The irony is evident to longtime Eagle Rock residents: The beauty of its architecturally significant homes and the hip feel of the area due to its artistic culture and small businesses makes it a special place to live. But that’s also what may ultimately force them out.

“Eagle Rock is beautiful, I love living here and I get why people visit and move here so [often],” Phillip Lopez, an Eagle Rock native, said late last month. “But I fear for my family getting run out. I don’t want to say goodbye to my home.”

Gentrification is threatening to push out many residents like Lopez who have lived in Eagle Rock for years, their whole lives or in some cases, for generations. A 2019 book, “Taking Back the Boulevard: Art, Activism, and Gentrification in Los Angeles” by Jan Lin, documents many of these changes in Northeast Los Angeles, which the book says is known for its “historic Arts and Crafts architecture, bohemian cultural life, independent small businesses, immigrant diversity and quality of life.”

As of 2020, the median sale price for a home in Eagle Rock was over $1 million — $400,000 more than it was five years ago, according to Redfin Real Estate’s website. 

About 30,000 people live in the Eagle Rock area and the average household earns what is considered a middle class income, according to Point2Homes’ reports and Pew Research Center’s income calculator.

Gabriel Partida, a college student who has lived in the neighborhood with his family his whole life, said living in the area “has become a burden.”

“I have family and friends struggling to continue to stay in their homes because of increasing prices, my household included,” Partida said.

Longtime residents note that new businesses and residents make their way to the area and inevitably run up the cost of living.

“We can’t stop people from other places coming [to Eagle Rock]. I want to share the city with others. I think my family does, too,” Alexiss Palarea, a current Eagle Rock resident, said. “Sometimes we just wonder if it’s worth it. The gentrification…makes it hard for us and worries me because I don’t want Eagle Rock to become an expensive tourist spot. It’s home.”

Community News reporters are enrolled in JOUR 3910 – University Times. They produce stories about under-covered neighborhoods and small cities on the Eastside and South Los Angeles. Please email feedback, corrections and story tips to [email protected].