The Express-Times has a story today about the Ranch House on the corner of Schoeneck and East Lawn Road in Upper Nazareth Twp (read it here).
In short, plans to open a restaurant there have been put on hold by the property owner and as the building is not in immediate danger of falling down, there is no way to make the owner improve the look of it.
7 comments:
He should either sell the property or at least raze until he decides what to do with it. If he doesn't want to do anything, I'm all for the the township or the school district taking it via eminent domain.
I agree-it is quite an eyesore!
Well, he should think about what he is doing, we all know who he is now and if he gets too many of us annoyed he can kiss his business in this area goodbye.
Who is he kidding about the economy? He said the economy is down? Is he a democrat running for president or something?
I think the township CAN do something if they want to. I would think it is attracting rats and other disease spreading animals.
Last time I checked, this is still America. If you think you can force a property owner to make his home more attractive in appearance, then prepare to have someone force you to do so as well. So long as a property violates no health codes and complies w/ local ordinances, you can't force people to make their property look pretty for you. And yes, Tatamite, the economy is slumping, especially real estate.
Bernie, I am honored to have you respond to my post,(honestly), i very much enjoy your blog. I do think you can probably outwit me in a conversation,but I think you misread this. On the issue of the dilapated Ranch House, I never said that I wanted something done because of appearances. I DO think there are health and safety issues related to the property, but in the end I dont live near there so its up to those residents to complain if they want, otherwise I have my own local problems like having the skate boarding ban in Tatamy repealed!
The economy is not slumping. It has turned back a bit, but if you look at it longer term than 1 year, or all the market segments, the economy is strong. In fact, according to the National Restaurant Association, Pennsylvania will see an increase of 4.1% in revenue in sales in 2008. This growth, according to them, is mainly the result of Americans looking for alternatives for prepared meals in their ever increasingly busy lives.(http://www.restaurant.org/pressroom/pressrelease.cfm?ID=1536) Real Estate was bound to slump, and anyone listening to the experts was ready. We could argue this all day, but I think in general to say the economy is is slumping is like saying that there is global warming this year, too small of a period of history is being analyzed.
I think the owner of the ranch house is using the economy as an excuse, and I found it a ridiculous one, hence my post. The population density for his restaurant in that area is maximized. THere is not much growth that can happen within a 5 square mile radius of the old ranch house, so blaming a slump in real estate again, is not true. Who knows maybe he believes this is the case, but its not factual.
Tatamite,
Thanks for the nice words, buit they are not necessary. The leading indicator of our economy's general health has always been the real estate market, which drives so much else here locally. That market has been in the tank for over a year. In addition, foreclosures are at record high levels. Today's MC has an account about the blunders made by some of our biggest developers. Lou Pektor, the biggest local developer, has just given a deed in lieu of foreclosure because he can't make payments on a $2 MM mortgage on a 75 acre tract in Bushkill. Given this economy, Bruno is wise to wait.
Again, in a very general sense, the economy may be very much influenced by the real estate market, I am not denying that. BUT i dont think its related to any wise decision Bruno would make on opening a new resteraunt. It is probably more like there are already 4 "fancy pizza joints" in the area, and my guess is that he doesnt think the timing is good because he would not do well, irrespective of the economy. The only thing i can think of is he bought the property pretty much at the prime peak and now its dropped so this is probably affecting his cash flow and credit. Maybe he was hoping to have it taken from him like the Calandras had their property seized by the school district (in America yet these thinkgs happen!!!)
He already owns the property, Building a new structure on something already owned is actually an advantage in the lagging real estate market( builders are needing work).
Again, another article I read a couple days ago was kind of repeated by CNN:
http://money.cnn.com/2007/12/12/news/economy/restaurant_association/index.htm?postversion=2007121210
Enough said i guess, we could argue this all day.
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