Gentrification in action
A strange thought occurred to me this morning as I was awakened by the sound of heavy construction (or perhaps destruction) machinery in front of our building.
"I hope that's not our building they're tearing down."
This strikes me as more amusing than frightening. I mean, we moved into our apartment with the knowledge that, come next spring, the building will be demolished so a luxury single-family home can be erected on the lot. So it didn't seem entirely unreasonable or illogical to awake with mild trepidation at the prospect of occupying a building in the path of a wrecking ball (or earth mover as was the case). But it's highly amusing.
When I got out of bed and looked out the window, I saw trucks for a construction company, including an empty flatbed of the sort used to haul heavy machinery. However, the heavy machinery in question -- or construction activity, for that matter -- was nowhere in sight. So I didn't think much of it.
Fast forward to this afternoon, about the time Colleen and I were about to leave when I heard the distinct sound of breaking glass from outside.
I peered through the curtains to discover an earth mover not-so-gracefully removing the vestiges of the second floor of a (formerly) three-story house across the street.
It was quite cool, actually. It kept tearing away at the aluminum siding exterior, then it took out the last section of the second-floor bay window, then the railing on the stairs to the main entrance, followed by the awning over the front door, and then finally the front door itself. Quite a sight.
The 10-year-old boy in me wanted to go hurl rocks through the bay window on the ground floor, but I didn't get around to it.
I'm not sure what will go in the empty lot across the way. I'm guessing it'll be another luxury house. A new building about the size of ours a few doors down on the opposite side of the street recently sold for $1.8 million, so you can understand the temptation to tear down the old and build new. It's less the building itself than the real estate. This location, location, location is in a pretty desirable area, one where bankers and other folks with more money than sense want to live.
It's just kind of sad, because this gentrification prices poor folks like us out of the neighborhood. I mean, you can just see it from our window. Directly across from us, an old house is being demolished. Straight behind it, a new, pricey structure is being erected. If I could get a nice aerial view from the alley behind our building, you'd have a temporal progression of this whole process. Our old piece of crap is condemned but still standing, in front of it is another old dwelling meeting the wrecking ball, and behind that stand the beams and foundation of new luxury.
"I hope that's not our building they're tearing down."
This strikes me as more amusing than frightening. I mean, we moved into our apartment with the knowledge that, come next spring, the building will be demolished so a luxury single-family home can be erected on the lot. So it didn't seem entirely unreasonable or illogical to awake with mild trepidation at the prospect of occupying a building in the path of a wrecking ball (or earth mover as was the case). But it's highly amusing.
When I got out of bed and looked out the window, I saw trucks for a construction company, including an empty flatbed of the sort used to haul heavy machinery. However, the heavy machinery in question -- or construction activity, for that matter -- was nowhere in sight. So I didn't think much of it.
Fast forward to this afternoon, about the time Colleen and I were about to leave when I heard the distinct sound of breaking glass from outside.
I peered through the curtains to discover an earth mover not-so-gracefully removing the vestiges of the second floor of a (formerly) three-story house across the street.
It was quite cool, actually. It kept tearing away at the aluminum siding exterior, then it took out the last section of the second-floor bay window, then the railing on the stairs to the main entrance, followed by the awning over the front door, and then finally the front door itself. Quite a sight.
The 10-year-old boy in me wanted to go hurl rocks through the bay window on the ground floor, but I didn't get around to it.
I'm not sure what will go in the empty lot across the way. I'm guessing it'll be another luxury house. A new building about the size of ours a few doors down on the opposite side of the street recently sold for $1.8 million, so you can understand the temptation to tear down the old and build new. It's less the building itself than the real estate. This location, location, location is in a pretty desirable area, one where bankers and other folks with more money than sense want to live.
It's just kind of sad, because this gentrification prices poor folks like us out of the neighborhood. I mean, you can just see it from our window. Directly across from us, an old house is being demolished. Straight behind it, a new, pricey structure is being erected. If I could get a nice aerial view from the alley behind our building, you'd have a temporal progression of this whole process. Our old piece of crap is condemned but still standing, in front of it is another old dwelling meeting the wrecking ball, and behind that stand the beams and foundation of new luxury.
posted by Alexander Dubcek | 23:04
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