In spite of there being frost in the lowlands this morning, I was relieved to find it having risen above 65 degrees this afternoon. Those 60+ degree temperatures sure make a difference with how many pedestrians there are out walking in the Downtown. I’m not sure if it was a combination of Good Friday along with being sunny and warm, because there was a whole heck of a lot more people walking up and down the sidewalks in our Historic District.
I also had a good number of walk-ins today, and likely because there were those who had all or part of the day off. One of my visitors whom I’ve known since childhood stopped to talk about their near future plans. It sounds like they’ve had enough of our rising taxes and extreme winters to where they’ll likely be selling their home, rent something inexpensive here for three or four months during the summer, and then spend the rest of the year somewhere in the Sunbelt. It makes me a little sad because they’re generational natives to our area.
I was surprised to find how candid he was regarding his feelings about that multi-million dollar black hole being created down around Southbridge Mall. He’s convinced that it’ll become a financial failure more sooner than later and we the taxpayers are going to be footing the bill with even higher taxes. He believes the reason there were recent increases in assessed values nearly across the board in our City, is because the “powers that be” are preparing themselves for year-over-year financial short-falls, and most of it due to that River City Renaissance project.
I didn’t mention it to him, but I’ve spoken before about how idiotic it is to be pumping money into that Music Man Square when it was a dinosaur from the get go. I understand novelty and boutique, but the continued attempts at lifting up a musical composer who was weak at best, does not, and will not ever, make any fiscal sense.
Because that multi-purpose arena is going to be barred from any use other than ice for a number of months, I doubt if that’s going to be able to support itself. And now that the City has given a green-light on selling that lower parking lot south of the mall to an apartment developer, along with that hotel eating up even more parking spaces, I’m left to wonder where will people park, because we must not forget that Hwy 65 borders both the east and west sides of Southbridge Mall, so if those planners are thinking it’ll be just OK for people to park in that parking lot west of the old Penney’s, then that idea is a bundle of accidents waiting to happen. I’m now wondering what “Silly Me” has to say about where those safe parking lots are located. Perhaps their audiences will get ferried in and out via shuttle buses or personal escort services. Silly Me!
Just before he left, I was personally moved by his remarks regarding how great a job my parents did in raising a large family that wasn’t afraid of work, never got in trouble, never took anything that didn’t belong to them, and above all, never believing they were better than anyone else. I thanked him for his kind remarks while walking out, but thinking all the while, there’ll be another time when I remind him that his immediate family members were cut from a similar stone.
Just after lunch, I drove out to meet with the owner of a home that’s been in their family for several generations. After getting the full tour, I sat down and talked about values and timetables. I assured her that if it were listed at an appropriate price, it would sell in a relatively short period of time. It’s in a great neighborhood, all the updates have been done, and there’s more than enough square-footage to support its value. I shared several properties similar to hers that were recently reported sold, and for more than my suggested price, but also sat on the market for all the many more months which she does not want to happen with hers. I’m hoping she’ll give me a call this next week to list it.
I’d been putting off getting the wooden floors in my office hand-scrubbed now that Spring has arrived, and with several hours free after my pre-listing appointment, I figured it was time to get cracking. Since I’ve always been a stickler about those floors, I was happy to have them sparkling again. I think what gave me an even greater incentive to scrub them, was a comment today’s vocal visitor made about how beautiful my office is. Too bad he didn’t stop in after they were cleaned.
Don’t forget about my public open house at 146 – 12th St. NW tomorrow afternoon from 1:00 – 3:00 pm. I was surprised when hearing someone say today that he thought it was sold. Perhaps he was being clairvoyant because of having already “seen” it sold in his mind. It’ll make a great home for a young couple with vision and a willingness to turn it into a showplace. I personally love its gentle rising staircase.
The above photo is one I took of a Mallard hen that’s been waddling around the front of my office these recent mornings. I think she’s looking for a place to build a nest, because I had to laugh when seeing her futile attempts at jumping thru my front window so to get at all that greenery which must in her duck’s mind, appear as the perfect nesting place.
Tonight’s one-liner is: People are not disturbed by things, but rather by the view they take of them.
