Friday, February 5, 2010

THIS OLD HOUSE ROXBURY SECOND EMPIRE

photo courtesy TOH website

This Old House is doing a Second Empire In Roxbury Mass. The duplex Second Empire was severely deteriorated and is the kind of house they would bulldoze In Cincy but there they are bringing it back and the home will be sold to to deserving families. You can follow the progression the This Old House website and of course the TV show:

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/tv/current-house-project


This project shows that even severely distressed property, in the worst of neighborhoods, can be restored and reused. the goal is to bring homeowners back into the neighborhood. Doing just one house on a block like this will have a dramatic impact on the entire neighborhood and bring others in. This approach works and why we can't get it right here in Cincinnati, baffles me.


You redevelop neighborhoods one house at a time, you bring new people in, you establish community.

You DO NOT redevelop neighborhoods by ordering houses vacant, Demolishing them and creating roadblocks to restoration and new people moving in.

1 comment:

Todd McFarland said...

I think I've seen every episode since 1979.

They really gutted this thing completely. I would like to see them put back some of the original trimwork. I pray they don't put cheap hollow core doors and whimpy moulding back in there.