I’d agree with Wick that Deep Ellum “is a shadow of its former lively self.” But I don’t think it’s because of the clubs that the landlords have allowed in. At least, not anymore. I think it’s because of all the clubs they haven’t let open up down there. If they’re worried about the wrong kind of club causing a crime problem — or worse yet, the perception of a crime problem — that ship has sailed. Using the SUP process as a hammer isn’t going to work. It’s just going to breed a new generation of Avi Adelmans that will use it to cleanse the neighborhood of anything they don’t like, which is pretty much everything.
The only way to give Deep Ellum life again is giving it more life — more clubs, which will bring in more people, which will bring in more restaurants. They have two choices at this point: Open the doors to more clubs, or sell off all the land to an outside developer and start over. I would hope it would be the former, but I also hoped that I wouldn’t have to burn down my house for the insurance money, and that’s not working out so well for me.
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Does this SUP process apply to Greenville and other entertainment areas or, was it just restricted to Deep Ellum?