This is both cities, right?
They have as much diversity as the houses in any other neighborhood. I'm actually impressed that the AgShacks aren't MORE cookie cutter.Picadillo said:
I think most of us understand reasons for replacing an older property with new. At issue is the repetition of these agshacks as the answer and their growing number. Little innovation and a "sameness" is settling in to our community.
When a house gets renovated and rented out, it's still a house. There's a chance that sometime in the future a family nay be able to call it a home. But when a house is wiped out and turned into a stealth dorm it is doomed to be nothing more than a multi-room rental. It will never, ever be a family home. So much for the notion of preserving neighborhoods.Belton Ag said:
The odd thing is that in these neighborhoods, much of the existing housing is already being used as rentals and occupied by students. I get the concerns, but the houses being demolished are typically decades old structures that wouldn't pass a building code in 2017 and are in desperate need of remodeling. So what you end up with is a nasty old house rented by students that gets replaced by a brand new house rented by students.
rsa said:When a house gets renovated and rented out, it's still a house. There's a chance that sometime in the future a family nay be able to call it a home. But when a house is wiped out and turned into a stealth dorm it is doomed to be nothing more than a multi-room rental. It will never, ever be a family home. So much for the notion of preserving neighborhoods.Belton Ag said:
The odd thing is that in these neighborhoods, much of the existing housing is already being used as rentals and occupied by students. I get the concerns, but the houses being demolished are typically decades old structures that wouldn't pass a building code in 2017 and are in desperate need of remodeling. So what you end up with is a nasty old house rented by students that gets replaced by a brand new house rented by students.
I understand what you're saying but there is a reality that we must face here and that's the proximity to the university plus the increase in the number of students plus the age of the houses in question means that these neighborhoods are forever changed and will never, ever go back to being a neighborhood full of "families." It happens in every town all over the country that neighborhoods evolve over time. If they were doing this in far north Bryan or far south College Station in neighborhoods where there is no demand for student housing you'd have a point, but the powers that be have decided that Texas A&M must increase enrollment and there must be a place to put these students. That means the neighborhoods surrounding the university are going to see an influx of students wanting to rent and the neighborhood demographic will be radically different from its past. Personally I'd much rather see a newer, nicer structure in place over an old, decaying rental home. Perhaps one of the changes I would ask them to make over what's currently being done is to require a certain percentage of the exterior of the edifice be covered by brick or rock instead of siding. Even James Hardie siding has a tendency to start to look worn after a short period of time if it's not painted constantly.rsa said:When a house gets renovated and rented out, it's still a house. There's a chance that sometime in the future a family nay be able to call it a home. But when a house is wiped out and turned into a stealth dorm it is doomed to be nothing more than a multi-room rental. It will never, ever be a family home. So much for the notion of preserving neighborhoods.Belton Ag said:
The odd thing is that in these neighborhoods, much of the existing housing is already being used as rentals and occupied by students. I get the concerns, but the houses being demolished are typically decades old structures that wouldn't pass a building code in 2017 and are in desperate need of remodeling. So what you end up with is a nasty old house rented by students that gets replaced by a brand new house rented by students.