Tell me all about High Point (especially bad)

[BigPhil]

Hey all – lived here a few years down by Westwood (Holden/Delridge) and up in Admiral (Hill/California) and essentially plan to spend my entire life living in West Seattle.

I’ve been on the market for houses for a while, and 3bd/2ba are my market – Admiral is a bit pricy, and the ones I’ve put offers on get snatched up quick.

Found some in High Point that seem really nice, but I’m getting mixed vibes about the neighborhood. I’ve heard that it was a formerly HUD/blue collar neighborhood that they’re trying to revitalize, but is it working? Can I reasonably anticipate solid land value? How does crime compare? I know WS in general is low, but I didn’t particularly like the behavior (drug deals, burglaries) down on South Delridge. I know it’s diverse… but is it “diverse” (the innuendo for bad neighborhood, band kind of people), or _actually_ diverse.

Tell me everything you know about it that I should use to convince myself either way, especially the bad ;)

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[squareeyes]

Hi Phil, I can’t comment on High Point, but there’s a sweet house on the market in my block – 3 bed 1 bath. Seaview area – 48th between Findlay and Juneau. It’s $347,500.

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[kgdlg]

I don’t have an answer for you, but I would encourage you to look at the school for high point. Now that Seattle is back on the neighborhood school system, I will be curious to see how this possibly impacts values.

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[DBP]

High Point is still struggling, but not as much as it was before the redevelopment. It’s getting better slowly. The fact that it’s getting better at all is largely due to the foresight of the people who created the redevelopment plan.

The idea behind the plan was to shift away from the old model of the “warehousing the poor” toward a new “mixed-use” model. Mixed use means that, along with low-income renters, you now have some high-income renters and homeowners. The idea behind that is that when you bring in people who have more of an investment in the neighborhood, they’ll be more likely to organize to keep out the bad elements, take care of the common spaces, and so on.

Like I said, it’s working, but the neighborhood is still not as socially cohesive as it needs to be. There are still some problems with crime, people not keeping their kids in line, and so on.

* * * * * * * * * *

If I were you, the next step I’d take is to look up the local neighborhood group and ask them (a) what problems they’ve encountered during the past ten years and (b) how they’ve dealt with those problems.

If you buy in that area, you should count on getting involved in whatever group is operating there. If people don’t get involved, and their neighborhood goes to pot, they have no one to blame but themselves.

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[skeeter]

We’ve lived in the redeveloped Highpoint since spring 2007- near the corner of 29th and Raymond. Personally I think HP is the safest neighborhood in West Seattle because (a) we have a large police presence and (b) we have a security guard on duty from the evening through the morning. The security guard is paid by SHA (Seattle Housing Authority.)

The parks are beautiful. The neighbors are friendly. The problem SHA tenants are removed from the community. I would encourage you to come and visit and ask people what they think. Not everyone is happy, but we have been pleased.

I don’t think HP is a great place to buy if you want a lot of house appreciation. Having so much low income housing is working against house prices. If you view your home as an investment first, look elsewhere. If you view your home as a place to live first, then HP might be a good place to consider.

Good luck!

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[StringCheese]

The bad….

1. It’s too clean! I mean, I take my daughter out to teach her civic responsibility by picking up trash in the neighborhood and we hardly find any.

2. Intrusive people! You can’t walk anywhere in this neighborhood without people saying hello, complimenting your kid, etc. “Hello?” Really? Don’t you have better things to do than harass me?

3. Out of control wildlife! I dunno, someone must have thrown their pet goldfish into the pond and now we have osprey, eagles, kingfishers, and blue heron all messing up my view of the pond. Before moving here, I was aware of one kind of duck. A mallard. That was good enough for me. My brain is now overly full of knowledge about widgeons, hooded mergansers, buffleheads…

4. Too many parks! If I wanted to see kids running around, families playing soccer, hear the laughter of little children… I don’t need to know that, underneath it all, families from all over the world are basically the same — loving, caring, wanting what’s best for the next generation. Grrrr.

5. Eco-friendly practices! You have no idea how much I miss the smell of lawn chemicals. Who cares about draining to Longfellow Creek anyway? A few good chemicals will make it hardier! Survival of the fittest and all.

5. Diversity! Don’t even get me started.

I could go on but I’m sure you get the point. Horrible. Horrible place. Run away. Quickly.

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[kgdlg]

No one mentioned their school experience. Does anyone mind sharing about west Seattle elem?

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[EdSane]

The area is alright. Though I have experienced petty theft from the kids in the neighborhood (middle to high school age). One specific incident I recall a kid stole an item from a friend while we were hanging out in a park (not pricey but held sentimental value). I had to chase the kid down and tackle him to get the stuff back. His “mother” came upon the scene as I took him down. As soon as she learned that the kid was accused of theft she suddenly wasn’t the “mom”.

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[Ms. Sparkles]

An aquaintance of mine purchased a home in HP about 5 years ago…and then let it go into forclosure about 2 years later because she didn’t like the diversity and couldn’t sell for what she owed (BTW – I don’t condone her actions, just sharing what I know).

A friend of mine’s daughter started Kindergarten as WS Elementery (right next to HP) 2 years ago and during the parent-teacher conference in November (2010) the TEACHER told her to find another school for her daughter because she wasn’t going to learn anything at WS Elem. because most of the school population was so far behind the curve that bringing them up to speed was the overwhelming focus and everything else just fell away. My friend did move her daughter to the Highline school district in early 2011 and she is doing well.

I spent the spring of 2010 working with the Youth Tutoring Program at the community center at HP – I stopped because my work schedule changed….but I wasn’t sad about it. Of course there were some great kids who really wanted help with their homework, but I found there were also a lot of kids who seemed to be there only for the free snacks and because their parents used the program as a defacto babysitter.

That’s my 2 bits.

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[trickycoolj]

I bought a new home in High Point 11 months ago (has it been that long?) and I really enjoy it. It’s my first home and yes it came with TONS of stigma from family that lived around 32nd and Holden in the late 1950s early 60s, my grandpa had a service station in West Seattle and gave it up after too many burglaries, the family car stolen right out of the garage and recovered in Canada (after they used it to run over parking meters to steal the change) and the schools had serious race riot issues. My mom who hadn’t been back since her childhood was surprised how different the area was and how it felt just like the cul-de-sac we lived on about 15 years ago in Pierce County albeit with a whole lot more cultures represented. The ice cream man comes every day and kids are out playing everywhere. I have only had one bad instance where some older males (late teens early 20s) had a fight escalate into a fist fight in my alley, with 4 owner occupied town homes and 2 SHA rentals with small children surrounding this fight SPD was there in no time and it was really a non-issue. That stuff happened in my old neighborhood in North Seattle too, it’s the city.

I will say this is my first home and for me being able to pay less than I would in rent is a bargain in itself. The rents on new apartments with modern amenities half the size of my townhouse are twice as much as my mortgage payment! I’m in my late 20s, I’m single and it’s a perfect place to put down some roots. Hopefully I make some equity some day but the the market will never be the way it was so it’s not the way to make money anyway. So far I’m not underwater (according to zillow) so that’s great!

I can’t speak about the schools but if WS Elementary is not what you’re looking for the STEM school is fairly close and I think in the bus zone.

If it’s nice out this weekend come on by to the neighborhood and walk around and check things out. I’ve noticed Polygon has started building again in the last empty section so if you’re really interested it’s a good time to get in.

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[gmabetty]

I’ve been in Highpoint for 7 years, since the first rebuilt area became open and live in a senior facility. Yes, this is a very diverse neighborhood. Most people are friendly and speak when you meet. My daughter knew the old area and now thinks this is great. There are lots of kids and people out and about and in the summer our beautiful park is well used. It includes a P-Patch garden and honey bees are being added. We meet with area officers here in our building to visit, ask questions, voice complaints or concerns, once a month. They tell us crime is lower than in most areas. We had one resident car stollen 2 nights in a row (smart move:)) He stayed in the area and was caught. That’s once in 7 years. The HP Open Space group maintains all the pocket parks, yards and parks.

You could contact the Homeowners Association for information. Good luck on your search for a fitting home.

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[Breezy]

BigPhil, I am currently renting a single family detached home in High Point and have been here for about 6 weeks. There are a LOT of people squeezed onto this plot of land and the home designers didn’t seem to give a lot of thought to the need for light from windows. If you open your window coverings you’re open to all of your neighbors, “Oh hi, I see you’re also getting ready for work!” Windows are big and could provide a lot of natural light, a necessity here in Seattle, but we are neither voyeurs or exhibitionists. I think it might be the right choice for some, but I wouldn’t buy a house here.

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