Comments on: Thorndon Tavern : Thai Takeaway

By: Maximus

Maximus — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:52:23 +0000

re Thorndon Tav – a far better photo has appeared here:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3628/3633996786_bb7fef9b3f.jpg?v=0
Very heroic. Space rocket even.

By: Kent Duston

Kent Duston — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 02:15:22 +0000

The continual postering of the place is a nice touch, I admit. It gives the street a bit of vibrance and stops the posters getting stuck to walls and fences around the neighbourhood, so it’s not all bad. But having said that, the owners have been letting the ex-corner shop decay for literally decades – it was in similar condition when I moved into Mt Vic in the early 1990s. From what (little) I understand they have put through at least one consent that the Council has knocked back, presumably because of site coverage restrictions or somesuch.

The entertaining part of the whole deal is that the Council will allow demolition of pre-1930′s buildings where repair is “uneconomic” – so I’m presuming the owners would have no trouble getting a demolition consent, solely because of their own deliberate neglect. It seems like a pretty glaring loophole – if you have a heritage building you’re desperate to knock over, just let it fall into complete disrepair over a decade or two, then use the economic argument as the excuse.

By: Maximus

Maximus — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:08:30 +0000

Kent, I always thought that was an art installation. I love that little house – can you tell us more about it? Presumably the Thai Embassy aren’t involved there – so what’s the story? Why has it been boarded off and unloved for so long? And just how does it get that lovely even rust patina on the roof?

By: Kent Duston

Kent Duston — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 07:09:37 +0000

The Thordon Tavern is an eyesore?! Pffft – what a bunch of pussies the locals must be! If you want a real eyesore, you need a 1900-era villa on the main bus route to the airport that the owners are allowing to collapse into a pile of rusted iron, rotting weatherboards, dead plants and wall-to-wall birdshit …. kinda like this one …..

By: m-d

m-d — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 23:14:19 +0000

I’m slowly uploading a few more images of the Tavern, which are best viewed here: http://www.flickriver.com/photos/m-dnw/

By: Maximus

Maximus — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 12:56:48 +0000

Rob, glad to see you comment here. Wellington’s a small city (say, 180,000 people), but with a vibrant community of architects and we seem to be quite an opiniated bunch. Well, I sure am, and like stirring up discussion.

Ever get any traction on your Blight Tax idea?

By: Rob

Rob — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 12:48:45 +0000

Just a quick clarification on pjd’s comment: Our shop is an independent Toyota, Lexus, and Scion repair shop in downtown Lexington. We don’t have any official affiliation with Toyota, and we aren’t a dealership.

And a quick comment: As an outside observer, I really like the level of engagement in your discussions (especially as compared to the level of discourse in Lexington). You guys are lucky: Even if you disagree with one another, at least you can have vibrant discussions. The vast majority of Lexingtonians are simply unplugged from local issues. My blog is looked at with astonishment by a lot of folks: “You don’t / can’t / shouldn’t say those kinds of things here!”

Keep up the good work (and the discussion).

Rob Morris
President, Lowell’s Independent Automotive

By: KiwiJones

KiwiJones — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 11:08:24 +0000

Maximus – LOL. It is either your house or Roger’s house. Sigh. How can one man do some much damage to one neighbourhood!!

By: Deepred

Deepred — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:28:46 +0000

Finally, some action at last:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/wellington/2518731/Pub-makes-way-for-embassy-at-last

By: pjd

pjd — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:39:19 +0000

When I was reading the links from HoneyWood today, that link to a blogger (apparently in a Lexus dealership in Lexington, Kentucky), another post of his caught my eye – on how to end urban blight. You might be interested in it Mechaniker. The link is http://lowells.typepad.com/lowells/2009/05/a-modest-proposal-to-end-blight.html
and in it he says – “Just like the properties surrounding our shop, the absentee owners seek to avoid any and all expenses. They avoid capital gains taxes by refusing to sell their properties. They avoid maintenance expenses by refusing to invest to make their properties economic contributors to the community. They avoid property taxes by refusing to improve their decrepit real estate. Such abandoned properties generate near-zero direct contributions to the economy. Moreover, they generate negative economic effects for surrounding properties and businesses: They drive away business and drive down property values. * * * It is time for such neglect to end. It is time to make sure that lazy landowners are motivated
1) to improve their holdings and
2) to transform their properties into contributors to our community’s economic engine.
My modest proposal: Implement a ‘blight tax’. Lexington landownders whose property qualifies as ‘blighted’ would have to pay a moderately severe annual blight tax.

The definition of ‘blighted’ would need to be worked out, but should include an assessment of the property condition, as well as proof of substantial progress on needed improvements. We could start with Division of Code Enforcement standards. To overcome their avoidance of maintenance expenses, property taxes, and/or capital gains taxes, I’d propose that the blight tax have some teeth: Say, 35% to 50% of assessed property value per year. In the CentrePointe case, the blight tax would generate $8 to $12 million per year of revenue to the city until the developers improve their land. When historical buildings were demolished to make way for CentrePointe, many rationalized that the old buildings were greater eyesores than the pit which remains today. I disagree. But a blight tax may also have helped prevent the demolition-by-neglect which occurred on that block over the years.”