Talk To Scott

San Angelo is like many cities that sprawl in one direction or another. In the last forty years, the city has moved south and west. I liken it to growth rings on a tree—in one direction. The city has moved southwest with one exception, Paulann. Located in the northeast corner of town, Paulann is the only new subdivision east of US Highway 87, which splits San Angelo in two. Why is Paulann there? I would say that the neighborhood is there because opportunity met vision. In other words, Goodfellow AFB provided an opportunity for Gary Cortese of Affordable Family Homes.

Gary Cortese saw a need for good housing in close proximity to Goodfellow. He filled it by building good brick homes at an affordable price. I once talked to Gary and he told me that his business model was Henry Ford. Remember the architect of the assembly line who said that his customers could have their car painted any color that they wanted as long as it was black. That is Affordable Family Homes in a nutshell: a good home at a good price. One other element of Gary’s genius is this: the houses fit the budget of enlisted personnel who are part of the permanent party at GFAFB. The house is close to the base; the kids can walk to the elementary school, and the family can be in the southwest corner of town at the mall in ten minutes. Not a bad deal.

Other builders have moved into Paulann, so it is not exclusively “Garyville,” but it certainly bears his imprint. It is a good place, with lots of bikes, basketball goals, soccer balls, and kids in abundance. I always like the feel of it. Paulann reminds me of the neighborhoods I grew up, base housing with lots of people at the same point in life that my parents were in and lots of kids for me. It is a vibrant part of a great town, San Angelo, Texas.