When The Music's Over, Turn Out the Lights
While existing homeowners have received most of the attention in the media’s coverage of the sub-prime mortgage fallout, there’s another effect that’s going to haunt neighborhoods like Bed Stuy and Bushwick for years: The spectacularly ugly and cheaply built spec homes that short-sighted developers slapped up on in-fill lots. Take this pair of three-family homes,…
While existing homeowners have received most of the attention in the media’s coverage of the sub-prime mortgage fallout, there’s another effect that’s going to haunt neighborhoods like Bed Stuy and Bushwick for years: The spectacularly ugly and cheaply built spec homes that short-sighted developers slapped up on in-fill lots. Take this pair of three-family homes, one for $739,000 and one for $629,000. Who’s gonna buy this crap? No one. They’ll just sit there and atrophy, gradually attracting trash, loiterers and probably worse. Huge bummer.
$739000 Gordeous 3 Family Bldg in Bushwick [Craigslist]
$629000 Great New Construction 3 Family in Bed Stuy [Craigslist]
And I said that where? 1:27
Preservationista
I was thinking the same thing 1:25…. The DOB has the old plans to all the old brownstones
If it wasn’t so expensive to build new construction (thinking plans and plan approval, not just land costs), ultimate beasts of cheap like these houses might not be as popular with developers. There really isn’t a proper excuse for the aesthetics of these houses, but Preservationistas on this board would make it even more expensive to build in the city with their dream regulatory setup.
Buy ’em cheap at bottom. Tear’em down (nothing lost there). Rebuild with quality before next boom. Aren’t there architects out there who have or can spec an exact 1890 Italianate brownstone replica facade with a reasonable price tag? It seems so doeable.
Creating a nice looking building does not require any more money. These buildings are ugly because the proportions are all wrong and they are aesthetically off balance. Simply lazy developers who are trying to get the most bang for their buck without giving a single thought to design and how the look of the building might have a long term consequences for the neighborhood.
The Empire State building also had a crew of thousands, some of whom died.
It was also built with massive steel girders, and built to endure stress and wind. If it had “settled” like these houses, it would look like the leaning tower of Pisa, another old building better built than these POS.
Preservationista
12:49, I’m sure that is irony at its finest.
The Empire State Building was “slapped together” in 13mo.
I’m in Bushwick and another one of these monstrocities is going up on my block.
No joke, they slapped the f’er up in about a month and they’re almost done with it. It’s huge, on an oversized or double size lot, fedders fedders everywhere. Setback uglyness at it’s ‘finest’.
There’s another fedders shitbox that was built over the summer. Full of people but not sure if it’s straightup rental or a buy and share amongst family.