FORT WORTH, Texas — It's a vibrant neighborhood, but also one with a peppered past.
"It was a lot of crime, a lot of drugs, it was a drug ridden neighborhood," said Carlos Harris, who grew up in the southeast Fort Worth neighborhood.
"It was a lot of empty lots and a lot of abandoned houses," he said.
But Harris is now among those helping transform the long-neglected area.
"Since 2017, I've built 15, 16 houses over here," he said.
It's a housing boom in an unlikely place.
"Times are definitely changing in Stop Six," said councilwoman Gyna Bivens, who also grew up in the neighborhood.
"I'm just really happy about the increase in new building construction permits for residential in Stop Six," she said. "We’re seeing a 45 percent increase. That is phenomenal."
So what's behind it? Bivens says a few years back, the city did away with zoning laws that were restricting most new residential development. That, coupled with millions of dollars poured into improvements, new sidewalks, streetlights, a massive overhaul of Rosedale Street and incentives for builders, Bivens says it's giving people pride of place.
"People are coming back to Stop Six, it’s a good time," Bivens said.
Harris is one of those who moved back.
"It's like a domino effect," he said. "Once people are comfortable and proud to be at home, they start cleaning up the neighborhood."
And for those who questioned his construction plans, he has this to report:
"All 15 sold, and all 15 sold within a month or so," Harris said.