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I admire these guys .... but the smartest ones know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em. I got $300,000 to move several years ago, and now live in a much nicer place ... the terms weren't easy and it was hell to go through, but ultimately it was worth it. My parents got a nice sum for the building my dad ran his business from, when Rite Aid wanted the spot for a parking lot. But they dawdled in the process of getting out and it cost them.

For $300 million, I'd move in a heartbeat!

idiots.

A book on such cases in New York:
Holdouts! /Andrew Alpern; Seymour B Durst
1984
English Book Book xiii, 172 p. : ill. ; 29 cm.
New York : McGraw-Hill, ; ISBN: 0070013772 : 9780070013773

I work near that house in ballard, and my gym is in the complex that was built around her home....its a shame she passed on. i had heard she left the house to the construction worker in the article who used to bring her dinner. i hope he decides to keep it.

What an interesting post. Thanks!

The runway is only half usable because of their refusal to relocate. They are currently a literal stones throw away from the flight path and have to be lives an earth shaking experience.

What does this mean?

That first picture is so flipping cute.

Like PJ Clarke's in Manhattan...they will likely build AROUND that guy!

i go past the one in dc all the time; it still looks about the same. i don't think he's done anything with it. also, he was offered $3 million, not $300 million.

The one in DC is still not open: http://pqliving.com/?p=4532

The strangest part is that he'd refuse millions from developers and then open a chain restaurant.

they aren't idiots. developers think that money can change everyone's mind, but some people are very connected to their neighborhoods even as they are bought up bit by bit. A neighborhood is where a family who never could dream of buying a house owned their first home decades ago and passed it on, where they were batised, where important family events happened. I know change is inevitable but tearing down neighborhoods in the name of progress is not always necessary. See RootShock, the book by Mindi Thompson Fullilove for some examples of what happened when highways, etc, were constructed and families were forced to move.

*baptized

I walk by that house in Ballard all the time- cute, yes... silly, yes. I can't imagine that the property has any value anymore. It's not like you could really build anything else there!

i love those first two photos.

why are there balloons in the first picture? (Ballard/Seattle) is it supposed to be an ad for UP or something?

People can do what they want, but I think it's usually pretty dumb. Maybe even irrational. caiti points out that people have sentimental attachments to their neighborhoods...but neglects to consider that the actual neighborhoods to which these homeowners are attached are loooong gone.

I see homes where I live (Honolulu) that front the freeway with only a chainlink fence and a strip of road between them. I feel badly that those homeowners were never apparently given the option to be bought out despite the horrific 24-hour noise.

I live on the same street that i've grown up with, in 2 homes across the street from each other. Everything I am and have done is within the walls of these two homes and now my first place as an adult is right next to my childhood home.... I'd tear all 3 of these suckers down for the right price. I have absolutely no attachment to buildings.

I also drive by Edith Macefield's house (first pic) every day and my husband belongs to the LA Fitness gym / Trader Joes surrounding it. The Ballard neighborhood in Seattle was completely transformed during the housing bubble, and while the house will probably not be there forever the surrounding building's u-shape will be a permanent and refreshing reminder of someone who defied the developers that thought they could throw enough money at her to make her go away. And I agree, the pic with the balloons attached to the house is pretty darn cute.

if you'd like the whole story on #2 and not just that she held out for a pretty penny:

http://venture160.wordpress.com/2007/03/22/interview-with-chinas-most-incredible-holdout/

I understand that people, especially the elderly, don't want to leave the place in which they've grown comfortable, but is it really comfortable living in the midst of that kind of construction?

That second house doesn't even look habitable.

Not really quite on topic, but here's an amazing story about a dying girl wanting to see the movie Up:

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/pixar-up-movie-2468059-home-show

@ caiti, who said, See RootShock, the book by Mindi Thompson Fullilove for some examples of what happened when highways, etc, were constructed and families were forced to move.

There's a difference between those who are forced to move due to eminent domain, which is a federal, state, or municipal claim to private land for civic use (such as highways or utilities), and those who are paid to move by private developers who stand to make a substantial profit on their acquisition.

When land is reclaimed by the government, the owner has no choice but to leave and be paid the due compensation for its value. Private developers, however, have no legal favor in these situations. They make up for this by paying quite a bit more for your land than you would receive in an eminent domain claim.

It's sad if someone must leave their home because a railroad line is coming through their yard. I know I'd be quite upset. However, if a private entity gave me a million to get out of the way for their strip mall, I'd get over it in my beautiful new home. So, yes, I find these individuals somewhat ridiculous.

I always think when I see these little holdouts in the midst of big development - and there are a number of them in DC, including the one above, that I see all the time - that the architects, who always have to work with challenges, had to design buildings that were more interesting because of the holdouts. I admire the holdouts, although I'd probably take the money after a certain point.

This happened in Dublin in the 1980's an optician refused to sell for high rise offices, now lying empty. More recently in Scotland a farmer refused to sell his farm for Donald Trump to build a golf course. I admire these people.

It is better to be offered millions by a private developer than be given market value and forced out by the government. Eminant domain is just another example of how gov't continues to get bigger and bigger.

If you're familiar with the classic "The Little House," by Virginia Lee Burton, these pictures warm your heart. So pleased to see these people aren't letting the man get them down.

Sell, don't sell. Whatever.

I see nothing "heartwarming" about people who decide that no amount of money or change around them will make them move, just like I see nothing heartwarming about people who take the practical approach and sell their homes to make new ones somewhere else.

"Eminant domain is just another example of how gov't continues to get bigger and bigger."

Eminant domain has been around as long as the United States. It's in the consitution under the fifth amendment.

melonyjade, I also thought of The Little House - I think I still have a copy of it. It's so sad when the "last" of a certain area goes down. I grew up in Santa Clara where one by one the beautiful orchards were bought out by foul technology companies. There's a VHS video from 1960 called Valley of Heart's Delight that shows the beautiful area pre-"Silicon Valley", but I think it's only at the San Jose Library.

Ridiculous

ECB - Yes.

People are mistaken in thinking they "own" their land. You own the right to USE your land. Not the land itself... therefore, eminent domain.

So, those who follow my blog have been hearing about all these great salvages I have been getting. Antique doors, windows, lumber, the works. It is all part of a highway being built and the old houses (nothing historic, just old) are being torn down.

I am a historic preservationist, and so I want to see the materials being put to good use. Else they get bulldozed and burnt.

Houses with historic significance should always be moved. Some barns and buildings are being moved as a result of the highway project. Anything else should be salvaged, at a minimum.

Oh, take the government's first offer. They only go cheaper if you try to negotiate for more.

http://cottageofstone.blogspot.com

I'm too cheap to hold out when big bucks are offered.....but you gotta hand it to people who stand their ground. (no pun intended!)

to echo pixie's comment, i lived in DC for three years and came to love many of the architectural hybrids that develop all over the city from what i assume are similar situations, as well as vigorous landmarking.

strikes me that most neighborhoods throughout the district have some kind of weird commercial-building-growing-around-a-brownstone. always seemed strangely organic to me...kind of like trees that grow around abandoned cars or bikes.

Eminent domain is increasing used by governments in the US for commercial development purposes, not just public good such as building highways. Governements justify these actions saying the 'economic development' of the area is for the public good.... so after using eminent domain to force private owners to sell, the land is then available to be leased/sold to commercial developers to build a hotel, parking lot, whatever. (Which really seems wrong. If it is for commercial purposes, then the developers should be forced to negotiate the sale with individual, and if it is cost prohibitive, find a different site.)

Here is a story about a recent high profile case in San Diego, where the owner ultimately was forced to sell. The proposed hotel hasn't been built so far, and it's a parking lot. Seems a shame. Google search will give lots more details on this instance, and others like it.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20050612-9999-1m12havana.html

Reminds me of the old Bugs Bunny cartoon "No Parking Hare"...

Er, why are people ranting about eminent domain? This post is about people refusing to sell to commercial developers, not the government.

though it is, of course, good to know when to give up, I do admire these people to a certain degree. just imagine if more of the neighbors also took a stand-- it might lead to one less tacky strip mall. I think that the people are also saying that *they* can't be bought more than that they simply don't want to sell their houses; they want to put the message across that shoving large sums of money at people does not necessarily mean you get your way.

This is in Pittsburgh....it's a Google Maps streetview of two homes surrounded by parking lot. The view is from the back of the homes because I couldn't show the size of the parking lot, otherwise.

http://tinyurl.com/kqxrtw

slowdown - the case I linked to is about a person who was refusing to sell to commercial developers, but was then forced out using eminent domain. This is a better synopsis of the case: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20051029-9999-7m29domain.html

I've moved too often in my life to understand the attachment to a building, even if you call it home.

Sure, SanDiegoAT, but again, none of the people listed in this post were forced out by the government under eminent domain. I don't see how bringing up those other cases is relevant to this post (unless you think ED is something that will happen to everyone who holds out against commercial developers).

btw: that last picture wasn't very clear.... hard to see what was what

i'm all for anyone who is willing to stand up to developer giants putting up huge anonymous structures and mcfranchises

#2 has great courage!

slowdown - From the linked articles, the second woman listed in this post (Chinese woman with the 'moat' around her property) was apparently forced to settle by her government, so some form of eminent domain was used.

Even without that, seems everyone's comments to this post are still relevant... and it seems many people saw the connection between sales for commercial development and eminent domain, even if you didn't/don't.

(unless you think ED is something that will happen to everyone who holds out against commercial developers).
That is pretty much the point of the linked articles and the case they discuss. It doesn't mean it will happen to everyone, but using eminent domain is a growing trend to force holdouts to sell for commercial development (as noted in the linked articles).

I wish we had more people like this. Too many wonderful properties have been lost in the face of careless development.

There's no place like home!

I do understand what it's like to have an attachment to a building, if you have lived there all your life. Not everything in this world is about money...believe it or not some people wouldn't know what to do with the millions offered to them, and would rather stick to the comforts that they know, and there is nothing wrong with that. Love this post!

I realize it's hard when a home has been in a family for generations and generations... The money might not mean anything to you... But are you really going to enjoy your quality of life as much if you have to drive all the way through an airport to get to your home? Or you have to listen to constant pounding from construction as they build a high rise around your home? Not to mention you aren't going to have much of a view after that! And the lady in the 2nd picture wasn't trying to keep her house... she just wanted a comparable sized property in the new development they were making, but they just wanted to give her money... so she obviously wasn't that attached to the actual building itself.

It all depends on the person... if the comfort of your own home is worth it to you then that is great, I think they are amazing and slightly crazy for being able to withstand all of the chaos... I definitely couldn't do it!

There is a delightful Australian movie on the same topic too, it's called "The Castle". I'm not a native Aussie so only recently watched it, but apparently it's become a very famous film here in Australia, though sadly not too well-known overseas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Castle_(film)

There is a book i read as a child about a cottage that a city grew up around. I was always so impressed with the little house that stayed right where it was.

Oh here's the book!

http://www.amazon.com/Little-House-Virginia-Lee-Burton/dp/0395181569