Vienna "Gentrification"

 

This week, Washington Post writer, John Kelly, shared the story of the upcoming sale of a 1 1/3 parcel of land in the heart of Vienna.   Three sisters who grew up in the house that their father built in the 1940’s own the land, which is likely to be sold to developers. 

The sisters each report their memories in the home.  They detail the home building expenses and receipts saved by their parents - including the cost of the bricks, $364 for 16,000.   

This story fascinated me for two reasons.  First, as a Realtor serving the Vienna community, this story is reflective of so many stories I hear across our town.  Older homes full of memories and love are being torn down to make way for newer and larger homes that will meet the needs of families today.  Some residents see it as welcomed progress; while others resist it and worry about the implications for their street or community.  Construction can feel invasive to neighbors who still live in homes nearby, taxes can increase with increasing property values of adjacent properties and larger homes can feel intrusive to the owners of smaller homes built in the middle of the last century.  “We need newer, modern homes” conflicts with “We need affordable homes where those who serve our town can live”.  Both sentiments ring true but how do we reconcile them? 

The second reason for my connection to this story is that I, too, sold a parcel of land this summer.  My grandfather, Carl Williams, bought almost 76 acres of land in a rural part of southeast Texas in 1918.  Our family has owned this undeveloped parcel since then; but after my father’s death in 2009 we have not been able to oversee it, to care for it the way it had been cared for in the previous 90 years.  Like the sisters in John Kelly’s story, I have memories there. The history of it is meaningful to me; but my practical, realistic sensibilities said that it was time to let it go. It wasn’t easy and even after the deed has transferred to the new owner, I still feel that I have an investment there.  I care how he treats the land and wonder what it will become. 

"Gentrification" is the term used to describe this process of the renewal of communities and properties by letting go of the old and embracing the new.  It doesn’t quite capture all that happens in the process.   But those of us who are touched by gentrification, whether selling or buying, know the issues, the emotions and the inevitability of it.   What I’ve learned as a Realtor and as a land owner is that the process matters.  It matters that we honor and respect the history of the land and the families who still live nearby.   

Change is difficult and our natural tendency is to favor the familiar.   The familiar component here is families.  Vienna families in the 1940’s needed homes and they had land as a resource.  They could move out to Vienna and find undeveloped land to purchase and build a home.   In 2012, Vienna’s land is rarely undeveloped, but increasingly valuable to families wanting to build memories in a home, for some, a newly built home.   

One of the things I love about Vienna is that it feels like a small town.  You get to know folks.  You see them at events around town.  People are friendly and seem to share common community values.  As we continue to gentrify our neighborhoods, those community values will guide us in maintaining our Vienna community and honoring its history.

 

(This edition of TheresNoPlaceLikeVienna.com was contributed by Susan Hussey. Susan, a Texan at heart, loves living in Vienna, where she resides with her husband and two young children.)