A Development (Doesn't) Grow In Middletown

[methodwriter85]

Here's an article about a failed planned development called the Promenade in a town a bit south of my suburb, called Middletown, Delaware. The "builders" have unsuprisingly not refunded the dozens of people who had put down around 25k deposits on houses that were never built. I thought it was pretty emblematic of the whole economic mess that we're in.No Homes, No Hope, No Refund

 

After reading this article, I will never put money into a planned development for a house that doesn't exist yet, that's for sure. It's amazing watching just how hard the state of Delaware is taking the economic downturn- because Delaware has essentially based its entire economy around being the home of tax-free shopping and low taxes, which has encouraged massive retail and suburban sprawl over the past twenty years. Without as many people coming into the state to shop at the mall, or people who come in from Jersey seeking the lower property taxes and cheaper housing, the economy in this state has just really sunk.

 

The one bright spot to all this, though, is that it's finally slowing the surburban sprawl in this state that has been eating up open space in this state for over twenty years. So I guess I'm glad for that. I'd like to hope that this crisis will make the state and county government think twice before letting developers run rampant with little regulation because they base so much of their budget on real-estate transfer taxes, but I doubt that will happen.

 

In any event...I'm thinking 1950's mid-century modern house in an established suburb or college town- not one of these new-fangled exurbs that seem to be deflating now because of gas prices and the economy. Speculative housing is just that- speculative, and risky as hell.

 

 

[Toast]

The county I live in has been one of the fastest growing in the US for the past fifteen years. The number of abandoned developments in my area is scary. Most are residential. But you also see vacant storefronts everywhere.

[methodwriter85]

The county I live in has been one of the fastest growing in the US for the past fifteen years. The number of abandoned developments in my area is scary. Most are residential. But you also see vacant storefronts everywhere.

The story is probably very similiar- the suburbs were expanding really far out and people were taking advantage of the cheaper, new houses in areas, and shopping centers followed. But the problem is, all that growth wasn't based on actual job growth in the area- just home construction and retail sales. And when the boom burst, man...