La Boheme North Park (DR Horton) Public Auction

[Ricechex]

Very valid points here. I have lived in Northpark since 1989, with the exception of a few years in Hillcrest. And, yes, I like North Park–otherwise I would move.

Northpark used to be full of crack heads, and meth labs. CVS (has been SavOn, Osco, and a couple of other names I cannot recall) is still ghetto. You can line the streets with gold, but it is what it is.

Approximately 10 years ago, the houses were selling for $200K, yet University Ave was filled with check cashing stores and 99 Cent stores. The houses got more expensive, and the cute little boutiques, and fancy soap stores started coming in. However, as the market begins to turn, many of these businesses are a day late and a dollar short, similar to those buying a house at the top of the market. I believe those businesses will fail.

The yuppies that view the area as “edgy”,”hip”, and “cool”, are the same people that bought condos at top of the market and/or on subprime loans. Many of them will face foreclosure and no longer be able to buy from the fancy soap store.

Now, I watched the construction of La Boheme. The floors are crappy–NO concrete, so it is bound to be noisy. La Boheme “looks” good now, but wait and see what happens. I suspect the place will gradually fall apart, and become more trashy as the units are rented out.

North Park town council focused on short term revenue, by approving any condo development that could fill out the paperwork. The stress created from the many new condos in the area is going to put more pressure on the infrastructure–plumbing, electricity, and create more frequent water main breaks. (Anyone heard what is going on in Little Italy? Constant street floods)

What North Park has is some wonderful old, solidly built, Craftsman homes. Not some cheap and tacky condos with some granite counters and stainless steel appliances.

North Park will not return to the 80’s/90’s of crack heads and meth labs, BUT, the sheer numbers of condos and apartments will just go ghetto. The SFRs will be okay, because people buy them because they LIKE older neighborhoods and old homes. The houses on streets that have few complexes and condos will see less of a decrease in price.

Just my opinion.

[sdrealtor]

Let me guess where you live…………

[drunkle]

“The yuppies that view the area as “edgy”,”hip”, and “cool”, are the same people that bought condos at top of the market and/or on subprime loans. Many of them will face foreclosure and no longer be able to buy from the fancy soap store.”

it’s the yuppies that go into a place and suck the life out of it. hillcrest, little italy, downtown… they were cool before because there were good places to go for cheap.

boheme (along with all the other new condos) should have been built for the current residents, not for “investors” and yuppies. gentrification happens when you have the residents take ownership of their community and when the resident’s increase in net worth. not by trying to drive out the “bad” ones and importing “good” ones.

iirc the majority of np is rental as is. unless that changes, np will remain a ghetto.

btw, there’s another new condo building up the street at the site of the old bowling alley. a god ugly building that looks like an old school building rather than a condo. they were asking some 500k per unit last spring, they recently repriced in the 400’s. after the auction, see how much lower they go. and what happens to those senseless fools who bought way back when.

[Anonymous]

Togawa Smith Martin Residential Inc. is the firm that designed La Boheme. It just received awards for Best Mid-Rise Apartment Project and Residential Project of the Year.

[Bugs]

It’s a nice looking building, but its still North Park. The 805 freeway, which is the line of demarcation for the festivities in City Heights is a scant 3 blocks east of this building. Meanwhile, Park Blvd, which marks where Hillcrest arguably begins, is a solid mile to the west.

You are who you shop with at the supermarket.

[JerseyGrl]

North Park. I just can’t imagine that anyone would spend more than 1 million to live in North Park. But people did; here’s a house I’ve seen on craiglist for months:

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/rfs/426018044.html

Sellers paid more than a million for it. Ouch.

[Ricechex]

it’s the yuppies that go into a place and suck the life out of it. hillcrest, little italy, downtown… they were cool before because there were good places to go for cheap.

boheme (along with all the other new condos) should have been built for the current residents, not for “investors” and yuppies. gentrification happens when you have the residents take ownership of their community and when the resident’s increase in net worth. not by trying to drive out the “bad” ones and importing “good” ones.

Drunkle–I completely agree. The yuppies have sucked the life out of North Park because it has become “edgy and hip.” That means the exact opposite to me….it has become trendy and mainstream, driving up prices.

I have seen those condos–OMG–built poorly too. (Don’t get me started on condo conversions either!). There used to be a Rite Aid there, and next to it, a bakery where you could get fresh bread.

The businesses that will remain have been around….North Park Hardware–gotta love those old guys….they really KNOW what they are talking about….

[patientlywaiting]

Good post, bugs. Thanks for bring some data and putting perspective on the “amazing” deals.

[Ricechex]

House that Toots posted from CL….

Very nice. However, it will not sell for that price BECAUSE people that will spend that kind of money for an old home, want to buy old houses with character, houses that have been restored to close to their original condition. Such as wainscotting (sp?), natural wood cabinets and floors, original tile, or new tile modeled after the original tile. That house has been completely remodeled to look similar to the McMansions of today. The built ins in the dining area are not very substantial.

[greensd]

You are who you shop with at the supermarket.

Give me a break. This thread has devolved into exactly what’s wrong with this society. So, if it’s not Bankers’ Hill, it’s the ghetto? North Park is a perfectly reasonable middle class neighborhood. If you make $150k/yr and can afford to live west of Park, then good for you. Enjoy it. But the other 95% of us who don’t and also don’t choose to run up massive debts have to live somewhere. The idea that if you live like the people on TV (or if there are black people in your local grocery store) then you’re failure is what’s gotten us into this mess.

Of course, that said, I still don’t think a condo in La Boheme is worth $350k, or a house in Morley Field is worth a million….

[Anonymous]

I’d rather die than live in a boring, sterile neighborhood full of nothing but plastic, skinny-lipped white people. Maybe it’s because I lived in New York City for five years and came to appreciate the undeniable energy of living among multiculturalism , but I can’t think of a neighborhood in San Diego that does it better: a place still more affordable than many others, with decent architecture of nice craftsmans and thoughtful new condo complexes like La Boheme where blacks, whites, latinos, gays, lesbians, senior citizens and lots of others walk the streets, shop in the stores, dine in the restaurants, hang out in the bars, visit the weekly Farmer’s Market, go to the library, attend shows at the North Park Theatre (Pink Floyd laser light show coming next month!), stroll the monthly Ray at Night art walk, enjoy the annual North Park Toyland Parade and arts festival, listen to summer concerts at Bird Park, and lots more — all within minutes of the beaches, downtown and the border via the nearby freeways (though freeways not so near they destroy the neighborhood). Also let’s keep in mind that La Boheme prices, even at their height, were more affordable than condos anywhere else in the the central SD area (gaslamp, BH, HC, etc.). So for a lot of people La Boheme was their first purchased home, their first move up from renting, and a source of great pride. I know many of them. In many cases, they were renting in North Park or nearby before buying. They came to North Park because they love the multiculturalism, the vibe — not because they want to erase or gentrify it away. No, they are PART of it. They enjoy an area not riddled with corporate-owned stepford stores (a few too many Starbucks excepted) but rather locally owned mom-and-pops still showing real character where people know your name when you walk in. I think the neighborhood is exceeding their expectations. I dare you to find another neighborhood in San Diego that does the up-and-coming, lower-to-middle class multicultural thing better than North Park.

[patientlywaiting]

newbie, good point about northpark. But that does no justify the prices paid at La Boheme. So what if the residents have pride? That won’t stop the prices from dropping.

The whole SD region was/is 50% overvalued. All neighborhoods will drop — none will be immune. Some people say that La Jolla and Coronado are immune because the rich live there. Are you saying that NP is immune because of the diversity of population?

[Anonymous]

Of course prices are dropping, everywhere. But they will go up again in the long run, and more so in places that are more desirable to live, like North Park. I am simply pissed off at people calling North Park a ghetto and spewing racist garbage about the people you shop with.

[patientlywaiting]

Prices will go back up in the long run. But what is it? I think that it will be 10 years or more. How much is rent at La Boheme? And, by renting, how much could you save in a growing portfolio during that decade?

When prices trough, you’ll be paying La Jolla prices to live in North Park, with no relief in sight.

Newbie, you said it well, North Park is a lower to middle class neighborhood. How can those lower-middle class folks afford $600k or even $400k mortgages? 2/2s should be $200k max for the local folks to afford it. If inflation hits and interest rates go to 10%, then prices will drop like a stone.

I’m all for diversity but prices should be commensurate with the local population’s earnings.

[nostradamus]

Newbie says:

I am simply pissed off at people calling North Park a ghetto and spewing racist garbage about the people you shop with.

I was interested in finding the racist comments in this thread, but the only one I came across was this:

I'd rather die than live in a boring, sterile neighborhood full of nothing but plastic, skinny-lipped white people.

Guess who posted it? That's right, DUMB-ASS NEWBIE.  Way to represent!

I also just noticed your comment about the “fags” in Hillcrest being priced out. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more stupid or angry poster on this board. I hope you lost a lot on your crappy condo.

[Author]

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