At first the concept seemed to me like a great idea. That is to say, putting a modern nice 5-bedroom home in an old established neighborhood. You have fully mature trees, it just seems like it should be there. It would be, or though it seems, the perfect ideal situation as so many of the suburban neighborhood developments are bare of old growth trees---just sticks with wires holding them upright. It is going to take 25 years to have those trees higher than the house tops in those new developments.
We have all seen that situation. So, I was pretty much in favor of the zoning changes that permitted custom home developers to come into a mature and seasoned neighbor, buy up a house here and there and quietly, tear them down and clear the lot. Then one day the workers show up and start digging the foundation. Then, the framers begin the hammering and sawing. Then the roofers are climbing on the steep pitch and lofty roofs that are in the canopies of the trees. You get the picture. Then, Voila! There is this McMansion that is sitting on your neighbors lot so out of place in your neighborhood. Then, one of your neighbors is talking to you about the one that is farther down your street that has an open house sign out in front. Then you begin to feel squeezed as more and more houses are torn down and McMansions appear one by one. Then one day, you are the only house left and instead of these McMansions increasing your neighborhoods value that includes your property, it is now driving your property value into the ground as their values increase and the guy from the street corner sign or major artery street billboard says they will buy your ugly looking home. What pressure!
It's happened all over Dallas. My mom's old neighborhood that was long and sprawling 3-bedroom ranch-style homes are now pretty much gone. So much, I hardly recognize the neighborhood any longer and if I didn't see the old street signs, I'd swear that I wasn't in the old neighborhood. One street that I travel on my route is now constructing the Last of the Mohicans. I use the James Fenimore Cooper narrative of the second book of the Leather Stocking Tales as a historical reference only. I counted the number of houses since the first one appeared on the street and the total is 34 homes. Now, an adjoining street has its first anchor on the corner ready to bulldoze more of the homes from when that neighborhood was new construction.
Calling these houses McMansions just do not even pay justice to the underscore of what is happening. In several cases---what has happened. Therefore, I have begun calling them Ronnie Houses. "There's another Ronnie House!"
We have all seen that situation. So, I was pretty much in favor of the zoning changes that permitted custom home developers to come into a mature and seasoned neighbor, buy up a house here and there and quietly, tear them down and clear the lot. Then one day the workers show up and start digging the foundation. Then, the framers begin the hammering and sawing. Then the roofers are climbing on the steep pitch and lofty roofs that are in the canopies of the trees. You get the picture. Then, Voila! There is this McMansion that is sitting on your neighbors lot so out of place in your neighborhood. Then, one of your neighbors is talking to you about the one that is farther down your street that has an open house sign out in front. Then you begin to feel squeezed as more and more houses are torn down and McMansions appear one by one. Then one day, you are the only house left and instead of these McMansions increasing your neighborhoods value that includes your property, it is now driving your property value into the ground as their values increase and the guy from the street corner sign or major artery street billboard says they will buy your ugly looking home. What pressure!
It's happened all over Dallas. My mom's old neighborhood that was long and sprawling 3-bedroom ranch-style homes are now pretty much gone. So much, I hardly recognize the neighborhood any longer and if I didn't see the old street signs, I'd swear that I wasn't in the old neighborhood. One street that I travel on my route is now constructing the Last of the Mohicans. I use the James Fenimore Cooper narrative of the second book of the Leather Stocking Tales as a historical reference only. I counted the number of houses since the first one appeared on the street and the total is 34 homes. Now, an adjoining street has its first anchor on the corner ready to bulldoze more of the homes from when that neighborhood was new construction.
Calling these houses McMansions just do not even pay justice to the underscore of what is happening. In several cases---what has happened. Therefore, I have begun calling them Ronnie Houses. "There's another Ronnie House!"
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| A Ronnie House |
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| A Ronnie House next to what the neighborhood once was. To me, it's forced upon those that worked hard to have a nice home only to sacrifice it for those who want your trees that are fully grown and have their Ronnie House too! Every one is impatient---the developers to make more money and the homeowner who just can't wait 30-years for the neighborhood to mature. What pressure. |
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