By Steve Spriester, Priscilla Carraman, Jessie Degollado, Marilyn Moritz, Avery Everett, Katrina Webber, Daniela Ibarra, Myra Arthur, Adam Higgins, Alex Trevino, Andrew Wilson, Azian Bermea, Bill Caldera, Eddie Latigo, Gavin Nesbitt, Luis Cienfuegos, Sal Salazar, Kolten Parker, Henry Keller, Rebecca Salinas
Preservation
vs. Progress
DIGNOWITY
HILL
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Before Olmos Park and Alamo Heights, there was Dignowity Hill
An African American community at its heart, vestiges of its affluent past remain in Dignowity Hill. Over recent decades of demolition and rebuilding, one historian worries that the integrity of the neighborhood was also lost in the process.
Dignowity Hill residents, social service groups divided over how to help homeless population
“While each demolition may have
seemed reasonable when it occurred,
the cumulative effect is an erosion of the overall fabric of the neighborhood.”
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This East Side neighborhood is home to an ecosystem of social service organizations. With more than five of these groups catered to helping the homeless population, some neighbors worry the number of people without shelter in the neighborhood will only climb.
"It feels good"
Dignowity Hill SAFFE officer talks about connecting with community
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Dignowity Hill is patrolled by an officer with the San Antonio Fear Free Environment (SAFFE) Unit, who is tasked with trying to prevent crime before it happens. Over the last six months, he’s been trying to build relationships with the community — but he explained that it takes time and trust.
The view of downtown from many of the homes in the Dignowity Hill neighborhood is second to none, but they also have a front-row seat to some of the city’s biggest issues: homelessness, gentrification and rising property taxes. It is a neighborhood that is the focus of our latest episode of “Know My Neighborhood.”
It’s easy to see this is an area where people come together. KSAT went along on one of the monthly porch parades, where neighbors go on a winding tour of homes and make new connections from porch to porch.
The people who call Dignowity Hill home, or “Diggy,” as some have taken to calling it, are also aware that this is a neighborhood where location can be a plus and a minus.
Being on the East Side of San Antonio, many people stereotype it as violent, even as developers continue to put up apartments and condos that raise the ire of longtime residents — and raise property taxes.
Dignowity Hill has history on almost every corner. This edition of “Know My Neighborhood” explores the
push and pull of preservation versus progress, the heart of the neighborhood in transition and the
struggle for the community to define itself.
Dignowity Hill’s revival pushes property taxes up
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What’s old is cool. Dignowity Hill’s near-downtown location, quaint old homes and vacant lots have attracted young urban professionals, developers and house flippers. It’s become desirable real estate, and property values — and taxes — have soared. But the revival has another side: gentrification.
"... it’s all fast food.”
Dignowity Hill residents hungry for more healthy food options closer to home
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People in Dignowity Hill say they are not happy with the food options in their neighborhood.
They say most of what they have to choose from are fast food restaurants and convenience stores.
Even the one supermarket close to home, they say, doesn’t offer enough of a selection, especially healthy foods. A UT professor says this limited access to food is common in many urban areas
and could exist by design.
December 18, 2023
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Dignowity Hill is committed to its history but open to its evolution, according to neighbors. A unique example of that is the importance and reverence people share for The Carver, a performing arts center that was once the only library for black San Antonians during segregation. Just blocks away, a company focused on innovation in the life sciences has become part of the neighborhood. And the latter has plans to grow even bigger roots in Dignowity Hill.
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Something old, something new: Tech innovation center is at home in Dignowity Hill as community aims to preserve past
“People are being priced out of their homes"
The Emil Wiedenfeld family home is seen at 223 Nolan St. This photo is circa 1902. (UTSA Special Collections)
Dr. Anthony Michael Dignowity (UTSA Special Collections)
Amanda Dignowity. (UTSA Special Collections)
Dr. Anthony Michael Dignowity and his wife Amanda lived in a home that became known as Harmony House. This photo is circa 1890. (UTSA Special Collections)
The Elmendorf House, built in 1884 for Emil Elmendorf, was designed by the prominent architect Alfred Giles. The Elmendorf family owned a successful hardware business on the site where City Hall now stands. Its newest owner is renovating the home at 509 Burleson. (UTSA Special Collections)
The Emil Wiedenfeld family home is seen at 223 Nolan St. This photo is circa 1902.
(UTSA Special Collections)
Dr. Anthony Michael Dignowity (UTSA Special Collections)
Amanda Dignowity. (UTSA Special Collections)
Dr. Anthony Michael Dignowity and his wife Amanda lived in a home that became known as Harmony House. This photo is circa 1890. (UTSA Special Collections)
The Elmendorf House, built in 1884 for Emil Elmendorf, was designed by the prominent architect Alfred Giles. The Elmendorf family owned a successful hardware business on the site where City Hall now stands. Its newest owner is renovating the home at 509 Burleson.
(UTSA Special Collections)