Gentrification: the process of renewal and rebuilding accompanying the influx of middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often displaces poorer residents. (Merriam-Webster)
Perhaps. But, given the fact that George bought the property right after the '68 riots and is looking to sell it now--40+ years later--he may not be lamenting the gentrification which has undoubtedly increased the property value several times over.
He denied an offer from the owners of Ben's Chili Bowl and he openly states that he is waiting for "whatever (offer) will bring the most revenue". Sounds more like a theme of "greed" than "gentrification".
sounds more to me like somebody trying to get the most from the sale of his/her property. which, after all, is kinda the point when you are a seller of a property. real estate 101. not everything on h street is about white-ification
Too bad he may wither away due to old age before he could reap the benefits of his profit. What is the point in waiting for the best offer when you are unable to enjoy the fruits of your fortune. I was wise to sell my property in 2001 at a fairly decent amout, guess I would have sold it a few years later for a higher profit however, selling the property at the time allowed me to buy 3 more just as the property values were still affordable. Had waited longer I would not have been able to buy more properties, take a nice vacation and splurge a little on myself. Time is of essence, always.
I agree with Tumekepper, not so much with Jimmy. Not everything needs to be turned into a discussion on race, Jimmy.
George is clearly of retirement age if he has held a shop for more than 40 years. The shop is no longer successful, but the value of its location is a lot higher than he would have paid for it, and other business owners are willing to pay a reasonable price to put the property to better use. George has significant power to positively or negatively influence the direction of H Street by selling (or not selling) to a particular business that proposes an offer. As far as I and every other DC resident knows, Ben's Chili Bowl is not about "white-ification" either, but George wanted a higher price than Ben's offered. We've seen similar expectations from other property owners on H Street and they get screwed over in the end while their property occupies a space that could be put to better use.
What's greedy is that he went to the Council & asked to not have to pay his property taxes a few months ago and now he's asking for over a million for the place. I hope he gets a lot of money and retires happily, but the complaints from some of these property owner about having to pay their taxes were offensive and this is part of why.
None of you know anything about this, but let's all follow the scripts we know we're supposed to read! Gentrification good! Gentrification boring! Greed! Racism! Cupcakes!
Amazing how everyone has opinions regarding the personal business decisions one makes! Did you ever think that he's just not ready to stop working and he's already financially stable?? Many older people make excuses not to retire because they just are not ready! Do you really care when your friends fault you for moving into a transitional neighborhood in the hood??
Meh... right now H street is a gold rush that everyone knows about. There is little affordable property if you are putting anything other than a bar in. They will cap the liquor licenses and the market will come back to reality. Rents/sale prices are ridiculous and will only result in failed businesses unless you want Heaven and Hell II to come in and make oodles on underage drinkers.
George can hold out, it is his right. In the end he will likely lament not taking the Ben's offer as the high water marks (in the near term) have been hit on H.
Folks are looking elsewhere (hello Georgia and RI aveneue).
Have any of you actually shopped there? It is NOT a low end inexpensive store that will become a more expensive retail shop. I went in once, and I don't think he had had any shoes for under $100. I did buy a dress shirt for around 40 bucks.
I think he's more of a victim of not enough men wearing loud suits anymore. How many men are looking for purple suits?
If he truly wanted to make it a lasting concern, he COULD opt to focus on broadening his customer base by selling clothing that appeals to a broader (and, dare I say, more well-off) clientele. The market for neon suits is slowly dying off and there ARE a lot of folks new to the neighborhood that would likely be interested in giving him a chance if he carried more standard business attire at the mid-range (if not the high end stuff). But either a planned retirement, limited vision, or disinterest in the "new" H street customer's needs are going to make this dinosaur fold one way or another.
How big is the store? Can anyone give a rough idea, maybe by comparing with some other place on H? First floor of Sidamo/Sova? Bigger, a la Metro Mutts? Or really big, like H Street Country Club?
This blog is infested with vile and intolerable people. The City Paper’s article never mentioned the dollar amount offered to George, and therefore the unfounded comments about him being greedy are ignorant assumptions.
How do you all know that Ben's Chili Bowl offer wasn't low-ball or it came with unreasonable terms that any sound businessman would reject?
The bottom-line is, George owns the property and he can do or accept whatever he pleases.
Stop hating, cause it ain't going change one damn thing--the man owns the building not you all or Ben's.
17 comments:
Gentrification.
Gentrification: the process of renewal and rebuilding accompanying the influx of middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often displaces poorer residents. (Merriam-Webster)
Perhaps. But, given the fact that George bought the property right after the '68 riots and is looking to sell it now--40+ years later--he may not be lamenting the gentrification which has undoubtedly increased the property value several times over.
He denied an offer from the owners of Ben's Chili Bowl and he openly states that he is waiting for "whatever (offer) will bring the most revenue". Sounds more like a theme of "greed" than "gentrification".
anon 8:03-
sounds more to me like somebody trying to get the most from the sale of his/her property. which, after all, is kinda the point when you are a seller of a property. real estate 101. not everything on h street is about white-ification
Too bad he may wither away due to old age before he could reap the benefits of his profit. What is the point in waiting for the best offer when you are unable to enjoy the fruits of your fortune. I was wise to sell my property in 2001 at a fairly decent amout, guess I would have sold it a few years later for a higher profit however, selling the property at the time allowed me to buy 3 more just as the property values were still affordable. Had waited longer I would not have been able to buy more properties, take a nice vacation and splurge a little on myself. Time is of essence, always.
I agree with Tumekepper, not so much with Jimmy. Not everything needs to be turned into a discussion on race, Jimmy.
George is clearly of retirement age if he has held a shop for more than 40 years. The shop is no longer successful, but the value of its location is a lot higher than he would have paid for it, and other business owners are willing to pay a reasonable price to put the property to better use. George has significant power to positively or negatively influence the direction of H Street by selling (or not selling) to a particular business that proposes an offer. As far as I and every other DC resident knows, Ben's Chili Bowl is not about "white-ification" either, but George wanted a higher price than Ben's offered. We've seen similar expectations from other property owners on H Street and they get screwed over in the end while their property occupies a space that could be put to better use.
just sell it to yet another vanila cupcake joint and be done with it.
It's greed if someone else sells for as much as they can get after working hard for 40 years?
But it's just smart planning for your family and needs if you do it, I suppose.
I fail to see how this is greed.
What's greedy is that he went to the Council & asked to not have to pay his property taxes a few months ago and now he's asking for over a million for the place. I hope he gets a lot of money and retires happily, but the complaints from some of these property owner about having to pay their taxes were offensive and this is part of why.
None of you know anything about this, but let's all follow the scripts we know we're supposed to read! Gentrification good! Gentrification boring! Greed! Racism! Cupcakes!
Amazing how everyone has opinions regarding the personal business decisions one makes! Did you ever think that he's just not ready to stop working and he's already financially stable?? Many older people make excuses not to retire because they just are not ready! Do you really care when your friends fault you for moving into a transitional neighborhood in the hood??
11:21, you're so... nonsensical! So... uninteresting! Did you even read the original post?
I could be wrong, but most requests for tax abatement are actually deferments - the full tax becomes due upon sale of the building.
If not, then you are right, he should pay the back tax he would have been charged.
Meh... right now H street is a gold rush that everyone knows about. There is little affordable property if you are putting anything other than a bar in. They will cap the liquor licenses and the market will come back to reality. Rents/sale prices are ridiculous and will only result in failed businesses unless you want Heaven and Hell II to come in and make oodles on underage drinkers.
George can hold out, it is his right. In the end he will likely lament not taking the Ben's offer as the high water marks (in the near term) have been hit on H.
Folks are looking elsewhere (hello Georgia and RI aveneue).
Have any of you actually shopped there? It is NOT a low end inexpensive store that will become a more expensive retail shop. I went in once, and I don't think he had had any shoes for under $100. I did buy a dress shirt for around 40 bucks.
I think he's more of a victim of not enough men wearing loud suits anymore. How many men are looking for purple suits?
If he truly wanted to make it a lasting concern, he COULD opt to focus on broadening his customer base by selling clothing that appeals to a broader (and, dare I say, more well-off) clientele. The market for neon suits is slowly dying off and there ARE a lot of folks new to the neighborhood that would likely be interested in giving him a chance if he carried more standard business attire at the mid-range (if not the high end stuff). But either a planned retirement, limited vision, or disinterest in the "new" H street customer's needs are going to make this dinosaur fold one way or another.
How big is the store? Can anyone give a rough idea, maybe by comparing with some other place on H? First floor of Sidamo/Sova? Bigger, a la Metro Mutts? Or really big, like H Street Country Club?
This blog is infested with vile and intolerable people. The City Paper’s article never mentioned the dollar amount offered to George, and therefore the unfounded comments about him being greedy are ignorant assumptions.
How do you all know that Ben's Chili Bowl offer wasn't low-ball or it came with unreasonable terms that any sound businessman would reject?
The bottom-line is, George owns the property and he can do or accept whatever he pleases.
Stop hating, cause it ain't going change one damn thing--the man owns the building not you all or Ben's.
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