Listen: While projects like community gardens and block parties are significant contributors to a community's vitality, a neighborhood's progress can be an uphill battle without healthy landlord relationships. Whether they approach property ownership as an financial investment, a community investment, or both, a landlord's level of involvement and responsiveness to the needs of their community have a huge impact. Occasionally, the dialogue feels more like "landlords and homeowners together" rather than "landlords vs. homeowners," and Havenwoods is certainly one of those neighborhoods. In the past ten years, folks like Stephanie Harling of the Havenwoods Economic Development Corporation have brought about a sea change in the level of the neighborhood landlords' communication and accountability ( see her story from earlier this week). Ron Hegwood, an active member of the Kaul Avenue Neighborhood Development Organization, is a perfect example of this transition. He went from a landlord who was in over his head, to an active and involved full time property manager.
Listen to his story:
As we were speaking, a number of Ron's tenants passed on the sidewalk to give us a "Hello!" or a "What are y'all doing?" Not bad.
Want to learn more about Havenwoods? You can start at the Havenwoods Economic Development Corporation’s wonderful website. Also, you’re probably more familiar with the neighborhood than you realize — take a drive somewhere between 43rd to 76 th Street and Silver Spring to Good Hope and look at the neighborhood with new eyes. Produced by: Benjamin Wick Edited by: Adam Carr