Austin American-Statesman

An active, involved neighborhood association is the heart and soul behind the successful sense of community spirit that inhabits the Allandale neighborhood. Phyllis Brinkley, the editor of the Allandale Neighborhood Association's newsletter, The Allandale Neighbor, lists numerous improvements that the neighborhood has been instrumental in making a reality since she and her family moved to Allandale over 40 years ago.

"We're the 28th largest neighborhood group," Brinkley says proudly. "Our annual Fourth of July Parade started in 1960, but it wasn't until October of 1973 that we organized the neighborhood association. Since then, we've been very active in making our community a good place to live." In addition to the Fourth of July Parade, they also sponsor an annual "Candy Cane Lane" at holiday time, and a Shoal Creek Cleanup event. Allandale was just recently redistricted, and is bounded by Anderson Lane on the north, by Shoal Creek at 45th Street (from MoPac to the Shoal Creek waterway, and following the waterway to Hancock Drive) to the south, with Burnet Road as its eastern boundary and MoPac as the western boundary.

The word "active" is almost an understatement when applied to the Allandale Neighborhood Association. The neighborhood association has been responsible for, among other things, working with the city to have a retention pond built in 1986 to prevent flooding, having new bridges built to for flood control, working with the congressman's office to keep trains from stopping over in the neighborhood and noisily idling their engines for days on end, and building sewer line improvements under Shoal Creek Boulevard that would prevent harming its namesake, Shoal Creek.

Other improvements brought about by the neighborhood association include the opening of the Yarborough Branch of the Austin Public Library in what was once the old Americana Theatre. "We also raised $20,000 of the total $80,000 expense to improve (Beverly Sheffield Park). Improvements include new children's playground equipment, sidewalks, and restrooms." Brinkley points to the library, the Northwest Recreation Center and its facilities, and the neighborhood churches as sure signs that Allandale is a thriving community.

"We're also in an excellent location, close to downtown, and close to all the shopping and retail in North Austin. We used to be considered Northwest Austin. Now, with all the growth, we're Central Austin," laughs Brinkley. "We have a pretty good section of middle class folks living here in the Allandale'it's a pretty good mix of older people, young business professionals, and young families. Our house values (averaging $250,000-$300,000) have stayed pretty steady."

But, as Brinkley points out, economics come and go. Neighborhoods are forever. "A lot of people who move here hate to ever have to move out. We have pretty good local schools'Gullett Elementary and Lamar Middle School are on the neighborhood association's "Adopt-A-School" program, and we support them through the donation of money and school supplies. We have McCallum, the arts magnet school, as our high school. We have bike routes, swimming pools, parks, ball fields for little league'there are a lot of things here for the whole family. It's a well-rounded neighborhood. There's always something going on in this neighborhood.