Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Badly Needed Competition


 356 College St.  From Pizza to Pizza

The number one reason Amherst has such a high property tax rate (well, besides the gold plated schools) is simple math:  half of all the property in town is owned by tax exempts and the other half is disproportionally make up of homeowners and rental units which shoulder 90% of the tax burden.

Commercial property makes up a desultory 10%.

So it's always sad to see commercial property become residential such as the old Watroba's General Store in North Amherst Center.  Which to be fair, happened a long time ago, well before the recent purchase by Jamie Cherewatti.

Watroba's General Store circa 1960s


But I find it telling that this 100 yard swap is taking place in East Amherst where Pioneer Valley Pizza is moving from 20 Belchertown Road, to 356 College Street.  Sure, maybe it's that they need less space than their previous 1,350 square feet spot, or maybe they got a better deal on rent.

10 Belchertown Road, former location Pioneer Valley Pizza


Or maybe it's because the building itself is in much better repair.

Yes it's the oldest saying in the evil book of capitalism: "When products compete they get better".  And what Amherst desperately needs is competition in the student rental business.  Because now, with such huge demand and a strangled limited supply, the competition is at best token.

If developments like The Gateway, now dead, or The Retreat, now under attack, were allowed to happen off-campus students would flock to them like swallows to Capistrano.   The Mom-and-Pop operations that do a despicable lousy job of upkeep would have to step up their game to compete, or sell out to a more responsible investors. 

Either way, increasing the supply of safe, quality and affordable housing is the answer.  And we need it now

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Commercial and residential rates are the same so the Watroba's sale doesn't change tax revenues one penny.

Larry Kelley said...

Not my point.

Commercial property does not send kids to the schools for one. Or require much time from police.

Anonymous said...

I can't see Pioneer Valley Pizza lasting in that location very long. That spot has been a black hole. Getting in and out of that lot is hard enough. Plus their biggest clientele, college students will be packing up and leaving in a few weeks.

Anonymous said...

Anyone know how the pizza is at pioneer valley pizza?

Anonymous said...

I think all the food there is pretty tasty at least for us college students... I'm sure the elite of Amherst could find a problem with it.

Anonymous said...

anon 11:14.. PVP has best calzones in amherst

Dr. Ed said...

I would like to see some competition in the market for higher education. THAT would solve a lot of problems in Amherst, starting with the cash-cow mentality.

If people in Amherst and at UMass realized that they had to start being nice to students because if they weren't, economic destitution would result, things might change.

Kinda like how customer service at small stores improves when a Walmart arrives....

Anonymous said...

Larry, I'm curious to know how much research YOU'VE actually done on Landmark Properties and their "Retreats"?
I would hope that your strong opinion (safe, quality, affordable housing) is based on fact and not assumptions or the desires of certain friends of yours.
And, by the way, as someone born in Ireland (where 6 of us shared the same bedroom and did not have indoor plumbing), who immigrated here in the 50s', spent my work life doing manual labor, and chose to live in Cushman for its working class, no frills vibe, I can assure you that we villagers are not among the rich, white people in town.

Larry Kelley said...

Enough research to know a good thing when I see it.

Anonymous said...

Then you must have access to other documents and direct responses from citizens/administrators in Tuscaloosa-AL, Knoxville-TN, Athens-GA, Lubbock-TX, Tallahasee-FL, and Raleigh-NC then I have.


Anonymous said...

Gee, Ed, some competition for Higher Ed is one of your amazingly novel ideas. I'm going to run and tell it to Amherst, Mt. Holyoke, Hampshire, Smith, Elms, Springfield College...

Paul said...

There food is great, the service is great and I believe it may work in the new spot. As most remember it was Rama for over 30 years and I believe it didn't close due to lack of business but other reasons. So I'm not sure why it would be a "black hole". I wish the owners good luck but they won't need it if they continue to put out quality. Just like the old Superior in N. Amherst, it was a staple for years and years but went belly up. Now that spot is thriving with a high quality pizza spot and looks like it will for some time. As we all know good business models do not apply to us in Amherst, we like what we like and we get it from who we like regardless.

Dr. Ed said...

Gee, Ed, some competition for Higher Ed is one of your amazingly novel ideas. I'm going to run and tell it to Amherst, Mt. Holyoke, Hampshire, Smith, Elms, Springfield College...

None of those institutions are competition for UMass and you know it. Mt. Holyoke is more of a spa than a college anyway....

No, real competition would be for the UM market niche, the Wal-Mart - no frills education that is supposedly cheaper than elsewhere.

BESIDES, name one of the ones you cited that are taxpayer supported...

Anonymous said...

"The number one reason Amherst has such a high property tax rate (well, besides the gold plated schools) is simple math."

Larry, the number one reason-besides the gold plated (underperforming) schools is the personnel/benefit costs which far surpass those that a New England town should justify. Just add together the compensation of the Town Manager, Assistant Town Manager, Police Chief and Fire Chief and you have over a half million dollars-and only one of them even lives in town.

Anonymous said...

i just wish someone would get up at town meeting and ask...how many people have jobs at the university or work in a business that caters to the university students , staff or faculty....the university is going no where and many of us make our livings from it...why not bring in the extra tax revenue.....also you people who think you know everything...what happens if your eminent domain warrants pass...you don't think that the owners of the land (either of the 2 parcels) won't take the town to court and ask for more money...their right...and then town's legal bills rise...and if you lose you pay the winners legal bills...talking about a lot of money...and where is the town going to get the 9 million to buy both parcels. LOVE THE RETREART!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I thought the town manager and asst. town manager both live in town, don't they?

Anonymous said...

I guess I'm confused-the fact that some have concerns about the "Retreat" and some of them are doing whatever they can regarding those concerns equals "people who think you know everything"?
There are many who have done much research (on both sides I assume). Are you among them? Do you think that the "extra tax revenues" from concentrating many students who already live off-campus in to a student enclave (i.e. Townhouse Apts) in the middle of the woods away from the school, will outweigh the expenses to the town's infrastructure and emergency services?
By the way, of the 10 houses in my immediate area, only 1 person works for the University and no-one works for an in-town business that caters to it.
However, being against the likelihood (research other Retreat locations) for more issues with misbehaving students and dramatically changing the neighborhood many chose for its current character, does not make one anti the University or students.
After all, I thought one of the basic tenets of a democracy was to honor all opinions. I'm not maligning you for yours.
Let Town Meeting et al decide which one of ours to to support.
Sample a "Retreat" party below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwL4Nawg2e4

Anonymous said...

A development such as The Retreat would provide what Amherst residents have been trying to achieve for so long through zoning reform and rental regulations: well-managed student housing, in this case complete with on-site professional property managers,security staff, and video surveillance; all three of which go above and beyond what is now sought through the rental permitting system. Every new bed in this poshest of student off-campus housing options represents one less student who will tolerate an improvised bedroom in the basement of an overcrowded house with extreme deferred maintenance issues. The argument can be (and is) made that the demand for student housing is essentially infinite; but that overlooks the fact that when new housing is built and the bar for quality raised, the landlords who will feel demand slacken first are those who provide the lowest quality product.

Anonymous said...

"I thought the town manager and asst. town manager both live in town, don't they?"

Oops...sorry, I was thinking of the Finance Director (a position that once included being the Asst. TM) who, I believe still maintains his residence in eastern Mass.
It gets confusing when so many (especially the higher income earners like like the Police Captains, Fire Captains, DPW Head, Town Clerk, Town Assessor, Planning Department Director, IT Director, Assistant IT Director, LSSE Director, Town Collector) live outside the town. But I'm sure they're just as invested in its present and future as the tax-payers.