[Note: Blog posts are an ongoing series where EEMA members explore their personal views and experiences relating to issues of development and community organizing. While the general spirit of the postings may reflect the opinions and work of EEMA the views expressed have not been reviewed or agreed to by the group as a whole.]
213 Ella street was once a 3 bedroom family home. Now its an 8 space parking lot.
In 2008 the family which had occupied it for 20 years lost the home. Five months later US Bank, the property’s trustee, sold it for $18,500. The new owner demolished the house. In June the owner requested, and was granted, the city zoning boards permission to turn the property into a parking lot.
Initially, it looked like the owners were trying to rent the spaces out to medical employees. More recently the lot has been further developed as parking for those renting from Rinaldo Property management. Whatever the case, from a purely profit perspective it’s a pretty good deal for the new owner. Whether through direct income or as leverage for higher rents the owners will book a tidy profit in a couple years time. There’s little upkeep required and little capital was needed, at least compared to building a new home or rehabbing one that had clearly fallen into disrepair.
From a neighborhood perspective however it’s hard to see this as anything positive for the larger community. We need more green open spaces, not asphalt lots. The destruction of housing reshapes the residential nature of streets and often attracts further lots and commercial development. Children play in the alleys around those streets and more drivers, especially those unfamiliar with the area, increase the risks of accidents.
From a safety perspective there’s additional concerns when you have absentee owners of any kind. The sidewalk in front of the lot was not shoveled throughout the weeks of devestating snow in the big 2010 storms. As late as the beginning of March it was covered with ice and was one of the few hazards in the immediate area.
Furthermore, is there even a need for more parking space? Few residents in Bloomfield complain about inadequete street parking. For paid parking, the City run lot on Taylor is hardly ever full during the day. Even near the hospital there is available metered parking a couple blocks down Penn Ave. Another building off Friendship Ave has also recently been turned into a small lot. The Children’s hospital has a 800 space lot just for employees. If there is a vast uptaped market for parking perhaps we should look to Shursave, which seems to have dozens of extra spots on a daily basis.
Some would likely respond “It’s just one house. What’s the big deal?”
It’s true that in the scope of recent and ongoing development perhaps one house that becomes a parking lot isn’t the biggest deal. It is simply an interesting example of the sometimes unexpected ways that large-scale development can fundamentally reshape the environment of neighborhoods, even ones such as Bloomfield that are economically stable. It’s also a portend of things to come as development accelerates and a cautionary tale that it’s important for residents to organize to ensure that our voices are heard throughout that process.
By Jack D.
