East Waco’s decline can be reversed, but only if the larger community moves beyond wishing and takes action, leaders of a Fort Worth revitalization effort told a Waco crowd Thursday.

“Nothing’s going to happen to create change in East Waco unless the community wills it,” Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce President Devoyd Jennings said. “You can’t just have vision. You can’t just believe it’s going to happen.”

He was talking to about 75 community leaders on the former Paul Quinn College campus at the “Time for Change Investors Brunch,” sponsored by the Cen-Tex African-American Chamber of Commerce and the Empowerment Driven by Knowledge Coalition. Guests included All-Pro running back and Waco native LaDainian Tomlinson, Mayor Virginia DuPuy and City Manager Larry Groth, who urged attendees to join the upcoming Greater Downtown planning process that will include East Waco.

Jennings’ group is part of an ongoing effort to revitalize Southeast Fort Worth, a largely minority area that he said is similar to East Waco, though much larger, with about 100,000 residents. East Waco has about 7,000 residents but the same pattern of disinvestment and blight.

He said his group has helped minorities in the area start businesses with education and loan assistance, and has helped them bid on public projects. He said his group has been an advocate for bringing businesses and housing to the area, and East Waco likewise needs advocates.

“If you believe the city of Waco can thrive with this doughnut hole (of poverty) in the middle, that’s not going to happen,” he said. “Like a cancer, it will spread.”

Andre McEwing, president of Southeast Fort Worth Inc., continued the theme, talking about the results of the decadelong effort to revitalize the area. Public-private partnerships have created “urban villages” in the area with neighborhood retail and new housing, and a $75 million redevelopment is planned at the site of the former Masonic Home.

He said it’s good to have visions and plans for redevelopment, but the key is marketing the area to private investors.

“Somebody’s got to be championing that vision,” he said. “City Hall alone can’t be doing that all day.”

Waco Mayor Virginia DuPuy welcomes LaDainian Tomlinson to a conference about revitalizing East Waco. (Jose Yau photo)

---

He said one key to reviving historically black areas like East Waco is the commitment from people who grew up there. Often, residents leave for greener pastures, leaving behind neglected property that ends up in the hands of investors who don’t care about the community.

McEwing said those who care about areas like East Waco shouldn’t be overly concerned with fears of “regentrification,” that is, the displacement of long-time residents by higher-income newcomers.

“Don’t get hung up on that,” he said. “We’ve got to move forward.”

Groth, the city manager, told the group that he expects East Waco, especially the Elm Street corridor, to be a key part of the Greater Downtown initiative, which seeks to redevelop the core of Waco.

“I guarantee you, we have the right attributes here,” he said. “In 10 or 15 years, when you drive down Elm Street, it’s going to look a lot different. It will be a hub of activity.”

The investors brunch kicked off a series of events focused on East Waco and Marlin, culminating with an East Waco Town Hall meeting Wednesday with Martin Luther King III. The free event will be held at 7 p.m. at 1020 E. Waco Drive.

jbsmith@wacotrib.com

757-5752