Category: Demolition

Death comes for the arch-builder: Part 2, three wild speculations

14 March, 2012 (10:35) | Abutters, Bubier Road, Demolition, Housing, Land use, Law, Litigation, Local issues, Marblehead, Zoning |

By:David A. Smith   [Continued from yesterday's  Part 1.]   Yesterday’s post, on the imminent demise of the illegal home at 74 Bubier Road, featured three novel arguments advanced by Wayne Johnson as to why he shouldn’t have to tear down that house, despite 11 years’ worth of litigation saying he did.   Sources for [...]

Death comes for the arch-builder: Part 1, three novel theories

13 March, 2012 (09:13) | Abutters, Bubier Road, Demolition, Housing, Land use, Law, Litigation, Local issues, Marblehead, Zoning |

By:David A. Smith   Requiescat in pace   This story has a happy ending, with a home being torn down.    It took sixteen years for justice to wield her sword, but when she did, it was swift:   Marblehead (CBS Boston, February 21, 2012) – A longstanding feud between neighbors in Marblehead ended Tuesday [...]

The un-building of un-growing cities: Part 3, reusing the components

11 November, 2011 (09:00) | Cities, Cleveland, Demolition, Foreclosure, Homeownership, Housing, Innovations, Litigation, Rehab, US News |

[Continued from yesterday's Part 2 and the preceding Part 1.]   By: David A. Smith   Yesterday’s post reviewing a well-done and movingly photographed Washington Postarticle about the un-building of Cleveland brought the properties from dereliction to foreclosure and donation – but all that accomplishes is changing the ownership, and the ultimate value is created [...]

The un-building of un-growing cities: Part 2, revisioning the demolished

10 November, 2011 (10:41) | Cities, Cleveland, Demolition, Foreclosure, Homeownership, Housing, Innovations, Litigation, Rehab, US News | 1 comment

[Continued from yesterday's Part 1.]   By: David A. Smith   Yesterday we saw that, from a thoughtful if downbeat Washington Postarticle, in the un-growing city of Cleveland, some homes and streets and neighborhoods need to be un-built, which can be accelerated by fines and tax liens.   And if you don’t comply with the [...]

The un-building of un-growing cities: Part 1, condemning the unsalvageable

9 November, 2011 (11:47) | Cities, Cleveland, Demolition, Foreclosure, Homeownership, Housing, Innovations, Litigation, Rehab, US News |

By: David A. Smith   Counterintuitive as it may seem, property can have negative value – yet when it does, by itself it does not vanish.    [Cleveland photographs from the Washington Post article – Ed.] Photo credits – Michael S. Williamson / The Washington Post A house on Pontiac Street in the Cleveland area, [...]