Tract housing for the rich?
I’m just not understanding who would want to live in one of those things, especially when they cost half a million each.
Nobody wants to live there, that’s the point.
But does anyone want to live in a $500K home squished up against another one, with a somewhat unusual architectural style? Sure, for instance the majority of residents of San Francisco.
Yeah, but from what I’ve seen, those homes in San Francisco are not hideous. There is a sane reason for them being there, and the architects did what they could within the budget they had at the time.
And by themselves, these mini-castles would not be so horrible. But that castle-like architecture was never meant for tract housing. I mean, an actual older tract house has far more charm than one of these castle-like things. Probably because they were not trying to be pretentious.
Well I didn’t really make it up. It was just in the original article.
When construction started in 2014, the Burj Al Babas was supposed to be a luxury residential retreat for wealthy investors from the Middle East.
I certainly don’t know enough about wealthy investors form the Middle East to say they would buy this or that, but… apparently neither did this group.
No, no. I’m not saying you made it up. My apologies if I gave that impression. I read it too.
My disbelief was in the fact that apparently there is such a thing as tract housing for the wealthy. Which just kind of blows my mind.
The fly-over video was surreal.
Oh I see what you mean. Yeah, I wouldn’t have guessed that either but… I’ve seen some really gaudy stuff from the people who claim to be rich. I suppose that can shift into housing too.
I would think of it less as housing and more like bulk money laundering opportunities.
My aunt bought a very nice (but small) house in an older Chicago neighborhood (same neighborhood I lived in as a kid), razed it, and built a giant McMansion on the lot. The yard is tiny because the house takes up like 90% of the lot.
Just to plug again: McMansion Hell is awesome.
The best part about this is that the way each home is situated on the lot, the Juliet balconies, presumably for a bedroom, would offer a view directly into your neighbor’s window only a few feet away, unless you were the last house on the end (front right side of the picture). Then the flyover video makes it clear that there are houses built with no view or landscape offset, making it so that many of them are surrounded on all sides by other houses only feet away…so EVERY view from every window/balcony is of someone else’s house/balcony. Thus not only is it hideous architecture, it’s probably one of the worst urban planning jobs in the modern world.
How the hell did that company ever manage to get investors to get this off the ground?
I guess this goes here, but might also fit in P&R: US deploying a new category of low-yield missile warheads.
They are called A Little Bit Pregnant.
This is standard practice in the Monterey, California area. Because of water limitations new homes are at a minimum, so people with money buy older homes in a desired area and this tear 90% of it down and build new. As a remodel you retain the water rights. We used to vacation in Pacific Grove and over the years probably saw this happen a dozen times.
It really is. I had run across McMansion Hell a while back (possibly through Qt3, I can’t remember), and wound up spending an entire evening there. Really good analysis, supplemented with some great photos of examples.
Thanks for the link to the McMansion site. That was very entertaining. I’m relieved to see my standard suburban cookie-cutter house is a solid 3, and thus well within the “Chill” spectrum. Further back into our neighborhood though are some homes that would rate a solid 5, and we’ve got a neighborhood of 8/9’s about a mile from us that some of my daughter’s friends live in. My mind boggles every time I drive through that neighborhood. What were these people thinking?
Let’s try scam and threaten William Webster. What could possibly go wrong?
If you are not handicapped, do not park in a handicap spot, especially if the Sheriff’s personal vehicle is parked directly behind you.
When a deputy tells you to move your vehicle because you are illegally parked in a handicap spot, do not exit the vehicle and run away.
Do not jump into someone else’s vehicle and tell them to you have warrants and need a ride- that person will probably tell on you.
Do not come to the Sheriff’s Office with a vehicle loaded with stolen merchandise and then do any of the above.
This handy tip sheet was sent out after Anthony Twyman, 35, and Kimberly Twyman, 31, did all of these things.
Guessing they were not on drugs because that would have made the list, so they’re exceedingly stupid. It never ceases to amaze.