Debunking the Objections to Smart Growth and Traditional Neighborhood Developments (TND’s)

October 11, 2009 2 Comments

I found a recent online editorial in the Lancaster New Era/Intelligencer Journal by Jeff Hawkes on “Smart Growth” very interesting.  Hawkes was writing about a workshop that he had attended recently that expounded on the virtues of “Smart Growth” and that Lancaster County needs to embrace this concept as it moves into the 21st century.  Overall I thought the piece was well-written and made a number of good points.  What caused me to sit down in front of my laptop and fire off a blog post was actually what was written after his editorial in the “Comments” section.

. . . and I quote:

“Smart Growth is dense development in townships that are not compensated by other townships for the havoc caused by traffic snarls, added services, and infrastructure needs, not to mention higher school taxes.”

. . . and then there was this little gem:

“ . . . don’t call it “Smart Growth”.  There is nothing “smart” about it, except for the folks to stand to profit off of the development. Its delusional to think that this type of development is in anyway “smart” in the long run, or saving farmland.  Continued development of this nature will bring the infrastructure of the county to its knees, and the taxpayers will be left to pick up the tab.”

Huh????????????

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Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Central Pennsylvania Construction and Real Estate But Were Afraid to Ask

September 4, 2009 1 Comment

The Central Penn Business Journal (CPBJ) just published its Fall “Construction & Real Estate” report.  CPBJ claims it’s the beginning of the end after more than a year in recession for Central Pennsylvania.  CPBJ focuses on why the construction and real estate industries are key economic indicators and what effect the federal government’s stimulus package has had on the mid-state.  You’ll read about companies that got creative to weather the recession and the state of our region’s commercial, residential and rental real estate markets.

Lots of good ‘stuff.’

Related articles of interest:
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‘Prevailing Wage’ Hurts the Building and Development Industries

July 29, 2009 Leave a comment

Image courtesy of LancasterOnline.com

I was flabbergasted this morning when I read an article on LancasterOnline.com about a local developer that is being forced to pay Pennsylvania’s ‘prevailing wage‘ because the project was receiving state grant money.  If you want to read the entire article you can find it here.  If you know anything about ‘prevailing wage,’ it adds approximately 37% to the cost of labor for a project which in turn drives up the overall price of the typical project by 20%¹.

When I look at a product or service and it costs 20% more than what the market is offering it for, I wouldn’t call it ‘prevailing,’ I’d call it ‘gouging.’  If you look up ‘prevailing’ in the dictionary you will find the following:

pre-vail-ing (adj.)
1.  Most frequent or common; predominant.
2.  Generally current; widespread.

Does any part of this definition of ‘prevailing’ fit ‘prevailing wage’?  The definition doesn’t say ‘take what is most common and add extra to it.’

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New Home Construction Ticks Up In June

July 18, 2009 Leave a comment

Are builders starting to hammer again?

Image courtesy of Flickr

After months of continually taking it on the chin, construction of new homes nationwide is showing signs of landing a couple of jabs of their own.  On Friday, the Commerce Department released new home and multi-family construction numbers for June which showed an increase of 3.6%.  This number is particularly impressive because the construction of multi-family units actually fell over 26% for this period which means that the single family homes‘ component had to carry the load.  Another positive sign is that applications for building permits, usually seen as a barometer of future activity, rose nearly 9%.

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It’s Here!

June 18, 2009 Leave a comment

Open for business!

Lancaster County Convention Center

Whether you were an original fan or opponent of the downtown convention center, it’s time to unite.  It is now officially open for business.  Instead of a vacant, aging monstrosity of a building on Penn Square; Lancastrians now have a beautiful, state of the art showpiece that we can now be proud of.  You can take a virtual tour of the facility by visiting their website.  The website also does a good job of promoting events and businesses in downtown Lancaster. Take the time to visit the facility over the next couple of days and welcome our newest resident to the neighborhood.
    
The following article appeared on LancasterOnline this morning:

Long Road to a Ribbon Cutting for Convention Center
$174 million project opens this week

For the Penn Square hotel/convention center, today is one part finish line, one part starting gate.

Developers and backers of the $174 million hotel/convention center on Penn Square this morning will participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony, one day before the center is scheduled to open.

Yet, while it may look like construction is complete and the lights are ready to come on — after a decade of legal fights, building delays and skyrocketing material costs — today’s event is merely another milestone.

What begins when the facility opens Friday is a 20-year effort to pay back debt and confirm whether promises of a successful lodging and meeting center will prove true.

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An Open Letter to All Lancastrians

March 25, 2009 Leave a comment

  
This coming May, the long-awaited Lancaster County Convention Center and 300 room Marriott Hotel will open their respective doors for business in downtown Lancaster.  Lancaster Online was given an exclusive tour of the facilities under construction recently that showed a virtual beehive of construction activity.

 
more about “Lancaster County Convention Center“, posted with vodpod

This massive endeavor has drawn equal parts praise and criticism since it was first proposed many years ago.  In fact, if you have kept up with the project as I have, you realize that the “Letters to the Editor” section in the Lancaster Newspapers explodes with comments the entire week after an article runs in the newspaper.  Opponents of the project have railed against the controversial initial studies that they claim were slanted and biased in addition to who was actually footing the bill for it while proponents of the project expounded on the economic benefits that they claim would follow once it was built.  In reality, just like any other divisive issue, the truth probably lies somewhere in between.

Well folks – - – the merry-go-round is about to stop!  It’s here whether you like it or not.  It’s time to unite.  Come the end of May, hop in your car or hit the shoeleather express and visit the facilities.  Walk the halls and admire the craftsmanship; have lunch in the restaurant; meet a friend for drinks at the bar; or just sit in a chair and look out over Penn Square.  Take the time to welcome the employees to their new home – - in Lancaster!

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NIMBY’s Gone Wild

February 5, 2009 Leave a comment

 

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Since I have been selling real estate, there have always been NIMBY’s (Not In My Back Yard) show up at planning commissions and protest against high-density developments based upon emotions gone wild instead of looking at the merits of the specific submission by the developer.  I am not naive enough to think that every proposed high-density development plan is manna from heaven.  There are definitely bad plans served up for our consumption.  But when a good plan is submitted and dismissed out of hand as the second coming of the devil, I feel I need to point out the fallacies of the NIMBY mantra.

Assumption #1:  Higher-density developments overburden public schools and other public services and require more infrastructure support systems.

The United States Census Bureau has determined that for every one hundred, single-family detached homes built, there are 64 school-aged children that live there.  Compare that number with 21 kids living in the same number of apartment units.  For some reason, people incorrectly assume that with an increase in housing units there is also an increase in the number of people who live in each unit.  In addition, by building more housing in a smaller area there is less need for lengthy water and sewer lines, expensive sidewalks and curbs, and linear feet of roadway.

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