Posted on 09/29/2004 1:40:25 PM PDT by Constitutionalist Conservative
The Maryland orchard farmer and his family have owned their parcel of land in Southeast Washington since before the Great Depression and lease it to an auto repair business.
The retired Army sergeant major bought his 19th-century house in the same neighborhood six years ago for $161,000, thinking it was "a nice fixer-upper" to settle down in. Since then, he has spent about $50,000 on renovations. Nearby, a Fairfax hospitality company has owned a square block for more than a half-century. During those years, it has been the site of the company's largest warehouse.
Those property owners are among the more than two dozen individuals and businesses that control the 20-acre site on the banks of the Anacostia River where the city wants to build a baseball stadium. And the District government will have to negotiate with them during the coming months if Major League Baseball decides to move the Montreal Expos to the nation's capital.
A preliminary list prepared by the administration of Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) shows that the four square blocks needed for the ballpark are composed of 65 parcels of land owned by 28 individuals, businesses, limited liability companies and trusts. [...snip...]
Most of the dozen property owners interviewed last week said they are reluctant to sell their holdings but think they are somewhat helpless and resigned to having to do so if Washington gets a baseball team. They said they would try to negotiate the best price for their land, aware that the District has limited resources and is prepared to use the right of eminent domain to force a sale.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
a retired sargeant major buys 161K and spends another 50K?
somebody isn't telling the whole story here...
there isnt any if about it...DC is getting the Expos....
how does a retired CSM afford a 19th century house anywhere near DC???????
$50,000 will get you a new kitchen, new siding, and a new roof.
The area where the stadium is to be built is an unbelievable dump.
I've been around there and I actually can't remember there being any actual houses/apartments there; it's a succession of asphalt plants, auto shops, junkyards, etc...a short walk from the US Capitol...embarassing to the whole country having it that close to the center of the capital of the most powerful nation on earth.
so if it is such a big SH!THOLE, whats the big deal with this thread?
the ball park just might rejuvenate the area like Camden Yards did to the inner harbor in Baltimore....
What is wrong with the RFK stadium site?
i don't think sargeant majors in the army (do we even HAVE that rank?) earn enough to qualify for that amount of mortgage, let alone retired ones.
and your mortgage figures are way off - you're not including tax/insurance escrow, etc.. i bet the monthly on the 161k is closer to 1.5k when you let reality enter the pic. the 50K mortgage for the repairs is probably another 500 per month. that's a lot for a guy on a military pension.
my guess is that he's been rather successful since his army days and that the reported conveniently neglects this in order to garner more empathy for the guy.
that said, the concept of driving people out of their houses for recreational purposes is abhorrent to me. In CT they think that the public good is determined by who can pay the most taxes on a piece of land - and the owners dont' really count. they're trying to evict families in order to turn the property over to a major pharmeceutical company. that is just plain wrong if ya ask me.
Capitalism at work is "embarassing" and shouldn't exist in DC?
What is wrong with legitimate business engaged in legitimate commerce and paying taxes?
My in-laws paid 20 thou for a house in Arlington in the 60's. If they still had it today it would easily be worth 300 thou. Maybe this guy has had D.C. real estate for awhile, sold it and bought this?
Ok, so lets build a Cement plant on the National Mall...maybe the lawn between the Vietnam Memorial and the Washington Monument. It's wasted space, right?
That's illegal. Eminent Domain cannot be used as a safety valve by The State simply because they lack the funds to fairly compensate those who are willing to negotiate. And especially NOT for a stinking baseball stadium.
well if that was in the post then I could understand that...as stated, I have no idea how this guy is doing it...maybe the VA loan, but where the hell did the other 50K come from?
Besides, can you even get a house cheaper than $160K these days?
And further besides, who cares where the guy gets his money from?
believe me, if it is where I think it is (Southwest DC), then it is an amazing dump....hell anything not South of DC or northwest of DC is a hellhole anyway....
The retired Sergeant Major is getting between 50-80% of his military pay as a pension, over and above any other income sources. Probably at the higher end.
It's probably worth over half a million bucks at the moment, and would have been worth more until this baseball thing came along.
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