What You Calling a Renaissance?

Nothing gets local lifestyle influencers humming like glossy renderings of a tired shopping center being refurbished with somebody else’s money. But before everyone starts ordering fancy coffee drinks on a patio that doesn’t exist yet, it’s worth asking who’s already there—and who the shiny new version is meant to attract. In this episode, host Mark Long revisits a well-meaning Waco Insider social media post in 2020 about Elm Avenue that earned a deserved rebuke from East Waco residents, then turns to the proposed makeover of Brookview Hills Shopping Center at 34th and Bosque. He isn’t rooting against the renovation; he just wonders which members of the existing community the developers imagine sitting on those new patios. ----- Hit subscribe so you don’t miss the next episode of Your Waco Weekend—and visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠wacoinsider.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to sign up for The Weekly Dispatch newsletter.