Bishop Arts, Bolsa, West Davis Street, the Kessler, all that very successful activity in North Oak Cliff didn't just happen by accident, nor did it happen because of one guy by any means, but if you had to pick somebody who was there at the beginning, it would be David Spence. In 1995 Spence, a lawyer, left a career in nonprofit community development to buy and save aging structures that everybody else assumed were just food for bulldozers. Over time he showed he could not only rescue old apartment and commercial buildings from the wrecking ball but turn a profit in the process. His example left footprints for other investors to follow in, and they have, with splendid results.