16 March 14 - 20, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents When the opportunity to open Olmo Market in Elmwood presented itself, Pe- draza didn’t hesitate. “I told my mom [CocoAndre founder An- drea Pedraza] that I just really liked this area, this little strip, but I just never thought that I would end up over here,” she says. “When it did come available. I was just so grateful. It’s just been a really fun experience.” Growing Pains O n Feb. 28, following years of advocacy from the Elmwood Neighborhood As- sociation, Dallas City Council unani- mously approved the Downtown Elmwood overlay, a plan to rezone from a community retail district to a walkable mixed-use dis- trict. This means that the zoning will shift from accommodating isolated businesses that are farther apart from each other to supporting a pedestrian-friendly shopping and dining area. The plan aims to increase walkability, calm traffic, increase parking and activate a downtown area that will boost both busi- nesses and the community in Elmwood. Marsh, a former president of the Elmwood Neighborhood Association, is a longtime advo- cate of the Downtown Elmwood overlay. She speaks of the neighborhood with the same fondness as Rhoten but with a particular em- phasis on the neighborhood’s older buildings. “We wanted, like, an urban feel, because that’s what we were used to,” Marsh says of her choice to live in Elmwood upon moving from Houston to Dallas. “But we really wanted the character of an old home.” Elmwood has charming old houses in spades, including Marsh’s 100-year-old house in the area. Her friends always tell her it reminds them of a coffee shop and it serves as design inspiration for her cozy cafe. Preserving the integrity of the neighbor- hood’s older buildings, such as her home and the commercial space that houses her cafe, is one cause Marsh hopes the overlay will promote. We spoke to her over some hot chocolate at B-Side Coffee the day after the overlay plan was passed. “It’s really great because there’s a lot of re- ally cool old buildings like this one that haven’t been taken care of and that are decay- ing essentially because they can’t get permit- ting or zoning for businesses,” she says. Marsh also understands that a bustling and charming neighborhood isn’t worth much if it’s not safe to walk in. This is an- other issue the rezoning and revitalization efforts aim to address. “It put us on the map, essentially, for the city of Dallas to give us the attention you need as far as streetlights, crosswalks and stop signs,” Marsh says. “We have a mile stretch here from Illinois to Lansford with zero traffic calming measures. And there’s an elementary school and a ton of businesses here and there’s nothing to protect anybody who’s walking or even driving in this area.” Marsh speaks of Elmwood with equal parts desire to help it grow and flourish and fierce protectiveness of what’s already there. The word wasn’t explicitly said out loud, but it did haunt our conversation: gentrification. It’s an unfortunate reality that plagues many “trendy” neighborhoods: when more affluent people begin to move to previously lower-income neighborhoods, the cost of living often rises to a point that existing resi- dents and businesses are displaced. It’s an issue that plagues Oak Cliff, with nearby Bishop Arts District acting as its poster child, and it poses uncomfortable questions when cutesy spots like dog parks and vegan brunch restaurants start to pop up near where you live: “Will I actually get to enjoy these fun new businesses? Are they about to price me out?” The West Oak Cliff Area Plan, a prede- cessor and foundation for the Downtown Elmwood overlay passed by the City Council in 2022, aims to deal with those worries, calling for the same improvements for Elm- wood addressed in the overlay while also limiting new construction. “A lot of the neighborhoods that are im- pacted here have been waiting since 2017 for the protection they’ve been asking for,” Dallas City Councilman Chad West, whose District 1 includes Elmwood, said in a statement to NBC 5. “The goal is to build the community without having to tear down and displace.” City of Ate from p15 JJ Eromonsale Whitney and Caleb Marsh operate B-Side Coffee on the same retail strip as Herby’s.
