Neighborhood puts 23 houses for sale to get a jump on condo developers

[Liberal_in_LA]

I don't blame 'em. They know that this is coming (pic below of small house overwhelmed by condo building) and want to get out before it happens

http://dhimg.sv.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Dato=20070909&Kategori=NEWS01&Lopenr=109090032


http://heraldnet.com/article/20070909/NEWS01/109090032

There goes the neighborhood: 23 homes for sale

By Jeff Switzer, Herald Writer

LYNNWOOD -- In a rare move, dozens of families living in a suburban oasis near I-5 are simultaneously putting their homes up for sale.

The homeowners aren't looking for anyone to move in.

With a mixture of heartache, excitement and resignation, these families are looking to make a date with a bulldozer and a builder.

About two-thirds of the property owners in the Oak Knoll neighborhood have banded together to jointly sell at least 11.5 acres. Others still are considering whether to join in.

Together, they hope to attract a big-time builder who can pay top dollar for their land and build hundreds of condos in six- to eight-story buildings.

Otherwise, they fear they'll be forced to watch their beloved neighborhood painfully carved up piecemeal for townhouses. And if that happens, they fear their chances for selling their land will plummet.

[Canuckistanian]

1. And where the hell is their municpal government on this?

You know, the elected body who are supposed to make decisions about these things?

Or can landowners make their own zoning?

[MissB]

9. The article addressed that.

*snip*

The fate of the Oak Knoll neighborhood was set more than a decade ago when the county ambiguously dubbed the area at I-5 and 164th Street an "urban center."

By 2003, county officials made it clear they expect the area to become a mixture of dense townhouses or apartments and businesses.

[Myrina]

2. This is horrifying ...

... fewer and fewer people will have options to 'own land' anymore - we're being packed like tuna into rowhouses - now sexily called 'condominiums'. Where I am, they're popping up everywhere, ridiculously overpriced and at the expense of gorgeous old established buildings and waterfront neighborhoods - but NOBODY is buying them. They're sitting empty. Yet they continue to multiply.

All that precious land is being usurped by the developers, then these big ugly monstrosities are being built to sit vacant because no one wants them.

What ever happened to supply and demand? :shrug:

[skids]

5. If condos didn't cost as much as a house these days...

...I'd probably buy in. There are zero options for first time buyers that don't want to be saddled with 20 years of debt and would prefer to buy, pay off, and then upgrade later, perhaps even paying cash. Zero.

[phylny]

11. You're right on target

Here on our lake, developers have built a condo complex that is about 5 years old, and is maybe 20% sold. These same developers are building a monstrosity of a complex right by the only bridge that crosses the lake, and there are evidently few to NO takers for the units. We have just moved here (vacationed here for years) and the first time we saw it, we thought, "Hmm, it looks like Florida." It was not meant as a compliment.

Another developer in the next county over wants to build another monstrosity, and the people who own lakefront property are screaming "NO!" in the newspapers and at town meetings. I wonder if anyone will listen to them?

[Liberal_in_LA]

12. Same thing happening in LA. they can magically squeeze 20 condo units on lot that held 2 houses

amazing.

[durtee librul]

15. That happened as well

in Kenosha by Lake Michigan.....built a bunch of condos and only a few are sold. They are holding off on finishing the others. They also bought an old hospital site which overlooked the lake and ditto.....no takers.

And in the meantime, no-one can see the lake anymore.....

[Cleita]

13. This happened in my neighborhood in Santa Monica

twenty five years ago. Yet with all this dense housing, it seems our homeless population is increasing. Who is living in those places? In my area they are second, vacation homes that go empty most of the year, while working people are living in their cars or sleeping on the beach because they can't afford to either buy or rent.

[Liberal_in_LA]

16. Irony - 'Desirable' neighborhood like Santa Monica means massive # condos built, making it undesirab

Traffic in Santa Monica is crazy.

[MadMaddie]

3. I don't live far from Lynnwood and the destruction of

neighborhoods for densly populated urban areas pisses me off...

The voters voted on this and thought it was a good idea...and it has been the complete opposite....

The traffic is horrible, there is no reliable train system, the bus system is average....

The houses they are building now are zero lots no backyards maybe room for a patio....and starting out at $400,000..

I don't think this is good progress

[Liberal_in_LA]

8. 'Patio homes' = houses with no backyards but maybe space for patio

[depakid]

4. Washington state is not known for its responsible land use planning

So it seems to me that the neighbors are acting wisely.

Too bad more people couldn't have gotten together and forged a rational transportation plan.

[HuffleClaw]

6. driving on the 401 into toronto you can see scores of those fuuuugly things

brand spanking new rowhouses as far as the eye can see. a sickening sight they are too.

[mark414]

14. i was just in toronto a month ago

and took a couple city buses all over town. i couldn't believe how many condos are going up...nearly as many cranes as skyscrapers dotting the skyline...

[Yael]

7. This is a gutsy move!

They will be in effect negotiating Class Action on the sale of independent properties. As with all Class Actions, they will receive pennies on the dollar if this goes through.

In addition, what of the other 9 homeowners who aren't joining in this?

Talk about tossing the dice ... :crazy:

[MadMaddie]

10. Eminent Domain comes to mind.....the city will force them

to sell at literally pennies on the dollar....and they will not get what the group who is banding together get....

This is why that Supreme Court ruling was so bad....