Section 8 apt complex is now 'townhomes'

[arcturus 214]

Guess one way to try removing the stigma of a crappy section 8 apt complex with a bad rep is to pull an 'Eenhoorn.'  In this case the complex was known as The Traditions.  Now it's known as Clear Valley Townhomes.  How they get away renaming it escapes me. Just for the heck of it I sent an email inquiring on purchasing one of these 'townhomes.'  They replied they're only for rent. Silly me, to think a townhome could be purchased!  

 

Only stumbled across this because the press reported a garage fire at the place last month.  Arson.  A few more of those and they just might have to rename them again.  

 

 

  

[RegalTDP 385]

That's not new.  Lots of apartments call themselves "townhomes," including the building I currently live in.  See, even Wikipedia gets it:

 

 The name "townhouse" or "townhomes" was later used to describe non-uniform units in suburban areas that are designed to mimic detached or semi-detached homes. Today, the name townhouse is used to describe units mimicking a detached home that are attached in a multi-unit complex. The distinction between dwellings called "apartments" and those called "townhouses" is that townhouses usually consist of multiple floors and have their own outside door as opposed to having only one level and an interior hallway access.

 

Does it offend you that Traditions is trying to improve their image?  Why shouldn't they?  I would if I were them.

Edited October 7, 2014 by RegalTDP

[arcturus 214]

I found the wiki amusing.  My guess is none of those dwellings are remotely close to section 8 whether one calls them apartments or townhomes.  Given the wiki definition of townhome whose pictures imply higher end (and now dumps off of 43rd St apparently), Joe Sixpack is rewarded with added confusion over its nature. 

 

No offense but if they want to improve their image they can start with more legal selectivity when it comes to tenants, and better yet those who don't have a propensity to torch stuff. No, the name change conveys nothing more than putting lipstick on a pig.  This is Grand Rapids after all, not LA, New York, Bremen, or Gdansk where 'townhome' renters wouldn't be caught anywhere near S 8's (if such things exist overseas).

 

But hey, if you torture the definition enough, it will eventually fall into a socially acceptable and cool sounding contrivance.  Who knows, maybe it will even fool a few people to move in.  They'll find out soon enough.

Edited October 8, 2014 by arcturus

[GRDadof3 3226]

I found the wiki amusing.  My guess is none of those dwellings are remotely close to section 8 whether one calls them apartments or townhomes.  Given the wiki definition of townhome whose pictures imply higher end (and now dumps off of 43rd St apparently), Joe Sixpack is rewarded with added confusion over its nature. 

 

No offense but if they want to improve their image they can start with more legal selectivity when it comes to tenants, and better yet those who don't have a propensity to torch stuff. No, the name change conveys nothing more than putting lipstick on a pig.  This is Grand Rapids after all, not LA, New York, Bremen, or Gdansk where 'townhome' renters wouldn't be caught anywhere near S 8's (if such things exist overseas).

 

But hey, if you torture the definition enough, it will eventually fall into a socially acceptable and cool sounding contrivance.  Who knows, maybe it will even fool a few people to move in.  They'll find out soon enough.

 

Townhome to me just means a two-story residential multi-family, usually with an upstairs, main floor and basement, and connected to other buildings on either side (or one side if it's an end unit). It doesn't not really denote "class" or status to me at all. Higher end townhomes, if they are brick, I usually call brownstones. The new project in Belknap I'd call a brownstone project. The project behind ICCF I'd call townhomes/townhouses.