Our house is a very very fine house.

House hunting, April 2000.

One was too small, a couple were too big, and this one was just right.  

A counter-offer had to be made right away, as the first offer came through an hour before our first view of this house.  The only question was the field behind the house – what would go in behind us someday?  We took a chance that whatever did go in wouldn’t decrease the value someday.

   

(Photo taken during December 2006 snowstorm #1.)

Present day (a.k.a. someday), August 2008.

We received a notice from the architects who have designed a five-story retirement and assisted living complex for the lot behind us.  While we’ve been accepting of the Sonic Drive-In and the Starbucks Drive-Thru, this is a little difficult to consider.   There are only a handful of structures in our city taller the four stories.  There is another large retirement, assisted living, and nursing home complex only a few blocks south of us.  While it is true that we have two grocery stores and a Walgreens within walking distance, the nearby intersections are quite busy at times and may be too difficult for an older person to negotiate.  

Needless to say, we’ll be fighting this the whole way from the first public meeting in a few days to the final approval if we must.

Posted on August 3, 2008, in House. Bookmark the permalink. 2 Comments.

  1. You should fight it. That’s too tall of a building. Who wants the old farts around anyway? I can say that because I’m an old fart.

    Reply
  2. Walking distance to Sonic? My cholesterol would go through the roof. Though my garden would appreciate the StarBucks coffee grounds.

    Is your opposition soley to the size and placement? Living in Florida surrounded by retirement communities and assisted living facilities (and a number of family members in them) I can understand that concern. But I guess I see that one can argue/ask for traffic control devices; lower speed limit, longer crossing signal times, et cetera. And a shorter, if more spread out, building.

    Maybe I’m just biased and used to it. I’ve got a few retirement homes in my neighborhood (converted residences) and the big mega-complexes a few miles away, plus a dementia center and a senior center going in. The dementia center makes me a bit sad – never any cars in the parking lot at any time of day, so no visitors. Maybe we should start visiting random people there.

    But the other reason I like the idea of living near centers (aside from the small possibility of needing to place a family member nearby) is natural disasters. If you’re on the same grid as some of those places, your section gets priority for restoration of power, it seems from our experiences.

    Reply

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