Friday, March 28, 2014
Demolition Scheduled for House on E. Fifth Street in Media
The new owners who recently purchased the property on E. Fifth Street will be making plans to demolish the existing structure and replace it with a brand new house. The new home will architecturally reflect what is currently there now. Demolition to begin in a few weeks.
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As someone who bid on that house I am so sad to hear this news. The house required an inordinate amount of work but had the potential to be restored back to a beauty. What a shame. I cant imagine who would just knock it all down.
ReplyDeleteDid YOU even look inside the house? It had monster size rat traps in there and the walls are falling down! This house has to be torn down! What is sad is uneducated people making remarks about something they don't know anything about.
DeleteThis is complete eyesore inside and out. The closets are a foot deep. Thank God that the people who bought it are knocking it down. It needs to be gentrified, so it conforms. It would be cost prohibitive to renovate this house. Good for these people that bought this house that they want to tear it down and build a HOME! It is a beautiful piece of property that is overgrown and unkempt. I wish them well as you should to. Sorry you lost your bid, but I am glad to see Media cleaned up. The windows had BB Gun bullet holes in them and the list goes on and on. Be grateful the town is getting a clean up and embrace these people. Be thankful that people care enough to clean it up! I sure am! And to the person that thinks it could have been renovated, there is no way they saw the basement and the walls caving in! Move on and wish the new owners well.
What is a shame is that the house could be renovated to its original splendor! The new owners certainly have the means to renovate if they can tear it down and build new! Why would they claim to want to renovate then not follow through? I am sorry for the neighborhood that they are losing a classic gem in town.
DeleteIs it really in that poor of a condition? I hope they build the replacement true in nature, I have my doubts. Hopefully its not a brick facade half way up + mcmansion on the inside.
ReplyDeleteif they are rebuilding in the same style WHY are they tearing down the old one?
ReplyDeleteI have heard negative comments regarding the demo of this house. Some seem to think that it should not be torn down but rather be fully restored inside and out. This home has been abandoned for almost a decade. I haven't seen a blog post about the neglected run-down house being an eyesore. There was certainly enough time for those who would like to see this home remain an historic building for funds to be collected to purchase and make it as beautiful as it once was in the 1800's. People love spending other's money and have lots of opinions on what someone should do to this property. I am excited to see what the new owners have planned and to see life put back into this home!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. This house/property was legally sold to the new homeowners and it is their decision now to do what they feel is best, within our borough's codes. Anyone who wold rather it have been resorted: you certainly had the fair opportunity to outbid the current owners. I can' see how it is anyone's business to tell them they should restore the house rather than build it new. I certainly would not want anyone coming over to my house and telling me what to do with my house improvement projects. This plot has been an awful eyesore for a while now. I am glad to see that a new house will be built and the grounds will be tended.
DeleteI agree with avoiding the restoration. I just purchased my first home and it was built in Media in 1901. There's no way I could afford to fully restore this house and it's fairly small ( ~1400 sq ft ). It has MANY issues just from the construction style alone. Closets that are only 1ft deep, walls/floors/windows covered in lead-based paints, unlevel floors, improper wall locations/heights, asbestos wrapped ducts. I can't afford a full demo, but if I could I would easily take that route rather than fight against the construction flaws inside the house. Restoration is a slow, expensive and INCREDIBLY difficult path to take. If you need a place to live that meets modern standards, a demo/rebuild scenario is your quickest way to accomplish that.
ReplyDeleteI agree that they should try to keep the style similar to others in town, but then again this town was founded as a vacation area and not a planned community of McMansions, so really whatever style they pick will make sense. It could always be worse though; they could demo and pull a double wide onto it. How would people feel about it then? ;-)
I know the family that purchased the home. They are wonderful people who contribute a lot to the Media Borough community. They bought it with the intent to rehabilitate the home. I have seen both the interior and exterior and it if far beyond repair. The home is totally dilapidated with the ceilings falling, walls caving, foundation crumbling, brick turning to powder, wood rotting, and windows falling apart. It's a shame the seller's did not maintain the home better. If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at the seller's not the buyers.
ReplyDeleteProperty has been eyesore and a blight on this side of town. I too have seen the inside and outside up close and the house is WAY beyond repair. Nearly a decade of neglect took its toll as others have said. It needs to be taken down ASAP - thankfully the new owners are doing just that.
ReplyDeleteAn eyesore? A blight? Exactly what town do you live in?
DeleteI live in Media. And that place is
DeleteOvergrown.
Falling down.
A miserable hulk of a structure.
Draining nearby property values. Thankfully, it will be soon be GONE.
Draining property values? Homes like this keep the charm in Media.
DeleteYou're all ridiculous. This is not way beyond repair. Nothing is. And nothing you build in 2014 can match what was crafted in the 1800s. If you don't want to take on the task of an older home, then don't buy it. It's that simple. Please don't tell me that I would not "understand". I grew up in a late 1800's house with a dilapidated staircase and an original wood beam foundation that needed repair...nothing is a lost cause when it is history.
ReplyDeleteIf you feel that strongly about it, why not contact the owners and offer to buy it from them to maintain the historical "character" of that parcel. It's a great sign that someone is willing to invest that much money to be able to live here. Obviously, they have the means to live elsewhere, but they chose Media.
Delete...why is character in quotes? Do you not see the character, or do you not believe this house deserves that nod? Do you need some history on Victorian homes?
DeleteI agree, nothing is beyond repair. I'll bet Nicole Curtis could make it the most beautiful home on the block and true to origin!!
ReplyDeleteHmmm, that's genius! How much money do you think the DIY Network Series would give Nicole to do that project? My guess, $1.6M, not including the original structure of the residence. Do your homework people. This is not Hollywood, this is reality. I don't see anyone stepping up with $2M to renovate that home. I'm sure the new owners would love to take that offer. Maybe a producer from the DIY Network will take it on as a good will gesture, but not likely!
DeleteAnon (12:47pm)
ReplyDeleteYou must be living in a dream world. 1) If that's the case, there are plenty, and I mean PLENTY of nice homes down in Chester if you're so inclined to substantiate your theory. Hell, you could even get a waterfront view. 2) What you may like regarding a 1800's dwelling may not be the desire, or of reasonable costs for others. Seriously, how far do you take a project like this when costs are involved? $800,000? 3)Lastly, if you liked it, you should have bought it! That's how things work around here, at least until socialism takes over.
Love it and I'm glad to see they are doing a tear down and doing a rebuild. They paid enough money to do whatever they want on that spot. Not everyone who wants to live in the borough also wants to live in a dump. I hope this becomes a trend. The overpriced falling apart dumps in this town are beyond ridiculous. I'll have to wait until I can afford a tear down and rebuild before I purchase in the borough.
ReplyDeleteWhy is everyone so nasty? I love the you don't like it YOU Pay for it nanners. Be civil, that's half the reason the US is in decline...
ReplyDeleteGood point. Seems like a few hyper ex-debate team members in here....
DeleteI'm just happy to see that a single family home, although the new architecture won't be as attractive as the old, is going to replace a single family home. I'm sure the new house will be a great home for the new family. Unless somebody is trying to put up something high-density in place of single family and/or develop open space, I'm not going to judge.
ReplyDeleteFreedom. Live and let live. Otherwise buy it Yourself
ReplyDeleteI used to own a home like that 25 years ago. I put a lot of sweat and tears into it to make it safe. It was not enough. You never know how much damage can be behind a wall. Luckily for my house someone came along and did just that. You all should be happy someone want as to make a new home in lovely Media. I miss you town.
ReplyDeleteI would like to personally THANK the new owners for taking care of a neighborhood problem. Also thank Tedman for this blog - we have an excellent source of information! Next on the list are the dueling monstrosities at Fifth and Monroe... lets hope they too have a date with Mr.Wrecking Ball in the very near future.
ReplyDeleteWhat Dueling monstrosities?
DeleteWhen someone purchases a new home, it's theirs to do with it what they want as long as it is within the local codes. Although, when doing a tare down, it's wise to do your homework. In this case, hopefully the new homeowners already have the necessary approvals to do what they want. More importantly, I hope they notified and got approval from their immediate neighbors since they will be directly impacted. I bought a home in the same condition as this one in Bowling Green back in 2011. When neighbors heard it was going to torn down, we initially received the same negative comments as found in this thread. So, unlike some other recent tare downs in the area, we prepared plans, along with a construction schedule (that we followed to a T) and presented to all of the neighbors and got letters from them supporting our project. Then we got the necessary municipal approvals. It certainly made the whole process go very smoothly. Regarding economical sense, I do not know what the new owners paid for the house, but if the house is in a great location (location, location, location), sometimes spending over the local comps can be a great decision, especially if you plan on staying for a long time. Assuming they paid $300k, they can tare down and build a nice new 2,500s/f house for about $160/sf or $400k. Will they price themselves out of the neighborhood? Probably, but it'll be well worth it if it's where they want to be.
ReplyDeleteThere should be laws that require property owners to get a permit to do what they want with their own property.
ReplyDeleteI have been around home construction and renovations my entire life, only a hand full of times have I been in a house with this level of disrepair. It has been empty and the inside of the house exposed to the elements for almost a decade. There is a very evident mold and mildew problem, this can be noticed by the foul taste left in my mouth after walking the house. The second and 3rd flood aren’t safe to be on, every floor sagging, every ceiling falling down with water damage. The staircase going to the 3rd floor is fractured and leaning so bad you have to walk sideway to go up, the rear staircase doesn't even appear safe enough to traverse. The back half of the house looks to be cracking and falling off from the rest of the house. The list goes on and on..... To top all of that off the floor plan and lay out are not architecturally sound, everything is choppy and erratic. There isn't anything to renovate when you look at all the things that have to be completely replaced. The only thing left to reuse in the house are some cross members. It doesn’t make good financial sense renovate a house like that and still end up with something subpar. Someone who has the financial wherewithal to buy demo and rebuild doesn’t get to that place in their life making terrible financial decisions.
ReplyDeleteSome people like to talk about things others like to BE about things. I say bravo to the folks who bought this property and plan on building their dream home in a fantastic neighborhood.
What was the listing price for this house?
ReplyDeleteI would like to know what it actually sold for.
ReplyDeleteMy childhood home was in the same disrepair as this one is. My only option after my parents died was to sell it and let the new owners either repair or renovate it. I could not afford to do it, even though it really hurt not to be able to. I already have my own house and could not afford to take on the expense of repairing/renovating the old one. Neither did any of my siblings.
ReplyDelete