Here's the Hess Triangle on Street View: https://www.google.com/maps/@40.733578,-74.00303,3a,75y,205....
Holdout
11–20 of 64 posts
Re: Holdout
#12Stories like this sometimes just break my heart. When you are at a certain age, money just doesn't matter any longer.
Although the world can't just sit here and stop development and wait for people to move on. I am always so torn on how to feel about these types of situations.
Re: Holdout
#13I've said it before, the 99percentinvisible podcast should be right up the alley of the hacker news crowd.
Definitely. Anyone reading this, go back and listen to the archives! They're 10-20 minute, well produced, interesting casts.
Re: Holdout
#14I remember when this was all happening with Edith. She was pretty much the only person in Ballard that didn't sell when offered.
Re: Holdout
#15My father (commercial real estate developer) has great stories about persuading people to not be the holdout. The most common objection is that they're older and moving is a major hassle, and the most usual way for resolving it is paying way above "going rates" for the property.
Interestingly, property owners theoretically can collude against a developer by sharing knowledge that the last person to settle has the best chance of getting a great deal, but that very rarely happens. Instead, most rush to sell quickly. (For obvious reasons, commercial real estate developers very rarely decide "You know where I'm going to make a mall? On top of 25 families' dream homes!")
Re: Holdout
#16I had Tibor Gergley's "Great Big Book of bed time stories". There is a story in it called "Make way for the thruway" by Caroline Emerson. It is about an old lady who refuses to vacate her house so that they can make a highway. It has a happy ending when sympathetic construction workers build the road around her house, and she becomes the famous old lady with the pretty house next to the highway.
My favorite quote:
"You'll be paid for your land," said Mike.
"Money isn't everything in this world," said the little old lady.
Aww, heck, you guys deserve the whole paragraph:
"You'll be paid for your land," said Mike.
"Money isn't everything in this world," said the little old lady. ...
Next day, the Big Boss drove to the old house. "I'm sorry, ma'am," he said, "this house must come down."
"Young man," said the little old lady, "I've lived in this house for seventy years. I watched those trees grow. I planted that rose bush. I'm not leaving."
"But the thruway must go through," said the Big Boss. "People want the quickest, shortest way these days."
"What's their hurry?" asked the little old lady.
The Big Boss shook his head. he didn't know.
...
(After the diversion has been built)
"Oh, look at the roses!" people cry as they drive by. They slow down a little to look.
"Hum," says the little old lady to her cat, "they're not in such a hurry, after all."
Re: Holdout
#17Stories like this sometimes just break my heart. When you are at a certain age, money just doesn't matter any longer. Although the world can't just sit here and stop development and wait for people to move on. I am always so torn on how to feel about these types of situations.
[deleted]
Re: Holdout
#18I had Tibor Gergley's "Great Big Book of bed time stories". There is a story in it called "Make way for the thruway" by Caroline Emerson. It is about an old lady who refuses to vacate her house so that they can make a highway. It has a happy ending when sympathetic construction workers build the road around her house, and she becomes the famous old lady with the pretty house next to the highway. My favorite quote: "Y…
Having a beautiful house right next to the highway is a lot noisier than my personal dream residence -- and less quaint when your entire neighborhood abandons you. Money isn't everything, but I can't help but feel she got the fuzzy end of that banana.
Re: Holdout
#19A more recent photo of Edith Macefield's house: http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/18uugtoshe2... Nice balloons. Won't quite lift the house up though.
On Google Maps https://www.google.com/maps/@47.662205,-122.375384,3a,75y,6....
A quick "drive" around the neighbourhood confirms what I saw in the aerial picture in the article: what appears to be another holdout:
https://www.google.com/maps/@47.662933,-122.375932,3a,75y,14...
Re: Holdout
#20I had Tibor Gergley's "Great Big Book of bed time stories". There is a story in it called "Make way for the thruway" by Caroline Emerson. It is about an old lady who refuses to vacate her house so that they can make a highway. It has a happy ending when sympathetic construction workers build the road around her house, and she becomes the famous old lady with the pretty house next to the highway. My favorite quote: "Y…
Having a beautiful house right next to the highway is a lot noisier than my personal dream residence -- and less quaint when your entire neighborhood abandons you. Money isn't everything, but I can't help but feel she got the fuzzy end of that banana.
Maybe she likes noise and hates people.