Quote:
Originally Posted by summersm343
I guess you missed the first sentence of my post:
I 110% understand that this would be a very, very controversial proposal.... and this is still a long ways off. I would say the rest of the area in every direction has to continue to develop and build out before this is even thought of.
It amazes me that you continue to argue with literally every single poster on this forum.
You're right, Philly is not the same as NYC or London, but we need to continue to improve in every way we can. Literally every neighborhood between Center City and Temple is rapidly improving except for Poplar and Yorktown. Eventually, development pressures are going to be too great for the PHA and for the owners of these homes to pass up.
These houses were built in the 90s, and eventually they're going to have to be replaced. The shelf-life of this product is not very long. By the time we hit the mid-2020s, we'll see where we're at with Callowhill/Loft District, Francisville, etc. The city may have to look at redeveloping this whole area though. When I started school at Temple in 2008, Yorktown wasn't half bad... now? It's falling apart. It's only a matter of time before the suburban shit-boxes in Poplar are doing the same. The crap to the East of the SEPTA tracks are in terrible condition too.
Imagine a whole neighborhood of mixed-use development, both market rate and subsidized housing, etc. Even a new SEPTA train station servicing the area.
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You're going to need quite the imagination to think THAT is where SEPTA would build a new train station.
Just like you need a healthy imagination to consider the houses in Poplar to be "shit-boxes."
I lived in one of those "shit-boxes" for years, right at 12th and Poplar - it was actually really nice. Maybe you don't like the style, but I had nice hardwood floor, more than ample power, with plenty of outlets in each room. When we bought the house, it had rental-grade kitchen cabinets, but we ripped them out and installed nice hardwood cabinetry. The only issue we had, really, was taking the time to mow our lawn. The central air & heat was effective and efficient, although by the mid-2000s, we did end up having to replace the fan in the condensing unit outside. I think I spent about $200 total and was able to do that work myself. Not bad for a, what, 15 year old HVAC system. We re-painted the porch about three years ago.
Most of the people in the neighborhood had replaced their shingle roofs by the time we'd moved in. Our was in decent enough shape that it wasn't really a bother. We eventually turned most of our back yard into a garden - with a shed for our tools and stuff. 3 bedrooms, 1300sqft, parking for two cars, modern construction and utlities, a fenced backyard, big tree-lined sidewalks, and friendly neighbors, a couple of blocks from the Broad Street Line? I felt like I was spoiled, but I didn't pay out the nose for the privilege.
You know what else? I couldn't hear my nextdoor neighbor through the walls. In fact, I would practice drumming in the basement, and several times over the years, asked if they were cool with it. "We can barely hear anything at all coming through."
But sure, call them shit-boxes. Keep proclaiming this idea that the neighborhood is not improving. Have I seen you at *any* West Poplar neighborhood meetup? Were you ever there during the quarterly cleanups in Carrie Turner park? Or are you just making sweeping generalizations based on classist assumptions?
I mean, if you're okay with courting controversy, it sure seems to me like the people getting upset about Nehemiah Poplar seem to have this notion that market forces will force lower-middle-class African-American homeowners out of a really great spot before they get too accustomed to comfortable living. So yeah, keep telling people they're PHA shit-boxes that need to be torn down. It's one thing to complain about the architectural choices made in the mid-90s, but your specific disgust at this particular neighborhood telegraphs something else entirely.
Are we done being controversial?
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