3 thoughts on “is this our only choice for future development in chester county? if so, how depressing.”
Welcome to the asphalt jungle.
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And something just occurred to me. Don’t the high rental fees of the new apartments (this is I’ve heard to be the case at most if not all), along with the older, smaller bungalows, ranchers, etc. that are being knocked down to make way signal the potential for increased homelessness? Just another reason for me to ask why our townships and county supervisors have not taken a stronger stand against high density development…I guess they just figure we “common folk”/taxpayers will pay the cost in taxes for whatever problems this “building boom” causes? But who can attach a cost to the pain of not being able to afford a home? Who pays that? Am I wrong to look at California and see what’s coming to SE Pennsylvania?
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This new style of boxy apartment buildings is not just in Chester County. It is showing up across the country. You might have seen that Bloomberg did an article on it. These are going up everywhere, to the exclusion of most other styles because they are make with wood (aka ‘stick built’) which makes the materials cheap, the construction and easy and fast which keeps costs down. For younger professionals in growing cities like Seattle (or King of Prussia), these are desirable since they can’t afford or don’t want a single family home; this option gives them something shiny and new in the meantime. These buildings can be squeezed into smaller spaces too rather than needing large tracts of land for townhouse communities. Sometimes they’re built with ground floor level retail made of concrete; this is called 5 over 1, or one-plus-five.
Welcome to the asphalt jungle.
And something just occurred to me. Don’t the high rental fees of the new apartments (this is I’ve heard to be the case at most if not all), along with the older, smaller bungalows, ranchers, etc. that are being knocked down to make way signal the potential for increased homelessness? Just another reason for me to ask why our townships and county supervisors have not taken a stronger stand against high density development…I guess they just figure we “common folk”/taxpayers will pay the cost in taxes for whatever problems this “building boom” causes? But who can attach a cost to the pain of not being able to afford a home? Who pays that? Am I wrong to look at California and see what’s coming to SE Pennsylvania?
This new style of boxy apartment buildings is not just in Chester County. It is showing up across the country. You might have seen that Bloomberg did an article on it. These are going up everywhere, to the exclusion of most other styles because they are make with wood (aka ‘stick built’) which makes the materials cheap, the construction and easy and fast which keeps costs down. For younger professionals in growing cities like Seattle (or King of Prussia), these are desirable since they can’t afford or don’t want a single family home; this option gives them something shiny and new in the meantime. These buildings can be squeezed into smaller spaces too rather than needing large tracts of land for townhouse communities. Sometimes they’re built with ground floor level retail made of concrete; this is called 5 over 1, or one-plus-five.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-02-13/why-america-s-new-apartment-buildings-all-look-the-same