Gentrification of Forest Park Southeast began in the 1990s with the arrival of LGBT-oriented bars and clubs along Manchester Avenue, establishing the neighborhood as a gay village. These nightlife establishments revitalized a largely abandoned retail district, which diversified into daytime restaurants and stores during the 2000s. By the end of that decade, local business owners began branding the Manchester Avenue retail district as "The Grove", a reference to the historic Adams Grove residential development in the southern portion of the neighborhood. The branding of the district was formalized in 2009 with the creation of The Grove Community Improvement District (CID), which levies a special sales tax to fund public improvements within its boundaries.
