Denver-Colorado people neg reaction to new construction (I don't get it) (Colorado Springs: 2015, lease)

[Mach50]

Something I don't get about Denver and Colorado in general is that people complain about growth and change yet want all the things that the new age brings...

For example the build out of Cherry Creek North:
EXCLUSIVE: Cherry Creek space to be demolished for office-retail complex - Denver Business Journal

Receives comments like:

Does the construction never end in Cherry Creek? How can anything survive over there when it is so unpleasant to actually have to get around the streets and find parking.

Why?????? Is anybody in charge the of the planning of all the construction (or destruction) in Cherry Creek?? Look at all the office space that is vacant---and they want to build more? What about the buildings that they're building now- are they all leased? Does anyone care about the small businesses that are suffering???? STOP- GIVE IT A REST

Agree-parking currently is a nightmare. What will it be like when all the 1 & 2 story buildings have been replaced with 4 or more stories. Much worse, I'm afraid.

Same thing occurs in the Ski towns like Breckenridge, people complaining about it becoming commercialized and congested because of a few lodges being built along peak 7 and 8. Oh but they love the new runs on Peak 6 being opened...


Do people not get it that if you want 1st class jobs, shops, condos, restaurants, nightlife, concerts, and new urbanism that the landscape will change to that demand?

Perhaps a weak correlation to the mindset of the 1976 Olympics rejection... IDK but it appears to be engrained here. I have never seen a place so against building. Has that always been the culture here?

[Count David]

Probably. If you ask me, most people here would like things back the way they were from 1970-1995.

I generally don't like new construction SFR's, mostly because of the way they're built (sprawling developments). I have less of a problem with scrapes, as long as they're done tastefully. I don't give a crap what condos and office buildings look like, nor their age.

In the end, there will be (and are) more of us, and less of them, so the predominating more forward-thinking mindset will win out.

[davebarnes]

Not a uniquely Colorado reaction.

Everyone wants:
Zero inconvience
Same charming neighborhood as before
All the crap removed invisibly
Better, more attractive amenities
Affordable housing, but no unsightly poor people
Trendy restaurants that sell food at the same prices as the dumps they replaced

The extreme version of this exists in New England.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

Not a uniquely Colorado reaction.

Everyone wants:
Zero inconvience
Same charming neighborhood as before
All the crap removed invisibly
Better, more attractive amenities
Affordable housing, but no unsightly poor people
Trendy restaurants that sell food at the same prices as the dumps they replaced

The extreme version of this exists in New England.

+++

[headingtoDenver]

Everybody wants what they want and everybody doesn't want what they don't want, if that makes sense.

***general mindset of some people
For instance, if you want to buy a new condo, you want them to build a new row of condos which you promptly buy. I don't want a new condo so I complain about them building new condos because it will ruin the view from my existing condo. Of course, now you have your new condo and you join the ranks of those complaining about the building of further new condos, because it is now ruining your view or causing more congestion or whatever.

Basically, damned if you do and damned if you don't.

[lurtsman]

Originally Posted by headingtoDenver

Everybody wants what they want and everybody doesn't want what they don't want, if that makes sense.

***general mindset of some people
For instance, if you want to buy a new condo, you want them to build a new row of condos which you promptly buy. I don't want a new condo so I complain about them building new condos because it will ruin the view from my existing condo. Of course, now you have your new condo and you join the ranks of those complaining about the building of further new condos, because it is now ruining your view or causing more congestion or whatever.

Basically, damned if you do and damned if you don't.

When buying a house I had to look carefully at the areas and what could be developed in those areas.

One thing I got wrong was the city zoning. The developer a couple years later decided to violate the contract with the neighborhood and petition to rezone the area and build something else. The city went along and dismissed several letters from concerned home owners. This is in Colorado Springs. They covered up the mess and just went on. I wanted everyone involved fired and tried for public corruption because I believe there was bribery going on.

Basically, if you want to be safe about protecting your view, buy where everything is already developed so it will be extremely difficult for someone to come in and destroy the view. I was lucky and don't live right next to the area that was being developed in direct conflict with the existing contracts, but I could have fallen victim to believing that city officials would do their jobs and enforce the contract.

PS. I'm in the minority here because I don't mind the development new SFRs. I remind myself that people want to live in them and it is the development of those SFRs that meets new demand for SFRs. If noone was constructing them, the supply and demand equation would shift and I wouldn't have been able to afford a home. However, I think there is some conflicting ideas on affordable housing. I want people to have access to homes that can be afforded by two adults working minimum wage. I don't want trailer parks, not even a single one. Two people making min wage and spending 30% of income on housing can afford 9,600/year or 800/month. Assuming 200/month towards taxes and insurance, the couple could carry a mortgage of 125.6k (30 year, 4% APR). That's enough to buy a fairly decent condo in Colorado Springs, so IMO we have affordable housing.

[denverian]

I love all the new construction and further densification/urbanization going on in Denver And I love what's going on in Cherry Creek. Amazing how it's changed.

I think Denver hit a threshold recently where some people who've lived here their entire lives suddenly looked around and didn't like what the see. Of course the alternative is that the city doesn't grow and that's certainly not a good thing. But I like all the new buildings going up downtown and the new dense development around all the new light rail stations. I prefer living in a dense, more compact city where you can get to "nature" within a half hour drive (more like European cities) rather than extreme suburban sprawl like you find in Houston and Atlanta.

[AmFest]

Who cares?

Haters gonna hate.

[Mach50]

Originally Posted by AmFest

Who cares?

Haters gonna hate.

It's just odd that people complain about an urban area getting more urban. I guess I have never seen people complain about an old office building being replaced by a new office building.

I find many people here to be very resistant to any kind of development.

[headingtoDenver]

Originally Posted by lurtsman

When buying a house I had to look carefully at the areas and what could be developed in those areas.

One thing I got wrong was the city zoning. The developer a couple years later decided to violate the contract with the neighborhood and petition to rezone the area and build something else. The city went along and dismissed several letters from concerned home owners. This is in Colorado Springs. They covered up the mess and just went on. I wanted everyone involved fired and tried for public corruption because I believe there was bribery going on.

Basically, if you want to be safe about protecting your view, buy where everything is already developed so it will be extremely difficult for someone to come in and destroy the view. I was lucky and don't live right next to the area that was being developed in direct conflict with the existing contracts, but I could have fallen victim to believing that city officials would do their jobs and enforce the contract.

Wow, that's a really crappy situation to be in. It sounds like somebody definitely got paid.

When we were house hunting 1 1/2 years ago, we did the same as you. We looked in areas where nothing would change around us except for trees. We live in Castle Rock which has a lot of development going on, but in our particular neighborhood, there is no construction and everything is done around us. The views we have within the neighborhood should outlast us which is what we wanted.

There is current development for new shopping centers all over and locals are complaining about CR losing it's small town feel. I personally welcome the new shopping because it shows growth and will bring new jobs into the area. We still have our quaint little downtown area, but the growth shows that people love being in CR and they want to move here.

Unfortunately, in a downtown environment, this is tough to do. The building across the street could easily be leveled and then a new taller building could be built and there goes your view. Of course that is the chance you take living in a downtown environment.