"The damage caused by teardowns in historic neighborhoods only begins with the demolition of historic houses. What comes next can be even more destructive: the construction of new, oversized structures that disrupt architectural character, diminish livability, and reduce economic and social diversity throughout the neighborhood.
"A teardown is the demolition of an existing home structure. This trend is devastating older neighborhoods across the nation.
"Evidence of the teardown trend can be found among the older, inner-ring suburbs surrounding Chicago and Boston, in desirable urban neighborhoods in Atlanta, Dallas and Denver, in the "techno-boom" towns around San Francisco and Seattle, in conveniently located commuter suburbs in New Jersey and Maryland and in historic resort towns from Palm Beach to Palm Springs.
"It is common to find Teardowns concentrated in areas where the homes are relatively small, typically two or three bedrooms and ranging from 1,000 to 1,800 square feet. Many of the homes were built in the early 20th century, when a growing economy and more accessible lending policies allowed large numbers of city-dwellers to buy private homes for the first time. Lot sizes vary from 5,000 to 10,000 square feet with the house covering only 20 % of the lot. Here is how the teardown practice typically works:
Developers look for properties in established neighborhoods where there is a potential to build far more square footage than is contained in the existing home.
The existing house is purchased and bulldozed.
The lot is scraped clean.
A much larger house is erected and the completed project offered for sale.
"Today's teardown trend is another example of how we sometimes carelessly throw away our valuable heritage in the name of progress and change. Dozens of economic studies have shown that property values in historic districts consistently increase — and moreover, they rise at a faster rate than properties in similar, but unprotected, neighborhoods nearby." — Protecting America's Historic Neighborhoods: Taming the Teardown Trend, National Trust for Historic Preservation
