CNU-NTX's own Monte Anderson Talks about his Cure for South Dallas.

Founding CNU-NTX Board Member Monte Anderson talks in this Q and A with the Oak Cliff Advocate about his South Dallas cure. It is all about empowerment of the people there. It is not about empowering outsiders. He calls it "gentle-fication."

Excerpts: "We need owner-occupied entrepreneurs instead of real estate developers. I want other entrepreneurs to be owners. I have my anchors, the Belmont and some other things, but otherwise I’m interested in owner/entrepreneurs; they don’t just rent from me. It’s “gentle-fication”: The real key is that in the early days, the creative business owners would own their building so it doesn’t get gentrified so brutally. We did that in Bishop Arts. How did Bishop Arts grow? How did Jefferson maintain itself all these years? One little business at a time." "Instead of enhancing what’s already there, [the city thinks] they need to put a big golf course and a five-story mixed-use apartment building, when all you had to do was fix the old gas stations along Beckley. Create streetscapes and on-street parking like we did in Bishop Arts in the early 2000s." "Provide assistance and credit enhancement for entrepreneurs who are willing to go into risky areas, so they could own the property. The city could help guarantee loans in the next edgy area that’s not quite there. North Oak Cliff is going to be fine. Even Elmwood will be fine now. South Oak Cliff and South Dallas are really the question now. There’s probably already a chef in South Dallas who always wanted to open his or her own restaurant. We need to help them get their own building in their neighborhood so that they can inject their own ideas and energy." Photo: Oak Cliff Advocate Read the full Q&A here: Q&A: Developer Monte Anderson shares his ideas for southern Dallas