The Bottom Community is a historical neighborhood bounded on the north by the Trinity River Levy, on the west by Interstate 35E, on the south by Eighth Street and on the east by Corinth Ave.
Demographically, the Bottom neighborhood is primarily comprised of minority residents (African American and Hispanic) with educational levels typically at high school level, income brackets fall well below median income for Dallas. The largest segment of this community is comprised of individuals aged 18-35; many heading single family households with school aged children. The longstanding stakeholders within the Bottom Community include: Living Waters Church, Golden Gate Missionary Baptist Church (The Golden SEEDS Foundation), City of Dallas (Trinity River Corridor Project Eloise Lundy Rec Center), Dallas Housing Authority (Brackens Village), Dallas ISD (Townview Magnet, N.W. Harllee Elementary) and the many families residing within the Bottom Community.
Community Wellness
The Bottom Community has been the home of the Eloise Lundy Rec Center, and the Golden Gate Missionary Baptist Church for many years. Golden Gate is one of the oldest stakeholder within The Bottom Community (80 years). Both have long been the glue of the community to address the spiritual and quality of life issues that confront the citizenry of the Bottom. Through its advocacy, discipleship and service, Golden Gate has served the community to work on its behalf and to always remain responsive to its needs. Lundy Rec Center has long offered a place of fellowship and engagement for the children, seniors and families residing in the neighborhood.
Together, one of the major service projects underway involves the Community Garden and Food Pantry. Each week, families within the Bottom Community receive food boxes containing vegetables grown within the Community Garden as well as food distributed through the food pantry. N.W. Harllee Elementary and Townview are also participants within the Garden. Students have been invited to participate in the planting and harvesting of vegetables. The Garden is a wonderful teaching tool that encourages healthy living, fellowship and fun.
Community Assets
The Bottom Community is home to many significant community assets:
- Townview Magnet School – $28M premier nationally acclaimed high school
- The Gatehouse – $1.8 M building serves the community as a distribution point for the community food pantry, recovery ministries, SEEDS administrative offices and community meeting rooms and classrooms.
- Living Waters Church – historic church.
- Senator Royce West’s office building – provides leased office space for existing business concerns
- Greater El Bethel – historic church and congregation recently partnered with the Meadows Foundation for remodeling and capital improvements.
- Brakins Village – Dallas Housing Authority’s public housing development scheduled for major capital improvements and upgrade
- DART Transit Center – Major transfer point for commuters and neighborhood residents who commute to work from the Bottom Community.
The Bottom Community is experiencing a renewed investment of growth and re-development. This neighborhood is transforming into one that is holistic and welcoming of families from mixed income brackets. Neighborhood involvement and support are high. Residents care about the community and work faithfully to preserve what remains. A neighborhood school such as N.W. Harllee is paramount and very crucial to those plans for re-development. Many families remain in The Bottom in large part because of its close proximity to N.W. Harllee, Townview, Golden Gate Missionary Baptist Church and the Eloise Lundy Rec Center. New families will be locating soon to those homes under construction, and they will require an elementary school for their families; N.W. Harllee being a major attraction for potential homebuyers and business owners. The DART transit center’s close proximity make our neighborhood ideal for emerging trends such as Transit Oriented Housing. The Bottom is immediately adjacent to the Trinity River Corridor and the Downtown District. Many families are migrating back into urban city communities such as The Bottom to reduce costs of living and increase the convenience and access to the urban experience. The Bottom Community presents an ideal choice for this emerging trend.