news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060327/ap_on_re_us/mansionizing_history
Young mothers push sporty three-wheeled strollers up sidewalks past century-old homes, chatting with neighbors about the day's events. Lately, talk has turned to history as this seaside city confronts a growing national trend, the "tear-down phenomenon," with wealthy buyers replacing turn-of-the-century bungalows on tiny lots with so-called McMansions. Communities across the country are grappling with the issue in a mad dash to save character. From Delaware to Georgia to California and Florida, historic homes are being demolished and replaced with 6,000-square-foot palatial properties. They're building on the entire lot," said Landry, who is fighting a neighbor's proposal to dwarf her 1,200-square-foot bungalow with a 4,200 square-foot home. Historic homes often have prime locations near city centers, making them attractive to wealthy buyers and developers intent on snapping up scarce urban land. But some believe America is at risk of losing its sense of community and affordable housing. "Most of these new houses are more internally organized. You see the driveway and garage doors from the street, not people," said Adrian Fine of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "We're losing mixed income neighborhoods because the prices are going up so much that it becomes one class." Even so, issuing moratoriums can stir a political firestorm, in part because the new construction enlarges the tax base. In Atlanta, the City Council last month rejected by an 11-3 vote a proposed 120-day ban on construction of McMansions in five neighborhoods. "You would have thought it was the second burning of Atlanta," said Councilwoman Mary Norwood, who drafted the plan. She said the Atlanta Board of Realtors mounted a massive campaign to defeat the measure. The trend is also appearing in more contemporary neighborhoods. founder David Duffield to build a 72,000-square-foot home (by comparison, the White House is 55,000 square feet). The average size of homes in the United States has grown steadily in the past 20 years, from 1,905 square feet in 1987 to 2,349 square feet in 2004, according to the National Association of Home Builders. And as cities fight sprawl and commuters tire of traffic, more people are moving into urban centers. But Robert Lang, director of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech, which tracks urban growth trends, scoffed at the notion that mansionization means a loss of community. "All the research shows that sense of community is not driven by the design of the structure but by demographics," he said. "It's all fallen away since the inventions of telecommunications and the automobile." In Delray Beach, city officials proposed a six-month halt to construction in five historic neighborhoods, which would temporarily end the march of mansions and could limit homes to 2,000 square feet. Developer Mitch Kass, of Fort-Lauderdale-based Glenn Wright Homes, defends the construction. He is building a dozen houses, some nearly 4,000 square feet, in a neighborhood next to one of Delray Beach's historic neighborhoods.
The seaside city confronts a growing national trend, the 'tear-down phenomenon,' with wealthy buyers replacing turn-of-the-century bungalows on tiny lots with so-called McMansions. Perlman recognizes the problem but says he can only do so much without community support.
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