Supplies encroach 'neighborhood'

By: Daniel Divine

Posted: 1/29/08

A model of community interaction between off-campus Aggies and their neighbors is put to the test when up-scale apartment construction takes the yard.

The houses and duplexes between College Main and 2nd Street, north of Louise Avenue, was an area where families and students met together and interacted. This area, referred to as "the neighborhood" by the locals, had a green space between several houses that served as the focal point of activities. However, the space is covered with construction materials for the Factory Apartments project across the street.

The neighborhood blossomed in 2005 when student residents started organizing activities such as the Barefoot Art Guild, improvisational comedy performances, live music and a field day for friends and neighbors, said resident Meghan Knobel, class of 2007.

The Barefoot Art Guild, which gained popularity, is the only student run art gallery and the largest art show in the Brazos County, said Andrew Pittz, a senior sociology major and resident of the neighborhood.

The future of the Guild depends on the removal of the large steel beams and roofing materials that occupy the green space. Knobel, Pittz and many others have presented to the College Station City Council to vie for the removal of materials and to raise awareness about similar instances that may crop up in other neighborhoods.

Many of the houses have a fence less than 20 feet from their front door, put up for the sake of construction. Walkways, parking spaces and water drainage were affected by the seizure of the green space by the heavy materials. In response to the neighborhood's struggle with their landlords, City Council member Barbara Moore said in an e-mail that "all persons involved agreed that the conditions you all have had to live in are unacceptable, and we are actively working on possible changes to ordinances and finding creative ways to make sure that this does not happen in another neighborhood in the city."

"It has been a struggle, but we are doing it," Knobel said. "We are winning and the city is noticing."

Knobel and others originally circulated fliers and e-mails to spread awareness about the situation. The neighborhood's solidarity is focused on regaining lost ground, but there remains a community that has students in positive interaction with the community.

Pittz told of common instances were a student either salvaged a bike or a computer to give to one of the children in the neighborhood.

The owner of The Factory, Radakor LLC, is the landlord of several of the neighborhood's tenants. However, a resident who is using the money to pay for high taxes caused by the up-scale apartments being built owns the "green space," Knobel said.

"We need in place a fair and comprehensive framework that does not suppress growth. We are not anti-growth, but we are pro-smart-growth, and you need to respect the people that already live there," Pittz said, expressing the need of city codes to prepare for such instances of growth where the intrinsic value of community conflicts with instrumental growth.