What are your thoughts on the "numbered streets"

[Phruppel]

What can you tell me about the old seminary building at the old-old IFHS location on 7th St.?

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by Phruppel

What can you tell me about the old seminary building at the old-old IFHS location on 7th St.?

It's been a white elephant for years and years now. I haven't passed by for some time, but the last time I heard, there were some plans to turn it into either a cooking school or a beauty college (or maybe both?)

I can't remember the details, and it's been a few years since the announcement.

The building is old now, and probably has some real substantial problems that would be expensive to repair/restore/ replace.

I don't know who owns it now, or what its being used for, but anything but residential use is problematic, as there's no dedicated parking for the building. The swimming pool may have enough parking lot to make some commercial use possible, but some kind of agreement would have to be reached with the city to allow the use of the parking lot across the street.

I suspect that, given the location, the old seminary is more likely to go derelict than be restored, but that could depend on the neighborhood; there is definitely a move toward new creating downtown living spaces going on, and the 7th st. location is very close and has very good access to downtown. i can see how an entire block of old, relatively worthless old houses could be demolished and be renewed as residential apartments all around that location in the future.

Maybe the old seminary, if it's still sound enough, could become a trendy urban coffee shop/ convenience store/ boutique in the future; it does have a handsome art-deco front and lots of good windows, so it could become a central meeting spot for a resurrected neighborhood that surrounds it.

[banjomike]

I thought this old thread from 2017 deserved to be bumped. For a slightly different reason than the one the original OP started it.

The fever of building new construction to meet the demand has cooled this year. Houses new and old are still selling, but the sales are now coming slower than last year, when houses were being sold so fast realtors didn't have the time to put up a For Sale sign. I've seen several of those signs in front yards lately, all over my older neighborhood.

So obviously, there are some buyers who are still willing to buy older homes. Financial deals are still being made. The present buyers appear to want to live in mature neighborhoods right now. (To me- I really don't know if I'm correct or not.)

But if I had the financial ability to build a new house right now, I would go looking for an old unkempt house in one of the numbered streets as the place to build it. I would demolish the old house, and build new on the lot, keeping as much of the original location and foundation of the old house as possible.

There are a lot of very excellent lots on the numbered streets. The numbered streets are all nicely shaded, and are mostly very peaceful and quiet and well-kept generally, with good access to elementary schools, and have lots of small parks.
The city has overhauled many of the sewer, water, and other connections in some of the numbered streets, simply because the old ones wore out. The neighborhoods are still good and central, and all the thoroughfares surrounding them have been improved, so it's still very easy to go downtown or uptown living in the numbered streets.
The numbered streets all now have the city's optical cables, offering the best internet connections a person can have here.

Demolition would not cost more than purchasing a new lot that was just graded and developed for residential use. Except in a few instances, where the lot is so great it's worth more than the house on it. There are a few of those.

There are quite a few homes on the numbered streets that have a lot that's twice as big as the others on the block. I think it could be possible to cut a deal with the present owner for one of those lots, as they would be perfect for a new home that's around 1,000 sq.ft. more or less.

Most lots though, are in the same condition as the homes. If a house is derelict, the lot will be too, except for the trees and shrubbery that takes decades to grow. But those derelicts still offer larger size, more privacy and quiet, and are real good opportunity to create some beautiful landscaping to match the beauty of a new home.

At a relative bargain, but with more sweat equity (or a bit more money, saved for lot improvement in the plan).

It's the difference between taking what I can get, or getting what I want the most in a new home for me.