Old houses are being torn down and replaced in suburbs all over the country. But not everyone, especially the people being priced out of once-affordable neighborhoods, is happy seeing the past obliterated.
By Alan Greenblatt | Governing
Erica Hamilton’s street was a wreck this summer. All the asphalt was removed, leaving vehicles to churn up mud, as if the street were an off-road racetrack. Construction has become a given on Hamilton’s block in Edina, Minn., a suburb of Minneapolis. Modest homes constantly are being torn down and replaced with newer, larger, swankier houses.
Hamilton thinks it’s great. She views the hammering and mess as a short-term hassle well worth enduring in exchange for increased property values and a new set of neighbors. Hamilton has had two children since moving onto Halifax Avenue five years ago, and she loves the fact that other young families are buying here. “I’m seriously all for it,” she says. “I don’t think you could have this experience of families with young children, unless you drive far out.”
