Here’s What Makes Arapaho Heights and Heights Park Such Special Neighborhoods

When considering what makes a neighborhood special, one would think it is the legacy it creates in terms of the neighbors that come and go, the schools that educate the next generation, and the homes and environment that build a tight-knit community. Legacy is the word I would use to describe the neighborhoods of Arapaho Heights and Heights Park.

When I put out a call for people to tell me about their neighborhoods, Realtor Anne Foster with Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate reached out and I am ever so grateful that she did. Currently living in Arapaho Heights, she and her husband originally started out in Heights Park. Foster is a lady who really loves her neighborhood and was excited to show me and tell me all about these two Richardson neighborhoods that are next to each other.

Arapaho Heights and Heights Park Remain Desired

Arapaho Heights and Heights Park encompass an area bounded by Coit Road, Arapaho Road, Central Expressway, and Belt Line Road. Filled with classic 1950s and 1960s Ranch-style homes, Foster said “the neighborhoods have remained desired.”

The homes in these neighborhoods range anywhere from 1,200 square feet to 4,000 square feet and the price is anywhere from the mid-$300s to $2 million for a newly built home. Many of the older homes have original hardwood flooring and are structurally sound because they are pier and beam foundations.

Foster knows of what she speaks. She and her husband lived in Heights Park until a move took them to Jackson, Mississippi in 2009. The Live Oak tree they planted in 1980 is still standing at the home where they lived.

When they moved back to Dallas in 2013, they lived in Oak Cliff for a number of years. You can say that Foster has an affinity for older homes and established neighborhoods. But when her son and his wife decided they wanted their child to attend the same schools he had attended in Arapaho Heights and Heights Park, Foster and her husband decided to move back to their old stomping grounds as well. This time they would purchase a house located in Arapaho Heights.

“My husband said you have eight streets to choose from,” she said. With not many homes coming on the market, she knew they were going to have to be patient and be ready to strike when the opportunity arose.

“We worked really hard to make sure our offer was the offer,” Foster said. When I asked what the pull was for the neighborhood, her answer was an easy one.

Quality Schools Make Neighborhoods Stand Out

“The schools here have drawn families for decades,” she said. “A lot of children who left for college come back to these neighborhoods where they grew up.”

During football season, there is always a homecoming parade that begins at Richardson Heights Elementary, goes down Belt Line Road, and ends at Richardson High School.  

“Richardson High School does a parade with floats and the homecoming court,” she said. “There are a huge number of high schoolers and elementary school students on floats.”

Before football season ends, the high school band will walk through the neighborhoods playing for residents as a fundraiser. It is these types of events that make residents enjoy living in these adjacent neighborhoods. “People love it so much they do not want to leave,” she said.

She also credits the City of Richardson for maintaining a strong relationship with residents.

“Richardson has remained a well-managed city. We have excellent police and fire protection and a real rich civic life.”

Civic life is something Foster knows all too well. She served on the school board for nine years, seven of which she served as the president of the board. Foster is also the founder of Realtors Supporting Richardson Schools and every year Realtors meet with the school superintendent to have all their questions answered so they know how to field questions from their clients.

“The City of Richardson has done a good job of renovating old shopping centers,” Foster said. “The Lockwood Shopping Center has been there for decades” and has been recently renovated for residents to enjoy.

Legacy of Neighborhoods Will Continue to Grow

The lasting impression you have of Arapaho Heights and Heights Park is that as time goes on, the legacy of these neighborhoods will continue growing.

“It’s an old-fashioned neighborhood,” Foster said. “It is beautiful the way all the streets connect.”

Foster said when she asked the owners of her previous home — where she lived prior to moving to Mississippi — if we could stop by their house, they told her that the original owners of the home had stopped by years earlier. Whereas Foster and her husband had planted the Live Oak in the front, the elderly couple had planted the now fully mature and large pecan tree in the backyard. That is what you call a legacy.

“There’s the Newberry Bridge that runs over the creek. Everyone takes their kids there to feed the ducks,” she said. “It’s a right of passage.” 

Even as things change in the neighborhood, there is always a connection to the past. Foster told me of a rocket ship that used to be located at Heights Park in the 1970s that all the neighborhood children loved to climb. When the park was renovated the rocket ship was removed. When the new aquatics center was created, however, a homage to the rocket ship was installed.

“It’s just a beautiful place to live,” she said. “There’s something here for everybody.”

If you would like your neighborhood spotlighted or have events of interest happening in your neighborhood please contact Mimi Perez at [email protected]. I’d love to learn and write about your neighborhood.