North Park Plaza — Another St. Joe Alum's Flight of Fancy?
By Diego Garcia III | Editor of The Brownsville Beacon
North Park Plaza has been part of Brownsville's landscape since the 1970's. It was once a part of Brownsville's busiest retail centers. I remember going to North Park Plaza to shop for groceries when Brownsville still had a Kroger's grocery store. I remember going to the movies at the three-screen Cinemark theater since before Movies 10 and the Cinemark at the Sunrise Mall was built. I also remember my grandparents taking me to the Corona's tuxedo rental place in order to look my best for my high school prom. In more recent years, I would pay a visit to North Park Plaza after work on Wednesdays in order to get the newest comic book releases from Rogue Comics and eat a couple of slices of New York style pizza.
Most of those places have since closed. Other businesses have survived and others have popped up in the plaza. Kroger's has been replaced by El Globo, the movie theater has been shuttered for some time, and Rogue Comics has closed.
Throughout all the years, and all the changes that Brownsville has gone through, North Park Plaza is still here. A lot of businesses on that stretch of Price Road have moved on or changed. Sam's Club has moved and turned into a Big Lots, the Valley Mart evolved into a Solo Serve then ended up a Fallas Paredes before closing, and Aziz is now a bingo hall, but the area still sees plenty of traffic.
North Park Plaza is owned by Fausto Yturria, a member of a prominent South Texas ranching and land-holding family. According to an article written by Steve Clark and posted to the online version of The Brownsville Herald, Members of the Yturria family are currently trying to transform North Park Plaza into a modern, hip retail space for the trendy and the well-to-do. Scott, Jason, and Samantha Wolfe, Yturria's grandchildren, are opening new businesses and trying to convince other entrepreneurs to follow suit.
Scott, a graduate of St. Joe and the Parsons School of Design, runs a shop called La Maquila. In his Herald article, Clark writes:
There are several new tenants in North Park. Among them are a yoga studio, a boutique, a cycling studio, a cake shop, and a place that sells charcuterie boards — I had no idea what a charcuterie board was — apparently it's a fancy way of saying a party tray with meat and cheese.
The article mentions the importance the Wolfe's are placing on the overall look and appearance of the plaza. It also mentions the Wolfe's are trying to work with one of the plaza's longtime tenants, an optical store, to present a more pleasing storefront.
These initial first steps seem to be the start of a master plan that the Wolfe siblings have envisioned — a renovated plaza and a "major makeover." Their plans include reopening the movie theater or repurposing it as a live music venue.
The article mentions gentrification is not the goal. The Wolfe's do not want to push any current tenants out, but they do recognize the renovation of the plaza will mean higher rent for the current tenants.
This is where my gears begin to grind. This seems as if North Park Plaza has been caught in the same tractor beam Downtown Brownsville currently finds itself in. It appears as if these business owners not only want to open new businesses — they also want to change Brownsville's culture.
For the record, I have absolutely no problem with yoga studios, or art galleries, or upscale juice bars. I'm sure there are plenty of people who would love to visit places like that. I am sure there are plenty of people who would like to see a live music performance or host a party with fancy meat and cheese trays, That doesn't mean other non-trendy businesses need to be pushed out in order to make room for the new and flashy places.
I always cringe when I hear people say these new businesses, and the new renovations downtown, can make Brownsville like Austin. I always hear references to Sixth Street. "Downtown Brownsville can be like Sixth Street in Austin."
I don't know if those people who say that have ever been to Sixth Street in Austin, but that's not exactly what I would want Downtown Brownsville, or North Park Plaza for that matter, to be. I fail to see why people romanticize Sixth Street, or Austin in general. Sixth Street is a row of derelict dive bars and holes in the wall where people go to get drunk and hop from bar to bar. Parking is a nightmare, and the Austin Police Department and their mounted patrol are busy breaking up fights and arresting people for public intoxication. I would not want Downtown Brownsville to turn into Downtown Austin.
Downtown and North Park Plaza shouldn't try to emulate Austin. Brownsville is NOT Austin. If people want to have an Austin experience, they should move to Austin. Brownsville should not be molded into something it isn't. Yes, open your yoga studios, your upscale whiskey bars, your fancy pizza joints, and your highfalutin social spots — that
s fine. But don't squeeze out other businesses just because they don't fit into your vision of creating an Austin-esque Brownsville.
We need to learn how to coexist with one another. It doesn't have to be one or the other. Open an upscale restaurant that serves expensive wine next to the taqueria that serves Mexican Cokes. If the people want a fancy glass of wine, they can go enjoy one, and if they want an order of tacos, then they can go enjoy those. If someone wants a glass of wine and some tacos, they can choose both — there's nothing wrong with taking a little from column "A" and a little from column "B."
Brownsville is not a fancy homogeneous society whose citizens all like the same thing. We are a tapestry of different ethnic groups, religions, cultures, and customs. We are all different with different likes, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. We're a little bit country, we're a little bit rock and roll, and we're a little bit Tejano. Don't push people and their businesses out because they aren't fancy enough for you.
It takes all kinds.
North Park Plaza has been part of Brownsville's landscape since the 1970's. It was once a part of Brownsville's busiest retail centers. I remember going to North Park Plaza to shop for groceries when Brownsville still had a Kroger's grocery store. I remember going to the movies at the three-screen Cinemark theater since before Movies 10 and the Cinemark at the Sunrise Mall was built. I also remember my grandparents taking me to the Corona's tuxedo rental place in order to look my best for my high school prom. In more recent years, I would pay a visit to North Park Plaza after work on Wednesdays in order to get the newest comic book releases from Rogue Comics and eat a couple of slices of New York style pizza.
Most of those places have since closed. Other businesses have survived and others have popped up in the plaza. Kroger's has been replaced by El Globo, the movie theater has been shuttered for some time, and Rogue Comics has closed.
Throughout all the years, and all the changes that Brownsville has gone through, North Park Plaza is still here. A lot of businesses on that stretch of Price Road have moved on or changed. Sam's Club has moved and turned into a Big Lots, the Valley Mart evolved into a Solo Serve then ended up a Fallas Paredes before closing, and Aziz is now a bingo hall, but the area still sees plenty of traffic.
North Park Plaza is owned by Fausto Yturria, a member of a prominent South Texas ranching and land-holding family. According to an article written by Steve Clark and posted to the online version of The Brownsville Herald, Members of the Yturria family are currently trying to transform North Park Plaza into a modern, hip retail space for the trendy and the well-to-do. Scott, Jason, and Samantha Wolfe, Yturria's grandchildren, are opening new businesses and trying to convince other entrepreneurs to follow suit.
Scott, a graduate of St. Joe and the Parsons School of Design, runs a shop called La Maquila. In his Herald article, Clark writes:
A peek at Wolfe's shop says it all. La Maquila (a nod to Andy Warhol's legendary studio, The Factory) looks like something you'd find along alternative, trendy South Congress Avenue in Austin — not Brownsville, Texas.
There are several new tenants in North Park. Among them are a yoga studio, a boutique, a cycling studio, a cake shop, and a place that sells charcuterie boards — I had no idea what a charcuterie board was — apparently it's a fancy way of saying a party tray with meat and cheese.
The article mentions the importance the Wolfe's are placing on the overall look and appearance of the plaza. It also mentions the Wolfe's are trying to work with one of the plaza's longtime tenants, an optical store, to present a more pleasing storefront.
These initial first steps seem to be the start of a master plan that the Wolfe siblings have envisioned — a renovated plaza and a "major makeover." Their plans include reopening the movie theater or repurposing it as a live music venue.
The article mentions gentrification is not the goal. The Wolfe's do not want to push any current tenants out, but they do recognize the renovation of the plaza will mean higher rent for the current tenants.
This is where my gears begin to grind. This seems as if North Park Plaza has been caught in the same tractor beam Downtown Brownsville currently finds itself in. It appears as if these business owners not only want to open new businesses — they also want to change Brownsville's culture.
For the record, I have absolutely no problem with yoga studios, or art galleries, or upscale juice bars. I'm sure there are plenty of people who would love to visit places like that. I am sure there are plenty of people who would like to see a live music performance or host a party with fancy meat and cheese trays, That doesn't mean other non-trendy businesses need to be pushed out in order to make room for the new and flashy places.
I always cringe when I hear people say these new businesses, and the new renovations downtown, can make Brownsville like Austin. I always hear references to Sixth Street. "Downtown Brownsville can be like Sixth Street in Austin."
I don't know if those people who say that have ever been to Sixth Street in Austin, but that's not exactly what I would want Downtown Brownsville, or North Park Plaza for that matter, to be. I fail to see why people romanticize Sixth Street, or Austin in general. Sixth Street is a row of derelict dive bars and holes in the wall where people go to get drunk and hop from bar to bar. Parking is a nightmare, and the Austin Police Department and their mounted patrol are busy breaking up fights and arresting people for public intoxication. I would not want Downtown Brownsville to turn into Downtown Austin.
Downtown and North Park Plaza shouldn't try to emulate Austin. Brownsville is NOT Austin. If people want to have an Austin experience, they should move to Austin. Brownsville should not be molded into something it isn't. Yes, open your yoga studios, your upscale whiskey bars, your fancy pizza joints, and your highfalutin social spots — that
s fine. But don't squeeze out other businesses just because they don't fit into your vision of creating an Austin-esque Brownsville.
We need to learn how to coexist with one another. It doesn't have to be one or the other. Open an upscale restaurant that serves expensive wine next to the taqueria that serves Mexican Cokes. If the people want a fancy glass of wine, they can go enjoy one, and if they want an order of tacos, then they can go enjoy those. If someone wants a glass of wine and some tacos, they can choose both — there's nothing wrong with taking a little from column "A" and a little from column "B."
Brownsville is not a fancy homogeneous society whose citizens all like the same thing. We are a tapestry of different ethnic groups, religions, cultures, and customs. We are all different with different likes, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. We're a little bit country, we're a little bit rock and roll, and we're a little bit Tejano. Don't push people and their businesses out because they aren't fancy enough for you.
It takes all kinds.
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