A Little About South Park

For home buyers looking to get in on the ground floor of a promising real estate opportunity, the Seattle neighborhood of South Park is a classic buy-low prospect. Blighted in the past by pollution from its industrial surroundings, the area is currently a region of low property values. However, this low-rent real estate has attracted a vibrant mom-and-pop business culture and many experts now see the neighborhood as poised for a boom.For a representative cross-section of the culture on offer in South Park, one need only stroll past the shops, restaurants and small businesses lining 14th Avenue South. Family-owned Tikal Bakery radiates with the scent of freshly baked authentic Guatemalan pan dulce and stocks a variety of grocery items hard to find outside of Guatemala. Order a cup of joe at Via Vadi Caffe and get a side of neighborhood gossip from a local free with your coffee. From beer and burgers at Loretta's Northwesterner to rugged hiking gear for dogs at D.O.G. to the annual Lucha Libre in the Street event, South Park's thriving businesses and tight-knit sense of community seem to bode well for the urban renaissance that more and more people are predicting for the neighborhood.