groves restaurants and apartments cluster at the base of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge<\/a>. Construction cranes continue their westward march, promising new townhomes and shiny studio apartments.<\/p>\n

Right next door are appliance repair shops, old churches and aging houses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI call it the wall; it\u2019s the financial wall,” resident Ronnie Mestas says. “Those new apartments that are right there, you know? Because it just looks like it blocks out the whole neighborhood.”<\/p>\n

\"RonnieMestas-1\"<\/p>\n

Ronnie Mestas is a longtime West Dallas resident. Photo\/Jessica Diaz-Hurtado<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Mestas is a neighborhood leader. He sits on the education committee of “West Dallas 1,” a six-year-old group representing each of the local neighborhood associations. He also grew up in West Dallas. After years in the Navy, he decided to retire here, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came back to my roots. I love it here,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Mestas doesn\u2019t fear gentrification. He knows it signals change \u2014 landlords charging more, property taxes ticking up, more visitors. He says development also cleans up the neighborhood. Before all the new construction, one of his friends was afraid to take her grandchildren to play outside.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe couldn\u2019t go there because it was a swamp,” Mestas says. “There was mosquitoes. There were trailers, trash, prostitutes, drug dealers all of that stuff in that area where she\u2019s at.”<\/p>\n

He\u2019s also worried about neighbors who live in rental homes owned by HMK Ltd., the ones that will be cleared out in June. Residents were given seven months’ notice to vacate. Mestas says most of them pay $300 to $500 a month in rent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are the last homes that you\u2019re going to find anywhere at that price,” he said.<\/p>\n

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\"A<\/p>\n

A sign in Joe Garcia’s yard in West Dallas. Photo\/Allison V. Smith<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\u201cOur money situation is always a stretch.\u201d\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Joe Garcia, West Dallas resident living in an HMK-owned home<\/div>\n
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Deep family roots<\/h5>\n

Joe Garcia, 53, lives in a small two-bedroom house\u00a0owned by HMK with his 84-year-old mother, Lily. Their house isn\u2019t falling down. It\u2019s got a new teal paint job and recently replaced siding. Still, the floors creak, and the air conditioner sticks out a side window. It\u2019s wedged in with an old piece of wood and duct tape. A garbage bag anchored by a brick flutters off the back side to prevent outside air from flowing in.<\/p>\n

They\u00a0don\u2019t know where to go.<\/p>\n

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    Joe Garcia and his 84-year-old mother, Lily, in their kitchen on McBroom Street in West Dallas. Photo\/Allison V. Smith<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
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    Joe Garcia smiles as his mother, Lily, touches his cheek in their kitchen. Photo\/Allison V. Smith<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n
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    Joe Garcia on the front porch of his home in West Dallas. Photo\/Allison V. Smith<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n