Chuck Norcutt wrote:
> That's because they all fell down and had to be demolished and cleaned
> up. :-)
>
Ha, ha! But no, because the land is too valuable to lay fallow. When we
left our old headquarters in an old industrial part of Oakland next to
the produce market, our building, once a grocery warehouse and
production facility, later converted to offices, was soon gutted and
converted into loft/condos. New loft buildings were built on our old
parking lots and also replaced old meat packing plants, bag factory,
stationary warehouses, etc.
Plans for a huge redevelopment of an old dock and warehouse area nearby
are being argued about and it looks like highrise development of an area
of West Oakland that wasn't safe to visit not long ago has lost - for now.
The produce market will either be spruced up or replaced soon, I think.
The area where I worked for 25 years is almost completely
unrecognizable, although Ben's hole in the wall Chinese restaurant
between two produce wholesalers is still serving out of this world
Singapore style noodles for now. Open from four in the morning 'til lunch.
It's about a toss up whether the place where I live is worth more with
my house on it or as bare land. Worth more to me with a roof over my
head, though. If I recall correctly, my grandfather bought his house
about 10 minutes away for $11,000 in 1937. We figure it'll go for
something like $900,000 when we sell it, what with the market a little
soft now.
It's all crazy, but I more through luck and happenstance than wisdom, I
bought in in 1969 for $26,400 for a little two bedroom, one bath a
couple of doors down and across the street from where I am now. It can't
be worth more than about $750,000 now, or can it? I couldn't afford to
buy here now, but I've floated up with the rising tide. Man, 38 years on
the same little block and counting. Good thing I like it here. :-)
Can't afford to leave, either, with only the single taxpayer deduction
from my apparent gain. Sell, and they take in tax a significant portion
of the money you would need to buy something comparable.
Used to be some falling downish towns in the central valley, but the
urbanization of much of it has put paid to that. Still a few quiet old
towns in the Delta and northern part of the valley, but not many.
They'll be either gussied up or knocked down and replaced soon enough if
something doesn't change.
I wonder where they will build the dam to keep the valley from going
back to lake if sea levels rise; at the Golden Gate (The Golden Gate
Dam!), or let all that high priced, lowlying land around the bay go and
build at Carquinez, or is that high enough? In recent geologic history,
the great central valley of Calif. was a vast area of lake and swamp,
mostly lake much of the time. The GG outlet didn't exist and drainage
was across the coast range much further South and down the Salinas River.
Moose
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