Before
After
The house was scapped off yesterday. A new $4m house will be built on the lot.
Archive for the ‘neighborhood’ Category
It’s Gone
Posted in neighborhood on July 2, 2017| 4 Comments »
Problems Of The Bourgeois
Posted in my life, neighborhood on May 16, 2017| 8 Comments »
The country is in the midst of what some are calling a constitutional crisis. This is nothing compared to the issues discussed at the recent homeowners meeting.
Neighbors of man who has a seven-bedroom house are furious that he is renting six of the bedrooms on Airbnb. The man has obtained the proper permits and is complying with the city’s short-term rental regulations. The neighbors want the covenants revised to forbid short-term rentals like Airbnb.
A real estate investor purchased a four-bedroom house which he turned into a rooming house. At times, there are eight cars, all with Oregon license plates, at the house. The house is not zoned for multiple long-term tenants. The executive board has turned this issue over to the law firm representing the neighborhood.
A woman who bought a two-story red-brick colonial presented plans to the architectural committee to replace the brick with stone. The surrounding neighbors are opposed to the plans because there are no all-stone houses in the neighborhood. The architectural bylaws do not allow manufactured stone so this will be a very expensive renovation.
The neighbors whose houses are adjacent to the six acre property owned by the rich guys are fed up with the endless renovations. To date, the guys have spent $75m renovating their 33,000 sq. ft. mansion and grounds. The latest project involves moving the in-ground swimming pool three inches because it’s not centered.
Two houses were recently burglarized. Small electronics were stolen at both homes. Neither owner had turned on their security system. One woman, whose house was burglarized, checked into a hotel for a week because she didn’t feel safe in her home. Say it with me, bitch please! Turn on your security system.
As you can see, a constitutional crises pales in comparison to the first world problems in my neighborhood
Out With The Old
Posted in neighborhood on March 6, 2017| 5 Comments »
This two bedroom, 2,000 sq. ft. house, sitting on a quarter acre lot recently sold for $980,000. The house, built in 1953, has been diagnosed with numerous code issues. The house will be scraped. The new owners have submitted two sets of off-the-shelf plans to the architectural review committee. Both sets of plans have been rejected for not being compatible with the other houses and architectural styles on the street. One would think that if the owners had nearly a million in cash to buy the house, and are planning to spend another three million on the new house, they could afford to hire an architect to design a house that will meet the architectural guidelines. Why would one skimp on architecture when one is building a high-end home?
Good Luck With That
Posted in my life, neighborhood on December 19, 2016| 6 Comments »
I attended a neighborhood holiday party on Sunday. The hosts live down the street from my house. They have three children in college. Their son is getting his PhD in mathematics at UT Austin, their middle child just graduated from NYU and their youngest is a junior at USC. Needless to say, they spend a fortune on tuition every year.
I was talking to their youngest child at the party. She’s clearly very intelligent. She’s getting a degree in sociology. She went on to explain her specific area of study. I didn’t understand half of what she said. I asked her what type of job one can get based on her studies. She didn’t know. She hadn’t thought about what to do after college because she has been so focused on her studies.
Does anyone see a problem here? Her parents are a lawyer and an accountant. This must be driving them crazy.
The Neighbors’ New Baby
Posted in art, my life, neighborhood on December 4, 2016| 3 Comments »
The neighbors, who are still renovating their house, have a new baby. Isn’t it cute? It should fit nicely in the new garage.
A few pictures from art night.
David Menard, who moved to Denver from London, combines many images of cityscapes into one picture which mounted on board and sealed in resin. $2,400
Custom made table from a reclaimed door by Matthew Shaw from Artzer-Shaw. $600
One Ends, One Starts
Posted in my life, neighborhood on November 8, 2016| 4 Comments »
The new neighbors are moving in next door. Fourteen months for a house remodel seems like a long time. The house was gutted to the studs so they essentially only kept the outside walls. The workmen are installing a new cedar fence today. Unfortunately, it’s too late to install the landscape. The old yard and plantings were scrapped off months ago. It will be bare dirt until spring arrives.
As one project completes another is about to start. A couple living two streets to the west have decided their house can’t be remodeled to meet their needs. They are scraping the house and starting over. Their mid-century ranch will be replaced with a mid-century modern inspired house. Construction never stops here.
Updates 10/23/2016
Posted in art, friends, my life, neighborhood on October 23, 2016| 3 Comments »
A few miscellaneous updates.
The buyers of Mike’s house around the corner are planning a whole house remodel along with the addition of a master suite. Here we go again.
Neil, who I have not seen in months, wrecked his three-month-old X6 BMW. He rear ended a parked car while texting and driving. The X6 has been totaled. Neil is physically fine put his pride is wounded.
Paddy and his boyfriend are spending the week end in Las Vegas with London. It’s a birthday celebration for London. They flew stand-by without a hotel reservation. I’m so glad I didn’t go with them.
Ski season is here again. A Basin opened on Thursday. Three thousand people showed up on the first day. Some waited in line for two days.
Cindi is contemplating selling her Coal Creek Canyon house and moving to Santa Fe when she finishes her business liquidation in January.
Mack got a job offer from an architectural firm. It’s an office manager position. He’ll start on November 7th. The gang is waiting for Mack to treat us to dinner and pay back his loans. None of us are holding our breath waiting for the dinner invitation.
Cindi and I had dinner on Friday night before hitting a few gallery openings. I didn’t see anything worth sharing.
I’ll close with a few more selections from Kathryn Oberdorfer’s offering at Spark Gallery. All are priced at $500.
