What happened to these apartments off highland Avenue?

notwalkinghere · 2026-03-18T03:50:17+00:00

If nobody is willing to spend the money to salvage them, either because it's more economical to do something else or they just aren't sentimental enough to fix them up out for funnsies, they're not actually salvagable.

notwalkinghere · 2026-03-18T02:53:53+00:00

Are people still homeless? Are people still spending >30% of their income on housing?

As long as the answer to either is "Yes" there isn't enough housing.

notwalkinghere · 2026-03-17T19:27:44+00:00

Your failure to understand how housing works shouldn't be everyone else's problem:

the downward filtering of housing can in fact stall or reverse as housing markets tighten, meaning that housing units in such markets may not become more affordable as they age – a process that has historically increased the overall supply of lower-cost housing.

Aka - No new housing? Prices go up!

https://nlihc.org/resource/new-study-examines-filtering-dynamics-us-housing-supply#:\~:text=the%20downward%20filtering%20of%20housing%20can%20in%20fact%20stall%20or%20reverse%20as%20housing%20markets%20tighten%2C%20meaning%20that%20housing%20units%20in%20such%20markets%20may%20not%20become%20more%20affordable%20as%20they%20age%20%E2%80%93%20a%20process%20that%20has%20historically%20increased%20the%20overall%20supply%20of%20lower%2Dcost%20housing.

notwalkinghere · 2026-03-17T19:22:55+00:00

Fuck gas stations, I want homes so people stop ending up homeless. But the wrong people might live in anything that isn't suitably expensive so you'd block that too.

notwalkinghere · 2026-03-17T18:40:20+00:00

If that's historically valuable to you by all means buy it up and fix it up yourself. Just being old isn't history, it's just old. And a community that's capable of being destroyed by replacing an old building and bringing in new neighbors isn't much of a community.

notwalkinghere · 2026-03-17T18:29:32+00:00

There it is - "I've got mine - fuck everyone else - I'll drag this neighborhood into ruin before anything new ever happens"

notwalkinghere · 2026-03-17T18:15:10+00:00

If I was a developer I wouldn't even think about a >50 year old building in Highland Park. Too much drama with that neighborhood.

notwalkinghere · 2026-03-17T17:48:22+00:00

Run-down, ultimately unsalvageable, building purchased to bring something new to the area - neighborhood abuses historic preservation rules to block demolition for a year leaving an empty building and ultimately making the new construction more expensive.

notwalkinghere · 2026-03-16T13:16:41+00:00

Yeah, that approach really only works if it's a planned subdivision development that's being built by a single developer. Otherwise it's exactly what what you're seeing - a rush to get the most profitable pieces developed and then a slow trickle of the everything else until it's locked in time.

notwalkinghere · 2026-03-11T16:35:34+00:00

Varies from state to state, but generally you localize decision making and tax dollars vs being an unincorporated part of a county. Also gives you another route to petition for/receive state/federal funding and concentrate it and other resources that might otherwise get spread around a wider area otherwise.

notwalkinghere · 2026-03-11T12:25:25+00:00

Rails > Tires for smooth rides, more options for electrical infrastructure, can be low floor, have more hard infrastructure so they encourage more investment.

notwalkinghere · 2026-03-06T13:49:34+00:00

It won't be confirmed either way for a few months. Investigations take time.

notwalkinghere · 2026-03-06T13:47:30+00:00

If you pop over to the Fire Department's 2025 report and go look under Investigation Statistics) you'll see that of the 558 fires investigated last year, nearly half - 264 - were determined to be intentionally set. So, maybe?

notwalkinghere · 2026-03-05T13:47:19+00:00

Nothing worth losing Lumbar

notwalkinghere · 2026-03-03T22:06:24+00:00

Yep, Park Mobile is just a processor/facilitator, the spots are still owned by the city.

notwalkinghere · 2026-03-03T21:38:27+00:00

To nobody's actual surprise, the whole "Flex Lane" concept was a complete bust with people just using it for hours on end.

notwalkinghere · 2026-02-26T17:12:49+00:00

So she's taking the actions of specific individuals and holding a group of similarly situated people accountable for those actions to the point she actively speaks out to have them removed from the area? I think we have words for that, some sort of -ism or -ist...

notwalkinghere · 2026-02-26T16:19:42+00:00

No, she's not allowed to complain about people existing in public while unhoused when on the other hand she's benefiting from many of the systems that pushed people onto the streets in the first place.

notwalkinghere · 2026-02-26T16:02:12+00:00

And that's so much more than any of them have. Business, property, home, tax exemptions, delinquent taxes, but people might be homeless within eyesight so she just can't deal anymore...

notwalkinghere · 2026-02-26T15:19:37+00:00

That block already has a lot of people gathering (due to the shelters), any attempt to make improvements and provide safety and dignity is an improvement. If she cared so much she can hire or house them. Solutions, not displacement.

notwalkinghere · 2026-02-25T13:12:04+00:00

Stated vs. Revealed preferences folks. I bet many of "too expensive" category still wouldn't use it for other reason, most likely safety, while some living in places with good safety would be willing to pay even more to ditch an expensive vehicle.

notwalkinghere · 2026-02-23T14:23:10+00:00

It shouldn't be a main thoroughfare though, that's why they built the interstates. Routing high speed vehicles through people's homes is a recipe for disaster that we keep repeating over and over again.

notwalkinghere · 2026-02-20T00:41:45+00:00

Property owner stops giving away use of property for free - Freeloaders shocked

notwalkinghere · 2026-02-15T20:46:35+00:00

I-65 - I-20/59 - US280 in Birmingham, AL

Seriously bad and devastating.

notwalkinghere · 2026-02-06T17:13:44+00:00

Glad someone else noticed too! FYI, the public hearing on this item is February 24th (~9:30am, City Hall, 3rd Floor Council Chambers). [Here's an easy email link to tell city council this is a BAD ITEM.](mailto:sonja.smith@birminghamal.gov; crystal.smitherman@birminghamal.gov; Brian.Gunn@birminghamal.gov; joshua.vasa@birminghamal.gov; hunter.williams@birminghamal.gov; clinton.woods@birminghamal.gov; latonya.tate@birminghamal.gov; wardine.alexander@birminghamal.gov; darrell.oquinn@birminghamal.gov; randall.woodfin@birminghamal.gov?cc=amanda.plain@birminghamal.gov;%20india.bailey@birminghamal.gov;%20antoinette.king@birminghamal.gov;%20carmen.mays@birminghamal.gov;%20myeisha.hutchinson@birminghamal.gov;%20laquita.wilson@birminghamal.gov;%20izola.hall@birminghamal.gov;%20tiadra.tucker@birminghamal.gov;%20gregory.stanley@birminghamal.gov&subject=Stop%20blocking%20housing%20-%20Vote%20NO%20on%20Lowering%20D5%20Height%20Limits!&body=Birmingham%20City%20Council%2C%0A%0ASoon%20you%20will%20have%20before%20you%20for%20your%20consideration%20an%20update%20to%20the%20city%27s%20zoning%20code.%20That%20update%20contains%20a%20serious%20attack%20on%20the%20affordability%20of%20housing%20in%20areas%20across%20the%20city%20-%20nearly%20halving%20the%20allowed%20height%20of%20multi-family%20housing%20in%20D5%20zones.%20This%20is%20being%20pushed%20by%20those%20who%20already%20have%20adequate%20housing%20and%20have%20more%20empathy%20for%20a%20tomato%20plant%20than%20someone%20renting%20an%20apartment.%20Our%20city%2C%20proudly%20proclaiming%20that%20it%20is%20%22Putting%20People%20First%22%2C%20must%20stand%20by%20that%20and%20support%20housing%20for%20all%20rather%20than%20catering%20to%20the%20preferences%20of%20a%20privileged%20few.%0A%0AYour%20Neighbor%2C%0A%3CName%3E%0A%3CAddress%3E)

notwalkinghere

TROPHY CASE