The Houstonist

Another web site is tracking teardowns in their community:

Teardowns of the Week

Speaking of oper...as
Once named a "scenic wooded wonderland" with streets named after operas, Memorial Bend is losing its charm, one house at a time. This week, say goodbye to 12927 Tosca (picture) and 12802 Hansel (picture). You will be able to see the new homes in the works shortly, and they eerily resemble the Cali-Medi-Tuscan flair of Sonoma.

In this first report, there are residential and commercial properties listed. Both are speculative opportunities for above average housing options. After all the older middle class neighborhoods are converted to eurofabulous homes, I am wondering where all the worker bees will live. Seems to be a widespread trend afflicting older neighborhoods everywhere. Is it possible these new neighborhoods will be as sustainable as the neighborhoods they replace? And will these city residents be able to sustain the cities where they live?

Beyond Repair?

It is possible that this house has met the end of its useful life.

Million Dollar Babies

There are now 9 over-a-mil ready-to-buy houses within a mile of my modest homestead (actually I think my home is quite nice, but the scale is changing dramatically, so I guess I am living in a future teardown in someone else's mind).


There are also two tornout lots available for approximately 500K each. One of these lots had plans for a 5000 square foot private home, those plans were abandoned after the teardown. (see several stories in June and July).

Two in the 1.25-1.5M range have sold this summer; the on-sale prices were $1.1M and 1.15M.

The replacement house for the poster child for teardowns on Anderson has a SOLD sign already on its new build. I am thinking it is less expensive than its half-sibling, dubbed "Entertainer's Paradise " by their builder cum real estate company. That house has a price tag of TBD, BTW.

This means that over on the sidestreets of Anderson, there are still 5 spec castles in the over 1.25M range, and some have sat vacant a long time (a year is a long time, right?). The over-a-mil spec house on Cooleemee has been in process since before Tropical Storm Ivan blew through.* Unsold: 6 out of 9, 2 out of 2; shooting too high? We are looking at approximately $10 million dollars at stake here.

And this does not include 3 properties in process on Claremont.

* The original speculator on this property was fined for his failure to secure the site against runoff. During Ivan, a red stream flowed from this construction site to Fallon Creek for days.

Another one down

The second teardown on Cooleemee was completed this week. The house sat next to the May OTT award winner, which, by the way, is still for sale.


The house sold for $300,000 on 9/28/2007. 926 square feet, built 1950, on .25 acres. Renovation in 1990.


The first thing to go was the trees.


Cooleemee was part of a rezoning effort in the 1980's -- from R-6 to R-4 to match the buildout of the neighborhood. Imagine how this would look if these houses were built even closer to each other and the street.


So, will it be a compatible structure with the existing neighborhood, or the imposing new neighborhood they are building on top of us?

Fallonia holds out hope for an undermilliondollar house here. But she is not putting money on it.

Raleigh's Comprehensive Plan

Raleigh to update its growth guide
David Bracken, Staff Writer | The News & Observer | October 25

RALEIGH - The rapid pace of Raleigh's growth is forcing officials to rewrite the city's core planning document for the first time in nearly two decades.

Today, the city begins a 15-month public process to update its comprehensive plan, which is Raleigh's long-term vision for how it should grow.

The comprehensive plan -- a document about the size of two phone books -- is perhaps the most important city document residents have never heard of. It helps determine where roads, parks and greenways go, as well as how crowded certain areas of the city should become. ...

In this article, we learn that Raleigh's current population is 368,000, an increase of more than 70 percent since the latest comprehensive plan update in 1989. It is possible that the next twenty years could bring growth of another 70 percent, that is if the remaining undeveloped land (20,000 acres) is built out to the current plan. Or not.

Another hot-button issue that the updated plan will have to deal with is infill development. Over the next 20 years, older areas of the city will experience some redevelopment as property owners tear down existing houses and put up larger buildings.

"The biggest issue is how we'll approach density and infill," said Brad Mullins, chairman of the Raleigh Planning Commission.

The Planning Department will hold three citywide workshops next month at which residents will be asked to say what they want the updated plan to include. Silver said that those priorities will help guide public funding. For instance, the 1989 plan made greenways a priority and set the stage for the current greenway system.

In addition to this article, you can learn more about this important issue by attending the Comprehensive Plan Update Kickoff. Say what, you say?

WHAT: Comprehensive plan kickoff event

WHERE: Art gallery in the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts, 2 E. South St.

WHEN: 7 to 9 p.m. today

Out of This World

Unusual Architecture From Around the World

From incredibly cool to totally weird; a collection of unusual houses and buildings from around the World.

This a great collection of imaginative designs. I am thinking the thin house could fit on my driveway if I can get a permit.

On a Tear

These folks mean business.

'Monster house' is neighborhood's nightmare


Photo by Jeff Wheeler
Residents of the 5300 block of Oaklawn Avenue in Edina, many of whom have posted signs in their yards protesting a large new house going up on the block, have watched as nearby neighborhoods have been altered by developers who buy old houses, raze them and replace them with homes much bigger than the neighbors’.

Some Edina residents fear that a big new house will hurt a quaint neighborhood on Oaklawn Avenue, just as large new homes have taken over other nearby streets. They're not taking it lying down.

By Mary Jane Smetanka, Star Tribune
Last update: October 20, 2007 – 6:57 PM

For years, residents of the 5300 block of Edina's Oaklawn Avenue watched nervously as the big-home developments known as "monster houses" rumbled ever closer to their quiet street.
This fall, Godzilla stomped onto their block with a roar.

A developer razed a 1930s Cape Cod-style house and began excavation for a $1.3 million, 5,400-square-foot replacement. It will be almost three times as big as the house that was on the lot before it, and nearly twice as big as any other house on the block. But it's perfectly legal, meeting all of Edina's zoning requirements.

That doesn't matter to people on Oaklawn Avenue. They've been fighting back, crowding a City Council meeting and posting a protest video on YouTube. Most of the houses on the block have signs in their yards. "Monster homes make bad neighbors!" proclaims one. "Supersized houses -- stay out of our neighborhood!" says another.

In a letter to the developer, one resident warned that whoever buys the house will be "ostracized and shunned ... no neighborly waves, no invitation to neighborhood parties."

Oaklawn's rebellion presents a dilemma for the city, pitting the wants of residents who helped make their neighborhood a desirable place to live against the rights of property owners to do what they like with their land within the law.

For the city, big new houses renew housing stock, add to the tax base and help attract new, affluent families.

But policies that alienate longtime residents can have a political cost.

Mayor Jim Hovland said the city is still trying to shape its zoning policies, parts of which were changed last spring.

"We've been working on this, but maybe we haven't gone far enough to find that balance point," he said last week. "We're very concerned about maintaining the character of these neighborhoods."

Pam Starkey is one of the Oaklawn residents who oppose the new house.

"The developers don't care, they're going to build it, get the biggest bang for their bucks and get out of town. They have no emotional investment," she said. "We all love this neighborhood. ... It makes you sick that you're going to look out of your window and see this right there when everyone has done so much to preserve and maintain the homes."

"Street of dreams"

Monster houses have been an issue in southwest Minneapolis, St. Louis Park and some other inner-ring suburbs, but ground zero just may lie a few blocks from Oaklawn on Edina's Halifax Avenue. A decade ago, Halifax was lined with modest homes on big lots that were just a stone's throw from the shops at 50th and France. Developers bought those lots, razing the houses and putting in big new homes. Some Edina residents began calling Halifax "the street of dreams" or "millionaire's row."

There are not many older homes left on Halifax near 50th and France, but among those that remain, it's common for lots to be worth twice as much as the houses on them.

Oaklawn residents watched with trepidation as Halifax was rebuilt. Then houses were razed and replaced on surrounding streets. Yet Oaklawn -- which one resident described as a "Leave It to Beaver" street of mostly 1930s and 1940s New England-style houses with dormers and big oak trees in the yards -- remained untouched.

Until now.

Residents agree with Paul Peloquin, the project manager for Dailey Homes, that the 1937 Cape Cod at 5308 Oaklawn had fallen into disrepair and had been mostly vacant in recent years. Still, the house sold for nearly $630,000 last spring.

In an e-mail, Peloquin said it's no mystery why his company was interested in building on Oaklawn. "Edina is a high-demand area that supports sales values and costs for tear-downs and in-fill development," he wrote. He said Dailey has built similar homes in Edina and in Linden Hills in Minneapolis. To his knowledge, none has drawn objections.

On the Oaklawn site, much of the new five-bedroom, five-bath house that Peloquin described as "traditional" in appearance will be below ground. Only about 3,700 square feet will be above grade, he said, and the building will stand about 27 feet high, below the city limit of 30 feet. The main roof will have sloping sides and ends, which Peloquin said should reduce the visual impact of the structure.

Peloquin didn't have to ask for any zoning variances for the house. But Edina has been studying and tinkering with its zoning requirements for some time. Last spring, setback requirements on side yards were adjusted for smaller lots. New height requirements are being discussed. North of 50th Street and east of Hwy. 100, there is a moratorium on teardowns in the historic Country Club district while a detailed survey of properties is done.

Neighborhood integrity

One of the reasons Oaklawn residents are alarmed by the new house is that most lots on their street are relatively small, measuring 60 by 135 feet. A giant house can block light and views and ruin the integrity of the neighborhood, they said.

Many of the homes on the block, which have market values between $550,000 and $750,000, have been remodeled. But the work was done in a way that was invisible from the street and had little effect on neighbors.

"Everybody is interested in upgrading their homes and having the amenities," said homeowner Peter Robb. "But it is possible to do it without destroying the neighborhood."

The Oaklawn block is tightknit, with kids running between houses, people caring for each other's kids and dogs, and regular get-togethers. A few residents have declined to put protest signs in their yards. But many were involved in a video made for a presentation at a City Council meeting.

Residents were incensed earlier this month when the council declined to watch the video, saying that viewing it at that meeting would have violated policy. Residents were invited to show it at a later meeting. Someone then put the video on YouTube, where as of Friday, it had been viewed more than 1,200 times.

The Oaklawn group has begun to hear from other people who oppose some of the new homes. While it looks like they will not be able to stop construction of the new house, residents said they will press city officials on zoning and monitor the efforts to rewrite those rules.

"They won't do anything at City Hall unless you change the ordinances," Starkey said. "I feel like we're butting our heads up against the wall, and it's getting later and later and later."

Mary Jane Smetanka • 612-673-7380

Mary Jane Smetanka • smetan@startribune.com

© 2007 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.