Everytime a condo is built and/or a gentrifier moves to DC the city becomes less & less interesting

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I do not want another luxury apartment/condo building that will sit half empty for 6 months.

NP. Yes, you do.

This is what is going to solve the problem moving forward. They're overbuilding into a zero growth local economy. Republicans will control the budget process for at least the next two fiscal years. Even small cuts in federal spending over this period will result in local economic contraction. We're entirely dependent on federal spending after all.

Canyons of empty condos are going to put downward pressure on rents. Affordable housing, here we come!

No way. These companies all use interest-only bullet loans to finance these developments. They don't pay a dollar of principle on these condo or "luxury" rental buildings. As long as they can cover their interest expense, they will keep the units empty before lowering prices. Price cuts led to a lot of busts in DC in 2007-2009 (see Yards Park). These guys are all colluding to keep prices up; a price war hurts everyone.

They are all banking on selling on these projects en mass to REITs, PE funds, or commercial banks. Or they just re-finance into another 10 year bullet loan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm one of those gentrifiers people love to hate. Moved here in 2007. Moved to Columbia Heights in 2011. Had a baby. Shop at Target. Like going to brunch.

The problem I have with gentrification, even my own, is that it drives prices up so high as to be unaffordable for anyone not making close to 6 figures. I am now divorced, and renting. It's insane. Two bedroom apartments in my neighborhood are like $3,000/mo. Everything is set up for young professional people. There's no attention paid to renting families in the city. I love where I live and send my daughter to public school, which she loves and I love, and I don't want to have to move further out just to find a place where we can both have our own rooms for $2,000. And they keep building buildings. Every time I walk down 14th Street to work, it seems like a new one is going up. You know what it'll look like. 1-2 bedroom condos, granite counter tops, USB charging ports in the wall, stainless steel, a fitness center with free zumba classes.

I want affordable housing so that the people who lived in these places when no one wanted to have brunch there can enjoy all the new amenities. I do not want another luxury apartment/condo building that will sit half empty for 6 months.

Quite funny, right?

You came here displacing someone, and now you don't want to be displaced.

Sorry, same rules apply to all.

You're a jerk. My point was that this city needs to prioritize affordable housing or it will be nothing more than street after street of luxury condos interspersed with tapas restaurants. But there's no money in that.

The city is already well on it's way to becoming just what you described.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
My friend used to design the websites for many of these properties so I now exactly what you mean.
It became so damn repetitive he would literally just copy and paste the same amenities from one property and use them on another.
Eventually he got bored with all of it and just quit.

Yes, it's completely unique to the DC residential real-estate industry for people to think, "Huh. That product is selling pretty well. Maybe I'll try selling a product like that." Nobody else in any other industry anywhere else every does that.

I never said it was unique to the DC residential real-estate industry.
I am just telling you what my friend told me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There aren't enough gentrifiers in my neighborhood in NE.
Plenty of drug dealing and moped riding hoodies though. Can we also trade one of the 5 liquor stores in 2 blocks for a Starbucks? Pretty please??

i hope this is sarcasm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"I hate gentrified DC" OP is boring.

Agreed. OP, your whining is really tiresome.

And before you assume this comment is coming from one of the gentrifiers you so rant about, I'm a 4th generation Washingtonian. And not the upper NW kind. Born at Cafritz (that was east of the river, in case you're unfamiliar).

Plenty of the changes in DC have been positive, but you're too much of a misanthrope to see it. Rock on with your bad self, though.

Are you a Lady of Rage fan?
Did you know she is originally from Farmville VA?

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Bullshit!
There was a lot about DC that was very distinct.

I agree with this, but the reality is that a lot of this was disappearing anyway. People keep mentioning the riots, but the drug murders in the 80s also caused a huge outflow of population. A city can't lose that many people without a negative impact.

Federal housing and transportation policy also drove the move to the suburbs. It wasn't just riots and murders. A good book about this American Apartheid by Massey and Denton.
http://www.amazon.com/American-Apartheid-Segregation-Making-Underclass/dp/0674018214/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1443724185&sr=1-1&keywords=american+apartheid

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the gentrifier's obsession with being urban?
Then when they end up in urban situations such as a robbery or a shooting they complain about it.
LOL

I don't know. I think not complaining about it is a bigger problem. Why would you simply accept robbery and shooting? Are robberies and shootings the sort of thing you think we should have more of?

Whenever someone wants to go back to "old DC" I remember trash piling up in the streets, no plowing, government shutdowns, people complaining about gentrification, DCPS hating charter schools....wait, actually nothing has changed at all.

Oh man, waiting at the DMV has definitely gotten better -- hands down! I remember standing in line forever back in the early 90s. At least now you can sit in a chair! And the inspection station is a breeze now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I moved here in early 90s. Love some of the changes to the City (downtown!). Miss others (adams Morgan is sad).

Cities change.

Starbucks?
Panera?
Potbelly?
Walgreens?
Forever 21?
H&M?
J Crew?
CVS?
Bed Bath Beyond?

Seriously?

Are you a troll?

No, but I also travel more than 2 blocks away from Chinatown metro. You may want to get out more and rediscover some interesting things going on in both new and old DC.

There is hardly anything left of the old DC.
You wouldn't know that though because you are a gentrifier.

I don't think gentrifier means what you think it means.

Ok.
You are a recent arrival urban try hard.

Your assumption being that I didn't move from a larger, more urban environment. You realize, that many people move to Washington for school - or work - from larger cities around the world.

Ok let me guess.
You moved here from a more urban & gritty 2000-2010 New York City?

LOL

Once again.
Spare me.

The people who do come from larger cities around the world would agree about the current incarnation of DC sucking.
I know this because they all tell me so.

Nope. Around the world includes, wait for it...outside of America. Shocking, I know.

I wonder how old you are, with your usage of LOL so frequently. You may be native, but I may be living here longer.

You so international.

I'm not a native.

I travel as well.
I enjoy traveling.
Traveling to Mexico in a couple of months.
Distrito Federal.

I seriously doubt you were in the DC area before me.

Electronics is one of my hobbies.
Do you remember Tanen's?
Downtown used to be so much fun.

Where did you buy your electronics before the bullshit Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart chain store era?
,

Okay were you drunk when you wrote this? Or high on some legal marijuana?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm one of those gentrifiers people love to hate. Moved here in 2007. Moved to Columbia Heights in 2011. Had a baby. Shop at Target. Like going to brunch.

The problem I have with gentrification, even my own, is that it drives prices up so high as to be unaffordable for anyone not making close to 6 figures. I am now divorced, and renting. It's insane. Two bedroom apartments in my neighborhood are like $3,000/mo. Everything is set up for young professional people. There's no attention paid to renting families in the city. I love where I live and send my daughter to public school, which she loves and I love, and I don't want to have to move further out just to find a place where we can both have our own rooms for $2,000. And they keep building buildings. Every time I walk down 14th Street to work, it seems like a new one is going up. You know what it'll look like. 1-2 bedroom condos, granite counter tops, USB charging ports in the wall, stainless steel, a fitness center with free zumba classes.

I want affordable housing so that the people who lived in these places when no one wanted to have brunch there can enjoy all the new amenities. I do not want another luxury apartment/condo building that will sit half empty for 6 months.

Agree. Condos going up on every vacant lot and former autobody shop location in my neighborhood. How are they going to sell all these condos with granite counter tops?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree. Condos going up on every vacant lot and former autobody shop location in my neighborhood. How are they going to sell all these condos with granite counter tops?

If they can't sell 'em, they'll stop building 'em.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I moved here in early 90s. Love some of the changes to the City (downtown!). Miss others (adams Morgan is sad).

Cities change.

Starbucks?
Panera?
Potbelly?
Walgreens?
Forever 21?
H&M?
J Crew?
CVS?
Bed Bath Beyond?

Seriously?

Are you a troll?

No, but I also travel more than 2 blocks away from Chinatown metro. You may want to get out more and rediscover some interesting things going on in both new and old DC.

There is hardly anything left of the old DC.
You wouldn't know that though because you are a gentrifier.

I don't think gentrifier means what you think it means.

Ok.
You are a recent arrival urban try hard.

Your assumption being that I didn't move from a larger, more urban environment. You realize, that many people move to Washington for school - or work - from larger cities around the world.

Ok let me guess.
You moved here from a more urban & gritty 2000-2010 New York City?

LOL

Once again.
Spare me.

The people who do come from larger cities around the world would agree about the current incarnation of DC sucking.
I know this because they all tell me so.

Nope. Around the world includes, wait for it...outside of America. Shocking, I know.

I wonder how old you are, with your usage of LOL so frequently. You may be native, but I may be living here longer.

You so international.

I'm not a native.

I travel as well.
I enjoy traveling.
Traveling to Mexico in a couple of months.
Distrito Federal.

I seriously doubt you were in the DC area before me.

Electronics is one of my hobbies.
Do you remember Tanen's?
Downtown used to be so much fun.

Where did you buy your electronics before the bullshit Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart chain store era?
,

Okay were you drunk when you wrote this? Or high on some legal marijuana?

Do you remember Luskin's on F Street?

[Anonymous]

This is one of the most ridiculous threads in the history of DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I moved here in early 90s. Love some of the changes to the City (downtown!). Miss others (adams Morgan is sad).

Cities change.

Starbucks?
Panera?
Potbelly?
Walgreens?
Forever 21?
H&M?
J Crew?
CVS?
Bed Bath Beyond?

Seriously?

Are you a troll?

No, but I also travel more than 2 blocks away from Chinatown metro. You may want to get out more and rediscover some interesting things going on in both new and old DC.

There is hardly anything left of the old DC.
You wouldn't know that though because you are a gentrifier.

I don't think gentrifier means what you think it means.

Ok.
You are a recent arrival urban try hard.

Your assumption being that I didn't move from a larger, more urban environment. You realize, that many people move to Washington for school - or work - from larger cities around the world.

Ok let me guess.
You moved here from a more urban & gritty 2000-2010 New York City?

LOL

Once again.
Spare me.

The people who do come from larger cities around the world would agree about the current incarnation of DC sucking.
I know this because they all tell me so.

Nope. Around the world includes, wait for it...outside of America. Shocking, I know.

I wonder how old you are, with your usage of LOL so frequently. You may be native, but I may be living here longer.

You so international.

I'm not a native.

I travel as well.
I enjoy traveling.
Traveling to Mexico in a couple of months.
Distrito Federal.

I seriously doubt you were in the DC area before me.

Electronics is one of my hobbies.
Do you remember Tanen's?
Downtown used to be so much fun.

Where did you buy your electronics before the bullshit Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart chain store era?
,

Okay were you drunk when you wrote this? Or high on some legal marijuana?

Do you remember Luskin's on F Street?

Iona, you're gonna OD on nostalgia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There aren't enough gentrifiers in my neighborhood in NE.
Plenty of drug dealing and moped riding hoodies though. Can we also trade one of the 5 liquor stores in 2 blocks for a Starbucks? Pretty please??

i hope this is sarcasm

Not one sentence was sarcastic. Do you need clarification on anything? Gentrification is coming very slowly in my neck of the woods (Brentwood).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There aren't enough gentrifiers in my neighborhood in NE.
Plenty of drug dealing and moped riding hoodies though. Can we also trade one of the 5 liquor stores in 2 blocks for a Starbucks? Pretty please??

i hope this is sarcasm

Not one sentence was sarcastic. Do you need clarification on anything? Gentrification is coming very slowly in my neck of the woods (Brentwood).

+100. Gentrification is one funny word, in that it tries hard to give some negative connotations to something THAT IS CLEARLY POSITIVE.