Opinion

A hint of Chicago in the East End Our own version of Chicago's Wrigleyville in Houston's East End? Why not?

Houston Astros catcher Jason Castro hands ball to pitcher Brett Oberholtzer during third inning against the Texas Rangers at Minute Maid Park Friday, Aug. 29, 2014, in Houston. ( Melissa Phillip / Houston Chronicle ) less Houston Astros catcher Jason Castro hands ball to pitcher Brett Oberholtzer during third inning against the Texas Rangers at Minute Maid Park Friday, Aug. 29, 2014, in Houston. ( Melissa Phillip / Houston ... more Photo: Houston Chronicle Photo: Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 243 Caption Close A hint of Chicago in the East End 1 / 243 Back to Gallery

A whole new world is aborning in the area called East Downtown, or EaDo for short, and its East End environs. This is not news to developers and speculators, who figured it out a while back and have long since placed their bets on properties in strategic locations.

But for those many Houstonians for whom the areas beyond Minute Maid, Toyota Center and Discovery Green are terra incognita, a tour of the lively scene reveals possibilities that are genuinely exciting to contemplate. Let's start by defining it: EaDo is definitely "in the ballpark." It's a triangle bounded by U.S. 59 on the west and the Gulf Freeway on the southeast. The winding hypotenuse of EaDo runs from 59 just north of Commerce southeast to 45. That's a fly ball from Minute Maid, a long three-pointer from the Toyota Center, a short walk from Discovery Green and home to the BBVA Compass Dynamo Stadium. It also sits smack in the middle of three major employment centers: the Port of Houston/Ship Channel; Downtown; and the Texas Medical Center.

The Harrisburg rail line that is coming will do double duty: plugging in East Enders to Downtown and the Medical Center, while forming a spine for residential and commercial activity at the heart of several emerging neighborhoods. By the way, those possibilities are already attracting the attention of growing numbers of young Houstonians. We don't know whether this will be The next Heights or Montrose precisely, but who says it has to be?

Great cities are made out of great neighborhoods, and Houston has its share. The aforementioned Montrose and Neartown areas and the Heights have been on the map for decades. Lindale Park and Idylwood on the near north and southeast sides are urban neighborhoods that have survived the long ride through time and thrived.

Chicago is a city famous for its neighborhoods, and that is where we suggest looking to define what might be coming in the East End. Think Wrigleyville, the Chicago neighborhood surrounding the iconic ballpark of the same name, where the hapless Cubs have lost baseball games for nearly a century.

Like Boston's Fenway, Wrigley Field itself is a relic of a bygone era, featuring ivy on the outfield walls and sports bars on the rooftops of nearby triple-deckers. But the surrounding neighborhoods feed off the old ball yard's mystique, and not just on game days.

With three sports venues in place in EaDo, along with the spectacular urban-chic green space that is Discovery Green, the East End neighborhoods surrounding can easily be envisioned as a modern-day version of a Wrigleyville, even though the ivy and mystique will only come with time. And with soccer, basketball and baseball on the menu, there's no such thing as an off-season.

Several things will be critical in making future development in this area of our city a success:

1) An active effort to ensure that those who have been in these neighborhoods since well before they were discovered by the developers and hipsters are not priced out and pushed out in the reinvention process. That means following best practices in making available affordable housing to replace dwellings that are lost as change occurs. This is an opportunity for Houston's very creative development community to show its best thinking in ways that reflect Houston's heart for its most disadvantaged and powerless residents.

2) Keeping the locally owned businesses that have made this area distinctive and thriving. Chicago's neighborhoods are made distinctive by the locally owned businesses that residents support -restaurants, bars and shops that set them apart. The East End would quickly lose its identity if local businesses are driven out by national franchises.

3) Creating mixed used space in both EaDo and surrounding residential neighborhoods that will promote the building of community. This is the quality of life feature that makes distinctive neighborhoods in older cities such as Chicago so perpetually appealing.

The right mix for a memorable neighborhood is in place in EaDo and the communities around it. What is left is to do it thoughtfully.