Good neighbors?

[JoB]

Tonight i met David the developer. No kidding! I answered his rental add for the townhome connected to his.

all i can say is that it is too easy to judge a book by it’s cover.

David does incredible work. His townhome is beautiful… exceedingly green.. and not at all out of character with what his neighborhood is rapidly becoming.

In fact, his was not the first on the block.. nor is it the biggest. and it isn’t the flashiest either. This is no McMansion.

He build a green townhome nestled in a pocket that is attracting other green builders…

It does pretty much fill an infill lot with very little space left around the building… but it is also less than a block from a couple of city parks and from the Longfellow creek trail… and the design is simple and pleasing.. with the home set back from the street….landscaping fronting the street and garages inset into the center of the building.

And he used both wood and bamboo good neighbor fences on all sides.

He appears to have done his best to build as friendly a place as possible in a high density neighborhood… without skimping on aesthetics or materials.

And he says.. with a touch of a sheepish grin… that his venting about the reception he received from his neighbors was just the result of a lot of frustration…

I have never met anyone more excited about building using sustainable methods as he is.. or as much fun to be around as his young daughter.

Meeting him was the most fun i have ever had househunting…

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[JeffSavoie]

I’d like to start by saying, not all of David’s neighbors are upset, and this topic has my shorts in a knot.

I for one, value him, highly, as a neighbor, and a friend.

I live next door… no, not the one who put up the “greed” sign (I removed the sign, and threw it back where it came from… what’s next, burning crosses?).

There’s been many questions asked, that weren’t answered, and I’d like to address some of them;

Someone asked, if David informed us of his plans… yep, about a year before he started work, he knocked on my door and introduced himself, and we had a nice discussion about his plans.

Another question was asked, as to what kind of a neighbor he has been, and what benefit he’s brought to the neighborhood… He, and his Mother in law, who owned the lot he built on, are wonderful neighbors (his M-i-L has been my neighbor for a few years, and is one of the BEST neighbors I have ever had).

Throughout the project, many things were “done” for each of us on either side, including landscaping, tree trimming (I love not having to clean the gutters anymore), graveling the driveways, improvements to the horrendous drainage problems associated with not having storm drains, etc.

I had been out of work for a while, and without a truck, and his project provided me with a way to dig myself out of a hole, fix my truck and get back on my feet… I built those neighbor friendly fences (I absolutely LOVE the bamboo), did landscaping, and other tasks, eventually working into pretty much full time employment, and a way to afford to not be displaced by the rising cost of living/renting in the Delridge Community.

While David has been labeled “a developer”, that’s not the way I see him, or what we do, on a day to day basis.

If you were looking to hire a contractor, David is the kind of guy you hope to find, just the same, when I’m looking for one to work for, he’s the kind of boss I want.

To the subject of profit and greed… I’m pretty sure that this project put his Mother in law in a much better financial position, that will help her through her golden years… he’s definitely shared the wealth.

Personally, I love the way Delridge is developing… I’m all for cramming as many people into the established areas of the inner city as possible.

As an avid outdoorsman, I’d much rather see the outlying areas not turned into “giant scabs on the Universe” (my pet name for the Issaquah Highlands), and as a concerned world citizen would like to see suburban commuting and all the greenhouse emissions that go with that, become a thing of the past.

If you’re not part of the solution, you might be part of the problem… David isn’t part of the problem, I see him work very hard, every day, to provide logical, green, ethical, and efficient, solutions to peoples housing needs.

He’s very concerned that what we do (in the case of the major remodel we are now working on), fits the architectural style and intent of the house.

________________________________________________

I like his house… I’m thrilled he and his beautiful little family are my neighbors… I’m just as happy, that he’s my boss… and I am blessed to be able to say, he’s my friend.

You should all be so lucky!

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[Anonymous]

“You should all be so lucky!”

I wish I were. David sounds just as lucky to have an employee/neighbor/friend in you.

A house on my street was bought by a professional flipper. Gutted for remodel and now sits abandoned for the last 8 months. Loving the 4 foot grass as well.

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[JeffSavoie]

JT,

Thanks.

Yeah, since I moved to this house, from Pigeon Point I have had almost nonstop construction up and down and all around the block, and for the ten years I lived up there, it was much of the same.

I was displaced from The Maple Leaf neighborhood some 25 years ago, as it gained #1 status, then from Phinney/Greenwood ten years after that, I moved down off the hill to save costs, and don’t know how long I’ll last here… being #1 has it’s plusses and minuses, but I was glad to ride it while I could.

“We try and try, in vain, to keep things the same…

They call it, Progress.”

Andrew Firpo, another truly great friend.

(As we stood over a canyon, one of our favorite places, knowing it would soon disappear under water :( )

Sometimes progress helps.

And sometimes progress hurts.

Most of the time, though, it does both, at the same time.

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