Pleasant City, West Palm Beach, Florida

Pleasant City is a neighborhood in West Palm Beach, Florida north of downtown. The neighborhood has been run-down and in decline for decades, including the streets of North Tamarind and Northwest. It was developed for African American workers who were employed at hotels in West Palm Beach itself, Palm Beach, and Boca Raton (many workers moved to Pearl City, a Boca Raton neighborhood equivalent to Pleasant City). Pleasant City was established in 1905, but not incorporated into the city limits until 1912.

Although rich in history, the neighborhood of mostly frame vernacular houses has deteriorated from poor maintenance and years of neglect.

Crime

In the neighborhoods surrounding Pleasant City and the neighborhood itself, are very poor with high levels of poverty. This is also where the majority of the city's poor population lives. It is also known for being the hub of high level drug trafficking to West Palm Beach itself, as well as Palm Beach and Boca Raton.

Nicknames and streets

Pleasant City and the surrounding area is often known as "The Northside." Some of the streets in North Tamarind, Pleasant City, Northwest and the streets surrounding the neighborhoods are Beautiful, Broadway, Comfort, Division Ave., Dixie Hwy., Douglas Ave., Henrietta Ave., Rosemary Ave. and Sapodilla Ave.

Redevelopment

The southern parts of the streets listed have seen some redevelopment which has been taken over by downtown extension for the shopping district CityPlace. This forced many African Americans to leave their neighborhood.

As further part of the redevelopment of Pleasant City in this family friendly community features MerryPlace Development This development has gorgeous native landscaping, a two story clubhouse/media center, picnic/barbecue area, and a tot-lot playground. The Florida "A" rated school Pleasant City Elementary School is two blocks away. The neighborhood has been designed for walkability - wide sidewalks and plenty of shade trees make MerryPlace a great place for relaxing strolls and bicycle rides. Residents can also easily ride their bike or walk to waterfront Currie Park for more recreational fun.

References

External links

* [http://www.cityofwpb.com/neighborhoods/pleasant.htm City government neighborhood page]
* [http://www.merryplace.org. MerryPlace]
* [http://www.palmbeach.k12.fl.us/PleasantCityES/main/pcces.htm Pleasant City Elementary School]
* http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2007/02/12/daily45.html
* [http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2007/08/20/focus1.html "State to make $62.4M in workforce housing funds available"]
* [http://www.palmbeachpost.com/real/content/state/epaper/2008/04/10/a10a_xgr_housing_0410.html "Late lawmaker's affordable-housing program stalled"]