Baldwin continues push to make Houston a ‘City for Tomorrow’
Bill Baldwin, broker and Realtor with Boulevard Realty, is enjoying what he has declared the most balanced market in over a decade.
His summer ad campaign “Let’s Meet Halfway: The State of the Market in 2017” is all about sending that message and encouraging his fellow Houstonians to bask in this moment of equilibrium, stability and a calm sense of give-and-take in the marketplace.
“I think I’ve fully gathered my bearings after the oil-laden tumult of 2015 and what was nearly a year of prolonged local economic pause,” Baldwin said. “I have even let myself take not one but three short summer getaways — Austin for July 4th and two trips to New York. The great thing about technology is that I am always just a text, phone call or email away from both my growing sales team and my clients.”
Baldwin’s time away from Houston is more about research and reflection that he will turn around and apply to his hometown than simply relaxation. While his first New York trip during Memorial Day weekend was focused on exploring Brooklyn’s neighborhoods and local makers, his return this week was for the New
York Times “Cities for Tomorrow” conference.
He intends to bring all of this experience to bear in his ongoing service as a Houston Planning Commissioner, a member of the City’s Walkable Places Committee and other public-private strategic planning committees, such as Houston’s Freedmen’s Town Conservancy and the North Main Bridge Park Design Competition.
To Baldwin, what makes him and his 60-plus agents who sell all around Houston and Galveston successful is not just that they are great at selling real estate, but that they actually are the neighborhood volunteers, the committee members, and the community connectors who are actively a part of rethinking Houston.
“We go to everything from TXDOT meetings to city council to make sure we are supremely knowledgeable about all things that affect Houstonians. We know our numbers, our neighborhoods, and your next right move. We are trusted advisors for all things Houston,” he said.
Baldwin lives in the Heights, which is his focus area, but he always remains on the lookout for Houston’s next up-and-coming neighborhoods. For Baldwin and Boulevard Realty, it is about
preserving the heritage of these neighborhoods even as developers and waves of new residents move into them.
“I continue to see the near northside — neighborhoods like Lindale Park, Ryon, Cascara and Montie Beach — starting to revitalize, while still managing to keep its heavily Hispanic flair intact. This is the type of revitalization that we want to see moving forward,” he said.
Baldwin cites the greater East End (EaDo, Eastwood, Lawndale/Wayside, Idylwood, Magnolia Park), Southwest (Willowbend, Westbury, Maplewood/Robindell, Post Oak Manor), greater Fifth Ward and Kashmere Gardens as some other parts of town on the rise.
He stresses the importance of making sure these neighborhoods’ distinct cultures and pasts remain intact as they become “Cities for Tomorrow.”
“We are not just looking for affordable property, but for budding neighborhoods where we can preserve the heritage so that the next generation to come in is a continuation of that culture and lifestyle,” he said. “So much of why I love the Heights is because it has largely been able to preserve its unique character and history.
“I want neighborhoods all across Houston to be able to protect and maintain what makes them distinct and special while developing as more equitable, accessible and walkable.”