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The grocery store doesn't need to be near everyone's home. It just needs to be near your home. Buy a home in a location that suits your needs.

bobthepanda 4y ago
The problem is that the overwhelming majority of land in the US is zoned in such a way where this is not legal, and as a result the relatively few locations that do accommodate this lifestyle have high premiums (both on a per unit and per sq ft basis)
- kevin_thibedeau 4y ago
  This is mostly a problem with postwar urbanism. Older regions of the country will have neighborhoods that retain some local business activity.
  - bobthepanda 4y ago
    The fact that it is hard if not impossible to develop this style of neighborhood is still a problem. Every passing year is another one in which old buildings are redeveloped and the US population grows, increasing market pressure.
    - asdff 4y ago
      Sometimes that old building is a tire shop and the new building is a 5 story apartment with ground floor commercial space, though.
      - bobthepanda 4y ago
        I’m never all redevlopment is bad, but if part of the old parcels are the nice walkable shops and nearby residences, and we don’t really allow new ones, then it’s going to be a predictable net loss. A lot of these locations are grandfathered in and would not be allowed under their current zoning regulations. —- There’s a separate issue with new modern mixed use in the US where retail tends to have low occupancy. Partially this is because there continues to be a massive glut of retail space in the US, and partly because the new spaces tend to be too large to be profitable for anything other than chain stores, and there are only so many chain stores to go around.
        asdff 4y ago
        Take a street like melrose ave. It's filled with pretty well leased, single story commercial real estate abutting low rise apartments and homes. Walkable? Sure, if you manage to snag one of the limited available leases in a 15 mins walk. Replace those commercial parcels on melrose with 5 over 1s, and there is no net loss here. The same commercial square footage is available, sometimes more if the the building extends further into the lot versus if the old building had a small surface parking lot in the rear, sometimes a lot more if more than 1 story is set to be commercial space. Not to mention the apartment stock swells up, supporting a larger customer base for these businesses when these apartments are inevitably leased out before long. NIMBYs in this city bemoaned old Amoeba records loosing its "historic" low rise commercial building. But Amoeba just moved into one of these mixed used developments a few blocks away closer to the metro station, got more square footage out of the deal, and sold the old property for a lot of money. The city changes and it isn't a bad thing, in fact its typically a good thing that it changes as this keeps rents closer to the actual wages seen.
- frumper 4y ago
  There are plenty of homes near grocery stores in the suburbs. Not every home, but plenty if that's important to you. Location, location, location.
  - bobthepanda 4y ago
    Given the premium, there’s not enough. Let’s create more locations.
    - frumper 4y ago
      There is no premium in any city I've ever lived in for that. $/sq ft doesn't change if you're a block from the grocery store, it might actually be cheaper. That said, you don't need more, you just need one.

bobthepanda 4y ago

The problem is that the overwhelming majority of land in the US is zoned in such a way where this is not legal, and as a result the relatively few locations that do accommodate this lifestyle have high premiums (both on a per unit and per sq ft basis)

kevin_thibedeau 4y ago
This is mostly a problem with postwar urbanism. Older regions of the country will have neighborhoods that retain some local business activity.
- bobthepanda 4y ago
  The fact that it is hard if not impossible to develop this style of neighborhood is still a problem. Every passing year is another one in which old buildings are redeveloped and the US population grows, increasing market pressure.
  - asdff 4y ago
    Sometimes that old building is a tire shop and the new building is a 5 story apartment with ground floor commercial space, though.
    - bobthepanda 4y ago
      I’m never all redevlopment is bad, but if part of the old parcels are the nice walkable shops and nearby residences, and we don’t really allow new ones, then it’s going to be a predictable net loss. A lot of these locations are grandfathered in and would not be allowed under their current zoning regulations. —- There’s a separate issue with new modern mixed use in the US where retail tends to have low occupancy. Partially this is because there continues to be a massive glut of retail space in the US, and partly because the new spaces tend to be too large to be profitable for anything other than chain stores, and there are only so many chain stores to go around.
      - asdff 4y ago
        Take a street like melrose ave. It's filled with pretty well leased, single story commercial real estate abutting low rise apartments and homes. Walkable? Sure, if you manage to snag one of the limited available leases in a 15 mins walk. Replace those commercial parcels on melrose with 5 over 1s, and there is no net loss here. The same commercial square footage is available, sometimes more if the the building extends further into the lot versus if the old building had a small surface parking lot in the rear, sometimes a lot more if more than 1 story is set to be commercial space. Not to mention the apartment stock swells up, supporting a larger customer base for these businesses when these apartments are inevitably leased out before long. NIMBYs in this city bemoaned old Amoeba records loosing its "historic" low rise commercial building. But Amoeba just moved into one of these mixed used developments a few blocks away closer to the metro station, got more square footage out of the deal, and sold the old property for a lot of money. The city changes and it isn't a bad thing, in fact its typically a good thing that it changes as this keeps rents closer to the actual wages seen.
frumper 4y ago
There are plenty of homes near grocery stores in the suburbs. Not every home, but plenty if that's important to you. Location, location, location.
- bobthepanda 4y ago
  Given the premium, there’s not enough. Let’s create more locations.
  - frumper 4y ago
    There is no premium in any city I've ever lived in for that. $/sq ft doesn't change if you're a block from the grocery store, it might actually be cheaper. That said, you don't need more, you just need one.