It did start in the mid-90s with people buying and renovating townhomes on Milton and Liberty Hill. I'm sure the riots slowed it down, but the article does inaccurately assert the speed of the change as well as where it came from. A lot of the residential turn-around wasn't corporate sponsored.

In the mid-90s it was a place for upper middle class kids to go party. The riots wiped that out.

In the late-00s it became a place for upper middle class kids to live. Largely do to the efforts of 3CDC. Lot of money being spent to renovate those older buildings.