Ron Pauline runs an organization called Metro North.
His office sits in the south end of a strip of buildings at Main and 21st Street just north of the 20th Street viaduct. It’s a relatively cluttered office with building plans stacked up, and lots of photographs all around that document events over the last several years.
Ron Pauline is a builder.
The Community Development Corporation that he runs renovates and constructs affordable houses in North Jacksonville around an area that many know as Brentwood. In fact, Mr. Pauline’s Metro North won a pair of Golds in NEFBA’s 2009 Parade of Homes.
But, he does much more than build homes.
Through his work and with his passion and energy, Ron Pauline is building a community, yard by yard, house by house and family by family.
By showing residents and businesses how to believe in themselves, and teaching them to care, Mr. Pauline is changing lives and creating futures in a rundown, crime-ridden area of town.
Tonyaa Weathersbee, columnist for the Times-Union, wrote about Mr. Pauline and his work. His Metro North CDC, she wrote, “has helped reseed struggling Brentwood with homeowners and a revived sense of purpose.” To Pauline, “building esteem is a crucial first step toward turning many inner-city neighborhoods around.”
Just being included in the Parade of Homes is incredibly important because we think of showcased homes being in neighborhoods worthy of being recognized. Being included told the people who live and work in Brentwood that it has a chance. Winning a pair of Golds told Brentwood it’s more than just a dream.
I spent most of an afternoon with Mr. Pauline recently. We toured the neighborhoods he’s helping change, and I walked through some of the houses Metro North has constructed. It was both eye-opening and inspiring.
“Focus on the assets,” Mr. Pauline says, “not the needs. Build on what we have.”
He’s a living example of what can happen if you set high expectations and aren’t willing to accept less.
Because Mr. Pauline cares, and because he is getting others to care, Brentwood in North Jacksonville is changing. It’s a slow process. It took the neighborhoods off Main Street a long time to deteriorate and the journey back can’t be traveled overnight.
But, the difference he’s making is there to be seen. It’s real. And because he is fighting the good fight and having some victories, others now from the neighborhood are joining him. Together they are battling the stigma of urban decay and fighting against blight and crime. Together they are creating a new spirit as they create a new place.
Street corners overrun by drugs and overgrown by weeds today are filled with flowers; families are enjoying new affordable houses with nice yards; and, neighbors are living a dream rather than enduring a nightmare.
It’s a lesson for us all. We can make a difference. We can make things better. It’s like Dr. Seuss said, we just have to “care a whole awful lot.”
— Jim Bailey is president of Bailey Publishing & Communications Inc. and publisher of Realty/Builder Connection.