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Around Town
A Ride Through Rosewood
July 15, 2008
I joined Rosewood Community Council President Travis Wheeler and longtime neighborhood advocate Bob Amundson for a ride through Rosewood to learn more about the challenges and opportunities in this important city neighborhood.Rosewood is a large area in District 3, characterized by brick and wood bungalow-style homes and some of the loveliest tree lined streets in Columbia. The area includes elementary schools, churches, light commercial businesses and the Owens Field Airport. Rosewood also is well known for its numerous parks and two new parks are slated for the near future, a neighborhood park at Edisto Court and the skate park at Owens Field.
Travis and Bob explained to me that a few years back the Rosewood community had several small neighborhood associations that joined together under the umbrella of the Rosewood Community Council (RCC) to address a variety of common concerns. As sometimes happens, these associations became less active over the years, and the RCC began to assume the function of a general advocacy group for most of the area. The notable exception has been the Edisto Court Neighborhood Association, an historic and distinctive African American neighborhood headed up by long time resident and neighborhood activist Ms. Bessie Watson.
The City's recent discussion of Interim Measures to protect neighborhood character has renewed interest in reviving neighborhood associations in Rosewood, and our ride explored the distinctive areas and boundaries for smaller neighborhood units. Several residents now are in the process of reorganizing associations in the South Kilbourne and Central Rosewood areas. They understand and appreciate the importance of vibrant neighborhood associations in addressing a host of quality of life issues, ranging from public safety to code enforcement to shared community experiences.
As we were finishing our tour, we visited a great example of new infill development on Hope Street that complemented the Rosewood neighborhood character. We stopped to inspect the two homes - one a new house and the other an older home under renovation - and met the contractor/builder. In addition to the beautiful craftsmanship of the projects, both houses have stonework that captures an earlier architectural style in Rosewood. Shelby King, a neighborhood resident and longtime realtor, was inside one of the houses with her dog and excitedly informed us of her plans to purchase the house and move in this fall.
Our ride through Rosewood left me excited about the area. With its natural beauty and character, the new energy in re-activating neighborhood associations, and promising infill development, Rosewood's future does indeed look promising.