Drove through my old neighborhood in Hamilton and barely recognized it

I was near Barton Street last week and saw a row of old houses I used to know. They were all torn down, and a sign said a developer is putting up a 12-unit condo building there. I remember when you could buy a fixer-upper on that block for maybe $250k about ten years ago. Now the sign listed starting prices at over $800k for a one-bedroom. It just feels like a totally different city now, and not in a good way. Has anyone else seen their old spots get completely changed like that?

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3 Comments

the_oliver6mo ago

Progress, but the kind that makes your wallet cry.

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stella9045mo ago

Does it really count as progress when it prices out the very people who made that street feel like home? I see it all the time around here too, whole blocks changing so fast it makes your head spin. The new places are nice enough I guess, but they're built for people who can drop that kind of money, not for the families who've been there for thirty years. It's like we're trading character for clean windows and nobody asked if that was a fair swap. You're right, it's progress that stings a bit.

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jamie_garcia256mo ago

Remember the people who lived in those houses? I wonder where they all ended up going. A one-bedroom for that price means only certain folks can move in now. It changes the whole feel of a street when the people who built the community there can't afford to stay. Does that kind of building even help the people who already live in the area, or does it just push them out?

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