Date: 1/18/2018
Regardless of the self-proclaimed title, should we trust real estate investors to preserve the character of Longmeadow? The group applying to change the home from residential to commercial zoning are investors. They bought the house a mere nine days after it came on the market, at less than half of the original offering, with the benefit of a repaired portico. They, like the other people who made offers, knew that it was a good time to buy. As real estate investors, they also knew that commercial land is more valuable than residential land, so they immediately began their campaign to rezone the land.
Despite their apparent business savvy, they have not submitted plans for the proposed conversion of the Brewer-Young home to an office building. The unusual absence of a plan for such a large investment calls the investors’ methods into question. It is common knowledge that it is more expensive to remodel than to build new. It is also common knowledge that the Brewer-Young home will need more than remodel. The expense of remodeling and repairing will be compounded by the need to meet tenant and commercial building codes.
The cost of the conversion on top of the standard expense of running a commercial building will present a steep overhead expense. The amount of money that the investors can command for their space is limited by the average price of similar supply. Longmeadow currently has 20,000 square feet of office space for rent without pressing demand and when the medical office space at Dwight and Williams is completed, the supply will triple. The surplus of commercial office space will suppress the price that the investors will be able to get for their space. How long will the investors be willing to operate at a loss? Not long, if at all, they are investors.
They have already voiced the possibility that they could demolish the Brewer-Young home and stated that the value of the contents of the home would pay for the demolition. Rezoning the land to commercial would increases the appeal of razing the building. Rezoning the land to commercial would allow the investors to build a more profitable commercial building. Building new would allow them to build a smaller, more efficient building, with adequate space for parking. Razing the old and building new would reduce their overhead, increase the return per square foot, and ensure a profit.
This bait and switch has been done before. In 1980, a young investor bought the historic Art Deco Bonwit Teller building in New York, promising to preserve the historic reliefs and intricate scroll work. In the end, profit outweighed promises as wrecking balls swung to smash history and beauty. Mr. Trump pleaded preserving the historic aspects of the building would cause him financial hardship and delay his construction project. Demolishing the Bonwit Teller building without obstacle, allowed Mr. Trump to build his gleaming steel and glass temple in a prime location at a higher profit.
Do the rules of supply and demand in Longmeadow point to another historic building being razed when the siren call of profits beckon? Knowing how astute the investors are, it is too risky to arm them with the potential of commercial zoning. Preserve the home, save the green, keep Longmeadow as we know it by voting “No” on Jan. 25.
Laurie Housman
Longmeadow
