The City of Neighborhoods Fights Back

Pilsen Mural Artist Turns Down Six-Figure Buyout — Again

The offer from a real estate developer was the largest yet. Tomás Reyes framed the letter and hung it next to his grandmother's portrait. 'She came here with nothing,' he said. 'I'm not leaving for anything.'

Reyes runs Colores Vivos, a combined gallery, framing shop, and community art space on 18th Street that has been a Pilsen anchor for nineteen years. The developer wants the building for a mixed-use project that would include, among other things, a co-working space and a 'curated retail experience.'

The offer was $340,000 — more than three times what Reyes paid for the building in 2007. He didn't hesitate. 'Money doesn't replace what this place is,' he said. 'You can't buy nineteen years of trust.'

Pilsen has lost more than forty independent businesses in the last five years to gentrification-driven displacement. Reyes has watched neighbors sell, watched the storefronts turn into wine bars and boutique fitness studios, watched the neighborhood's character erode block by block.

'I'm not judging anyone who sold,' he said. 'The pressure is real. But someone has to hold the line. I'm holding the line.'