There is an old Roger’s Friendly Market on Fairfield just south of Casa d’Angelo, south of Lutheran Park, north of the Oakdale neighborhood. It is a battle field.
Developers want to tear down half of the 18,000 square foot building and convert the rest to a strip mall and filling station. It will look nice, but will not match the neighborhood surrounding it. In fact, it will look like something in from Aboite and nothing like the 1920s architecture surrounding it. Additionally, it is surrounded by single family homes, mostly three bedroom two story homes with porches and kids. The building has been vacant and has attracted some of the illegal activity that vacant buildings seem to welcome.
So, the neighborhoods up and down Fairfield have voted to endorse the strip mall and filling station.The architects have promised amenities that are significantly better than what is currently there now. But the neighbors closest to the redevelopment hate the idea of bright lights, the constant traffic and the noise that goes with a filling station. Think the smell of gas, those garish hubcaps, those ghetto-blasters on wheels and tankers. As for the strip mall, well, think check cashers, tat parlors, and that special Low Bob’s level of sophistication. The promised amenities, other than the redevelopment of a fallow building, may drive the cost of gas down half a cent, but, with no doubt, will drive down property values. Think a filling station next to your home.
The developers addressed some of those concerns last night at a area wide neighborhoods meeting hosted by the Oakdale Neighborhood Association.
The developers promised no tacky businesses in the shops, but were not willing to put that in writing or to make it a part of the covenants that would legally restrict future owners. Think Madam Lola’s Card Reading Parlor and Drug Den next to your house. The developers promised minimal impact from lights and signage and limited hours, unless the economy required them to open 24/7. They made other promises that were only so many words and carried no weight of law. We know that they want to make as much money as possible, that they do not live in the neighborhood, and that once in place there will be less leverage to negotiate. Think whatever it takes to make a buck, next to your house. They know that and are happy to make qualified promises now.
Interestingly, Tim Pape, John Shoaff and Glynn Hines were all there last night and stated their positions and fielded questions. Mr Pape was opposed to the the redevelopment for a variety of reasons, mostly mentioned above. Mr. Shoaff was undecided and cited concerns about the aesthetics, the hours and the proximity to housing. He said he had fought a similar problem near his home and won. Mr. Hines said that he had received many emails in support of the project and leaned toward it. (I asked Glynn if he truly believed that argument why he had not voted against the destruction of Calhoun Street when emails were overwhelmingly against the waste of a million dollars and the destruction of a perfectly good street-scape. He said something like “bad example” and brushed past me.)
One member of the audience of some 75 people asked Pape why he presumed to be smarter than all those who favored the project? He said that he was responsible for weighing all the advantages and disadvantages, all of the additional factors, and then voting. He did not back down and did win the respect of the audience.
So, it was an interesting evening and a refreshing one. Seventy-five people, average folk like you and I, tussled with the redevelopment of their neighborhood and the effect it would have on their most important asset, their home. Council members lined up and spoke to the audience and then underwent tough questioning. You will not see this in Russia, China, any country in South America, Africa, most of Europe or even Jolly Ol’ England. As much as we bitch and moan about our system, about the idiots among us, about the stupid ideas, the lame politicians, the greasing of palms and the conflicts of interest ours is a system, for all its warts, that allows you and I the most access and self-determination anywhere in the world.
Let the battle be joined.
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Entries (RSS)
Tear it down and clean up the neighborhood. Sometimes we have to move forward and sadly to be the modern city we hope it will be we have to let go of the past. to draw in the money, people have to feel like they are going to a safe and modern facility. Rather than weep over the past, lets move forward, get rid of the crap, and worry about bigger things like the fact the mayor is trying to railroad us with a casino that his brother will be an owner of, and the amount of fecal matter people it will draw instead of crying that the old buildings and the cockroach people that vagrant them will be gone…
It’s not about letting go of the past, the building itself is of no historical value. It’s about responsible development and focusing on the assets the SE area has, namely it’s residences. The departure of Lutheran Hospital from this area left a lot of property surrounding the area over-zoned… Unfortunately many of the nighborhood associations were asleep at the switch and failed to recognize things like the fact that most of the Fairfield corridor is zoned as a mix of commercial and industrial. The owners of this building failed to come through with their landscaping they committed to when taxpayers bought them new sidewalks, and in the 5 years that they owned the building they failed to so much as paint it. The old jilted lover cliche applies here, hurt me once, shame on you… hurt me twice…
Jim:
Doesn’t some “dollar store” figure in w/ Madam Lola & the drug house?
Time to figure out what developers SAY and what they MEAN are TWO…DIFFERENT…THINGS, especially on the S/E side of town.
(And chase out Casa D’Angelo in the meantime)
But it’s not like I LIVE there…oh, wait…I DO.
(nevermind)
Perhaps it’s my own naivete in the mechanics of these things, but it seems that the architect is really going above and beyond what I would figure an architect might, attending meeting after meeting and hearing after hearing, being the public face of this development. My internal consiprator thinks that it’s because the architect has a finalncial interest as well, namely the construction and development of the property beyond the architecture.
I’ve got a house (built 1916; 1700 sqft; 2 story plus finished attic) 2 blocks away on Webster that I purchased for $23.5k back in 2002. It has sat vacant for the past 2 years while I’m off play’n Joe v/s Hajji. Today, there is another vacant house a couple of houses down with an asking price of $17.5k. These houses are typical of the area.
Mr. Dan, exactly how much could this possibly lower the home values?
Its not like they are asking to rezone residential land. They just wanna tear down a shit hole building and put up something else that couldn’t be any worse.
Duke,
You may want to actually ask the author of the post that question, Mr. Jim.
(see top of the post headline).
Then again, maybe you want to ask the democrats that pushed through much of the “forced” sub-prime loans, which in turn, deflated the housing market. I’m just saying..
Come to think of it, Mr. Jim owns some 20+ odd homes in that area, not counting the one he lives in. I’m sure he has an opinion that will enlighten you.
I don’t know why anyone would invest down there anyway. That whole part of town bitches about wanting more retail out there as stores are closing and then don’t spend money at those stores that open, then bitch when they go out of biz.
but could i expect anything other then the norm for this town.
Mr. Dan, are you saying Mr. Jim is one of the Section 8 slum lords that leeches off of the system that the democraps created?
Duke,
No. Quit putting words in my mouth. Is that what they taught you at OCS? I thought it’d be the opposite.
I’ve been to some of Jim’s houses. They are without a doubt, some of the best kept properties in the neighborhood. If there were more people like him, maybe your property’s value wouldn’t be so depressed.
Duke,
Email me the info on your house.
Dear Duke and the Rest,
Nice neighborhood. Sorry that Duke has trouble renting his places. I do not. The area is very nice, I lived years on the north side and after IU in West Central. I love, repeat, love Rudisill. I enjoy Foster, the campus, the boulevard and the lower prices, lower crime and less traffic and noise. My dogs love it, the grandchildren love it. I have been out of town and out of country, so I have comparisons.
Thanks, Dan, for sticking up for me.
The question is simple: would you like to have a filling station next to your house. Most, the sane among us, would say no. Others like the fumes. The Rongos family, generally good people who live elsewhere, would like to stick a filling station and a strip mall in our neighborhood. They do not live here and only wish to profit from the area. Good for them, but we are not happy with the idea for a variety of reasons.
I also wonder whether the architect has a stake in this. It is odd, now that you, Pez, mention it.
Some of the neighbors are comfy with tankers and loud cars. Some are not. I count four council votes against, maybe five. Goldner, of course, will await a nod from the mayor before deciding. Quid pro quo, perhaps.