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Two Rutherford County homes sold for upwards of $1 million as home prices rose across Tennessee.

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Brinley Hineman, Murfreesboro Daily News Journal Published 11:10 a.m. CT Dec. 30, 2019 | Updated 2:37 p.m. CT Dec. 30, 2019

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If you're in the process of house hunting, the price of homes for sale may not surprise you.

A report from Middle Tennessee State University's Business and Economic Research Center shows that in the third quarter of 2019, the Tennessee housing market showed positive trends with rising home prices across the state. Compared to this time last year, home prices have jumped.

Two Rutherford County homes sold for more than $1 million in 2019, down from three a year ago. Four of the top 10 are located in Murfreesboro's Mirabella subdivision.

This list reports the top-selling homes on residential-zoned properties across the county and relies on data provided by the Rutherford County Property Assessor's Office as of Dec. 20.

SUPPORT OUR WORK:To support award-winning journalism here in Murfreesboro,sign up for adigital subscription to DNJ.com.

Reach Brinley Hineman atbhineman@gannett.com, at 615-278-5164and on Twitter @brinleyhineman.

Read or Share this story: https://www.dnj.com/story/news/2019/12/30/rutherford-county-most-expensive-homes-sold-real-estate-for-sale/2709276001/

Dec. 30, 2019, 2:37 p.m.

Dec. 30, 2019, 12:07 p.m.

Dec. 30, 2019, 8:39 a.m.

Dec. 27, 2019, 10:15 a.m.

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Original post:
Check out the most expensive homes sold in Rutherford County in 2019 - Daily News Journal

DENVER, CO It doesn't take millions of dollars to live in your own 'fairy tale' home, but for a few listings in Colorado, money definitely helps.

Denver's metro area has no shortage of luxury homes; however, not every local mansion has a rich history and fairy tale-like appeal.

Here are three homes that belong on the pages of childhood classics:

This old-world Denver luxury home on Cedar Avenue has been listed for $7.9 million. Built in 1933, the fairytale-like Tudor estate was commissioned by famous Denver architect Temple Hoyne Buell.

The 11,500-square foot house features intricate exterior brick walls that were built by skilled England bricklayers, listing agents said. Most of the home's rooms surround a spiral staircase that leads to the third floor, where a 60-foot tower offers 360 degree views.

The home also features its original leaded glass windows, crystal chandeliers, ornate handcrafted wood paneling, parquet flooring and hand-painted ceilings.

The home's kitchen has been upgraded and a new family room has been added.

The property also offers more than one acre of land with a covered formal patio, rose gardens, 4,000-square-foot patio, an outdoor kitchen, a fire pit, a large pool and a cabana with a TV.

Lakewood's most expensive home listing features eight bedrooms, six bathrooms and a tennis court. Listed for $3.2 million, the 8,500-square-foot home sits on a five-acre lot at 6650 Lakeridge Rd.

The English Tudor 'fairy tale' home, which features private lakefront access, includes a boat house, a dock and a sandy beach.

"Enjoying your coffee overlooking the sprawling mountain views," the home's listing read. "Surrounded by equestrian land and exquisite estates, this property is serenity at its best."

The house also features a two bedroom, one bathroom guest house.

The mansion was built in 1918, and maintains many of its original features, listing agents said.

This six-bedroom, nine-bathroom country club home, at 380 N Gilpin St. in Denver, has been listed for $5.9 million.

Dubbed 'The Corner Chateau," the property also includes fairy tale-like, professionally landscaped gardens.

"Designed by Burnham Hoyt in the 1920's, it retains much of its original character, including a 4,000 volume wood-paneled library, leaded glass windows with the initials of the original owners, a weather vane designed and gifted to the owners by Hoyt, and much more," the home's listing read.

The home also includes an exercise room, three fireplaces, walk-in closets and a home theater.

For Sale: $235,0001 bd/1 full ba, 634 sqft

For Sale: $1,195,0005 bd/6 full ba, 3,620 sqft

For Sale: $400,0003 bd/2 full ba, 1,566 sqft

For Sale: $199,9001 bd/1 full ba, 810 sqft

For Sale: $385,0004 bd/2 full ba, 1,632 sqft

For Sale: $346,5002 bd/1 full ba, 837 sqft

For Sale: $385,0003 bd/2 full ba, 3,004 sqft

For Sale: $235,0001 bd/1 full ba, 550 sqft

For Sale: $615,0003 bd/4 full ba, 1,746 sqft

For Sale: $327,0002 bd/1 full ba, 933 sqft

See original here:
3 Metro Denver Homes That Are Straight Out Of A Fairy Tale - Patch.com

Residential real estate insiders will tell you that spring is the No. 1 season for buying and selling homes. But when does the spring season start?

In a hot housing market like North Texas, listing your home after the first of the year is a great idea. If you want to buy a home, you may want to get started working with an agent during the first months of the new year.

Allie Beth Allman & Associates, the leader in sales in Park Cities homes, per MLS statistics, has created a comprehensive list of homes where the owners have lowered their price. The full list of homes with price adjustments can be found at more.alliebeth.com/new-home-new-price.

Here are three homes with adjusted prices that Allman associates think should be considered.

The recently renovated four-bedroom residence at 209 Glendale Drive in Coppell is offered by Tim Schutze. Features include wood flooring and two fireplaces. The kitchen provides an island, stainless-steel appliances and granite countertops. The breakfast room offers a bay window and French doors that lead to a large patio. The master bathroom has a separate shower and tub.

Aaron Carroll and Blake Eltis are marketing the four-bedroom home at 5317 Emerson Ave., near Inwood Village. The first level is an open floor plan with wood flooring throughout, a spacious living room with a fireplace and a dining room with a wet bar. The kitchen features a large island and stainless-steel appliances, including a Sub-Zero refrigerator and wine cooler. The first-floor master suite has a bedroom with a fireplace, walk-in closets and a bathroom with marble countertops, dual sinks, a jetted tub and separate shower. The second floor offers a spacious den and a large side porch. The backyard has a pool and an open cabana.

Located near Dallas M Streets, the four-bedroom Craftsman-style home at 6036 Palo Pinto Ave. is offered by Blair Hudson. This residence features extensive owner upgrades, including Hunter Douglas window treatments, a surround-sound system, white oak wood flooring and updated lighting. The kitchen provides quartz countertops, custom cabinetry, a five-burner range, double ovens and a built-in micro drawer. The dining room has a wet bar and wine chiller that opens to a great room with a stacked-stone fireplace and 20-foot ceiling. The master suite offers dual closets and a balcony. There are also two balconies, three porches and a saltwater pool.

To find your perfect home, visit http://www.alliebeth.com.

Link:
Ring in the new year with a new home - The Dallas Morning News

The first things that may strike you about the newly constructed two-and-a-half-story, six bedroom, six-and-a-half bath luxury home at 3 South 30th Avenue in Longport are the extraordinary elegance and grace of its exterior design, the way its southern exposure maximizes the amount of sunlight it receives and, of course, its proximity to the beach in a shorefront community whose geography makes it less apt to attract crowds of visitors.

But if your first impression is how enticingly all this comes together, you may be further beguiled to discover that theres a whole lot more to its appeal than meets the eye.

Everyone sees a faade, but they never get to look behind the walls, says custom builder Albert Puggi, owner of Puggi Construction LLC, in describing his approach to designing and constructing homes for over 30 years, which this particular residence exemplifies. I build homes with meticulous attention to detail and maintain a high-quality standard as if I was going to live in them or even retire in them.

Every bedroom of this particular home, for example, has its own private custom-designed full bathroom, affording residents and guests complete privacyand each bathroom, as Puggi notes, is 100 percent marble, including showers, floors and sills, rather than tile, and comes with a window to keep it bright.

Theres also an elevator thats accessible from the outside and transports occupants from ground level to any of its three floors, and vice versa, which eliminates the difficulties (and hazards) of navigating stairs for retirees that keeps many of them from buying a house with more than one story. The elevator, Puggi points out, provides efficient and safe access to all floors of the home for occupants of any age, especially when theyre carrying things. The staircases, he says, are split-level with landings to make them both safer and easier to ascend.

Then there are what Puggi calls the hidden features of the home, such as 3/4-inch-thick hardwood engineered flooring throughout the entire house, which keeps the floors from warping or buckling from the moisture of being near the ocean. Another is spray foam insulation throughout the entire exterior of the house for optimal energy efficiency, along with hurricane windows designed to withstand winds of up to 150 miles per hour. Even though these windows are no longer required by code, theyre still a standard feature of all the homes Puggi builds, along with insulation in all interior walls and floor joists to insure privacy for each room.

The many additional amenities to be found throughout this custom home include a fabulous gourmet kitchen, upper and lower LED accent cabinet lighting, and 1-inch granite countertops with OG edges. Occupants can experience outdoor dining with an oversized exterior covered deck accessible from the kitchen for added ambiance. The living room includes a remote-controlled gas fireplace, and it is pre-wired for a surround-sound system complete with built-in speakers.

Among its other advantages are three-zone heating and air conditioning units; a security alarm system for the interior as well as pre-wired surveillance cameras for the exterior; an attached garage with a driveway big enough to accommodate four additional vehicles; an extensive ground-level storage area on a concrete slab under the entire house, and two enclosed private outdoor showers with motion sensor lighting for added convenience and safety.

In addition, should an owner wish to put in a swimming pool, theres room enough to do so and even to add a second detached garage that can double as a cabana (the kind of flexibility that not too many shore properties offer).

As for the location, besides being just six houses from the beach, and two blocks from Longports playground, tennis and basketball facilities, its just a five-minute walk to the restaurants and shops of Margate, as well as having two convenience stores along the way.

To arrange a showing of this state-of-the-art residence, you can contact listing agent Jaime Kravitz at DiLorenzo Realty Group LLC at either (609) 350-7475 (office) or (609) 226-9634 (cell phone).

More here:
This Longport luxury home has a lot more to offer than looks - Press of Atlantic City

HERE

Deals for new skiers and snowboarders

Want to learn to ski or snowboard? Consider taking an adult clinic at Pats Peak in New Hampshire and get a lesson, half-day lift ticket, and lunch for less than the cost of a regular half-day lift ticket. The Weekday Adult Ski/Snowboard Clinics run Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings (with a few holiday exclusions) through the end of the season. Clinics cost $40 per day for a one-time pass to $300 for a 10-clinic package. Or sign up for Passport Program PLUS, a weekend program that includes four beginner lessons, lift ticket, and rental packages. After finishing the program, you get a free Pats Peak Unlimited Season Pass, a free pair of Elan skis and bindings (limited quantities available), and discounts at ski shops in Concord, Salem, Nashua, and Manchester, N.H., and at The Ski House in Somerset, Mass. The prepaid program costs $389, for 18 and older. 888-728-7732, http://www.patspeak.com.

Bostons annual Celtic festival

Celtic musicians, singers, and dancers from around the world gather in Cambridge Jan. 16-19 for the 17th annual Boston Celtic Music Festival, known as BCMFest. The event includes more than 60 performances at Club Passim, The Sinclair, and The Atrium in Harvard Square, showcasing artists from Irish, Scottish, Cape Breton, and other Celtic communities. Enjoy performances by renowned Cape Breton fiddling duo Mary Jane Lamond and Wendy MacIsaac, Irish step dancer Kevin Doyle (a US step dancing champion), and dozens of local dancers and musicians. Dont miss the Boston Urban Ceilidh Jan. 17, a Celtic dance party with live music at The Atrium, and Dayfest, which features more than 12 hours of Celtic music Jan. 18 at Club Passim and The Sinclair. Tickets range from free to $25, depending on event. Two workshops on Cape Breton music and dancing take place Jan. 19 at The Passim School of Music ($45 per person). 617-492-7679, http://www.passim.org/bcmfest.

Reel fun in Belmont

Bring your kids to Belmont World Films 17th Annual Family Festival and enjoy animation workshops and more than 35 films from around the world. This years festival, themed Where Stories Come Alive, features live action, animated, and documentary films geared to children 2 to 12. It begins Jan. 17 at Belmonts Regent Theatre with the East Coast premiere of Hacker, a Danish film about a boy whose mother, a scientist, disappears under mysterious circumstances and that ends happily. Subsequent days focus on different themes: the animal kingdom (Jan. 18), short films (Jan. 19), and the ideals and values of Martin Luther King Jr. (Jan. 20). Also attend The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show Storytime with storytelling and an audience participation puppet show, and talks and workshops with writer/director Cinzia Angelini, the head story artist for Abominable. Tickets: $6 (shorts) to $20 (workshops); $50 festival pass includes all programs except workshops. 617-484-3980, http://www.belmontworldfilm.org.

THERE

Tis the season for Drunk Yoga

Two people walk into a bar and their discussion over a glass of wine leads to the founding of Drunk Yoga, a program that encourages people to try something new without feeling intimidated. Eli Walker, the founder of Drunk Yoga and a certified astrologer, isnt a proponent of getting drunk though youre welcome to enjoy a complimentary wine, beer, or mimosa in her yoga classes but its about getting drunk, in a sense, on the good feelings of connecting with others, celebrating community, and trying something new with supportive strangers. Walker has teamed up with CheapCaribbean to offer a three-day New Year, Do You Retreat in Cancun, Feb. 20-23, which focuses on self-care, mental wellness, and beachside fun. It includes Drunk Yoga classes (with cocktails, coffee, or water in hand), one-on-one birth chart readings, sunrise (sober) beach yoga, Walkers character-development workshops, and a copy of Walkers book, Drunk Yoga: 50 Wine and Yoga Poses to Lift Your Spirit(s). Cost: $1,299 per person, includes roundtrip flight from Boston, three nights at Haven Riviera Cancun Resort and Spa, and the above activities. http://www.tiny.cc/3ul2hz.

New hotel within Austin city limits

Austins newest hotel has a state-of-the-art gym overlooking Lady Bird Lake, an in-house yoga studio, and a welcoming dcor thats influenced by the areas historic craftsman-style homes and art nouveau flair. Austin Proper Hotel, the areas first LEED Gold-certified hotel, offers 244 rooms and suites that come with Nespresso machines and Apple TVs. Borrow an electric bike to cruise around town or have a Peloton bike sent up to your room for a private workout; the hotels full-service spa and swimming pool with private cabanas open this spring. The property has a Mediterranean grill with Israeli- and Turkish-inspired fare and an elegant sunken bar with signature cocktails. A coffee shop and caf with take-out options opens soon. Rates start at $350 per night, double occupancy. 888-333-0546, http://www.properhotel.com.

EVERYWHERE

An insulated chair for travelers

Keep warm on your winter adventures with Helinoxs portable Chair One and Seat Warmer. Chair One has rugged aluminum poles with internal bungee cords that make setup and breakdown a breeze they spring into place during setup and easily come apart for packing and a durable canvas material that quickly attaches to the frame. Slip Helinoxs new Seat Warmer, made of synthetic down, over the chair for extra warmth on colder days; cinch the cover in place using the drawstring cord so it doesnt shift around when you do. The low-riding chair packs down to the size of a loaf of bread and comes with a handy zippered travel bag so you can stuff it in the corner of your car or backpack. It weighs less than a pound and supports up to 320 pounds. $100 chair, $70 seat warmer. 877-267-2882, http://www.helinox.com.

KARI BODNARCHUK

Kari Bodnarchuk can be reached at travelwriter@karib.us.

Read the original:
Celtic music, drunk yoga, and a new hotel that brings a Peloton to your door - The Boston Globe

Jan. 1, 1920

Christmas business best in years. Assistant Postmaster Howard Hamlin says that the Christmas business handled at the Osakis post office was over 100 percent greater than last year and probably the heaviest the local office has ever handled. Osakis merchants without exception report a most satisfactory business. The general stores and drug stores also reported a heavy Christmas trade and a good business in all lines.

Fred Meyer slow to recover. Drayman, Fred Meyer, who has been laid up for the past five months suffering with a broken leg which has failed to knit properly, is still confined to his home and is facing the probability of being laid up the balance of the winter. The local Red Cross branch called Monday evening the sum of $50 per month for a period of four months be awarded to Fred and his deserving family.

AD: New Years greetings from the Gingery. At the trails end of the old year we send warmest greetings. May you and those whose happiness depends upon you, enjoy abundant blessings and may your best desires meet with a response that will give you new purpose and courage. The Gingery.

50 Years Ago

Jan. 1, 1970

John R. Hanson receives special Sousa award. A long-time Osakis civic and school booster was honored last Saturday evening when John R. Hanson was presented with a special John Philip Sousa award. The presentation was made by band director Don Enger during the annual Pop Concert on behalf of all bandsmen of the school.

Todd 4-H to have Telelecture series. 4-H Adult and Junior leaders in Todd County will participate in A Telelecture Series entitled 4-H Leadership Development during January. Telelecture is a new medium that operates with a telephone connection with the University and is amplified to a public address system in the Court Annex basement. The speakers at the University will be heard live by the attendees, and slides will be coordinated with the speakers presentations.

Happy New Year! The staff of the Osakis Review joins in wishing all a most prosperous and Happy New Year. May you find everything you desire in the year ahead.

25 Years Ago

Jan. 3, 1995

C.J. Mohror retires as Osakis mayor. The Osakis community said, Thanks and a job well done, Friday afternoon to retiring Mayor, C. J. Mohror, at an open house at City Hall. Mohror announced his intent to retire from public service after serving the community for 30 years, seven as mayor, 23 on the Osakis City Council.

VFW has new manager. Deb Hinrichs, who has been employed at the Osakis VFW Club for the past four years, has been named the new manager, effective Jan. 1. She replaces Mark Ferris, who managed the club for nine years.

Breakfast benefit planned for Chris Tweet Hunt. A benefit pancake breakfast and bake sale will be held for Chris Tweet Hunt on Sunday, Jan. 8 at the Ed Pollard Community Center. Mrs. Hunt was paralyzed in a car accident on Nov. 11 and remains in St. Cloud Hospital. She expects to be moved to the Sister Kenny Hospital in the Twin Cities in early January and hopes to come home in March.

10 Years Ago

Jan. 5, 2010

Osakis VFW starts remodeling project. A crew of Osakis VFW club members gathered Sunday evening to help employees remove the old bar from the building. The club will remain open during the remodeling project that includes a new bar and flooring. All bingo and card games are on during the construction as well.

Police website asks for help with crime tips. The Osakis Police Department (OPD) is online and it wants you to get involved. The website offers information on its officers, community programs and ordinances. The site also has links to services online forms for burning permits and vacation house checks and other web sites.

Veterans Scenic Drive approved by board. Attorney Randy Brown, along with Kathy and Fred Edenloff, were present at the Todd County Commissioners meeting to discuss designating the scenic loop in Todd County as the Veterans Scenic Drive. They are requesting that the board formally adopt the name Veterans Scenic Drive as the name of the loop.

Read the original here:
Remember When, 1995: Mohror retires as mayor - The Osakis Review

Campbellsville (Kentucky): In the late 1990s, the town of Campbellsville in central Kentucky suffered a powerful jolt when its Fruit of the Loom textile plant closed. Thousands of jobs making underwear went to Central America, taking the communitys pride with them.

Unemployment hit 28% before an unlikely saviour arrived as the century was ending: a madly ambitious start-up that let people buy books, movies and music through their computers.

Amazon leased a Fruit of the Loom warehouse about a mile from the factory and converted it to a fulfilment centre to speed its packages to Indianapolis and Nashville, Tennessee, and Columbus, Ohio. Its workers, many of them Fruit veterans, earned less than what the textile work had paid, but the digital excitement was overwhelming.

Twenty years later, Amazon is one of the worlds most highly valued companies and one of the most influential. Jeff Bezos, Amazons founder, has accumulated a vast fortune. In Seattle, Amazon built a $4 billion urban campus, redefining a swath of the city.

The outcome has been different in Campbellsville, the only sizable community in Taylor County. The county population has stalled at 25,000. Median household income has barely kept pace with inflation. Nearly 1 in 5 people in the county lives in poverty, more than in 2000.

The divergent fates offer a window into what towns can give to tech behemoths over decades and what exactly they get in return. Campbellsvilles warehouse was among the first of what are now an estimated 477 Amazon fulfilment centres, delivery stations and other outposts around the country. That makes Campbellsville, with 11,415 inhabitants, a case study for what may happen elsewhere as Amazon continues expanding.

Amazon has had a really good business here for 20 years, Mayor Brenda Allen said. They havent been disappointed at all. And were glad theyre here.

But, she added, I really would feel better if they would contribute to our needs.

In central Kentucky, Amazon has reaped benefits, including a type of tax break that critics label Paying Taxes to the Boss. In the arrangement, 5% of Amazon workers pay checks, ordinarily destined for the county and the state, go to Amazon itself. The company netted millions of dollars from this incentive over a decade.

Although that tax break has run out, Campbellsville itself still gets no tax money from Amazon. The warehouse is just outside the town limits. The city school system, which is its own taxing authority, does get revenue from Amazon. Both the city and county school systems recently raised their tax rates because of revenue shortfalls. (The city increase had to be rescinded for procedural reasons.)

No one wants Amazon to leave, though. It is Campbellsvilles largest private employer. Its online mall has given the towns shoppers access to a paradise of goods.

Less visibly, Amazon shapes the local economy, including which businesses survive and which will not be coming to town at all. It supplies small-screen entertainment every night, influences how the schools and the library use technology, and even determined the taxes everyone pays.

We were a company town with Fruit of the Loom, and were becoming a company town again, said Betty J Gorin, a local historian.

Amazon said it was not solely responsible for Campbellsvilles vitality. It pointed out other big local employers, including a hospital and a Baptist university. Amazon is not the only barometer, it said.

The company said it had spent $53 million remodelling its warehouse to benefit employees. The facility now includes a classroom for training workshops and, it said, on-site college classes. Amazon declined a request for a tour.

Some cities and towns are now weighing the costs of Amazon versus the benefits. The nationwide total of all state and local subsidies for the company over 20 years is $2.8 billion, according to Good Jobs First, which tracks tax breaks for corporations.

Activists protested New Yorks plan to give Amazon billions of dollars in tax breaks, causing the company to abandon its plans this year to move into Queens. (Amazon began opening new offices in Manhattan this month without any incentives.) Maryland residents rejected a proposed warehouse last summer, citing concerns about noise pollution, traffic and safety.

In Campbellsville, the relationship between Amazon and the residents is facing some questions as it enters middle age.

The needle has not moved in the last two decades on the quality of life in Kentucky, especially in places like Campbellsville. What does that tell you? said Jason Bailey of the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, a research and advocacy group.

He called the state a fiscal mess because of tax giveaways to Amazon and other companies. Kentucky has had 20 rounds of budget cuts since 2008, he said.

Old Economy Meets New

In 1948, a Kentucky underwear company set up an outpost in the basement of the old Campbellsville armoury with five employees. This eventually became the largest single mens underwear plant in the world, with 4,200 workers producing 3.6 million garments a week.

The money was good, especially for women and African Americans, who had few other opportunities. Fruit, as it was eventually called, built the first public tennis courts and paid the city $250,000 in 1965 to expand the wastewater disposal plant. Factory executives spurred the creation of a country club and the public swimming pool.

The easy times ended with the North American Free Trade Agreement, which took effect in 1994. Amazons arrival five years later offered a second chance. Campbellsville was more than 40 miles from the nearest interstate, but it had a 570,000-square-foot modern warehouse and thousands of eager workers who knew how to hustle.

To woo Amazon, the local fiscal court passed the payroll tax measure, which opened up the state coffers. Amazons workers, like other employees in the county, would pay a 1% payroll tax and a 4% state income tax. But that money went directly to Amazon as a reward for bringing in jobs.

This type of tax break was first developed in Kentucky and is now widespread. Amazons incentives totalled $19 million over 10 years, including exemption from the states corporate income tax. The company said it had ultimately received less than half that amount, though it declined to explain the discrepancy.

The enthusiasm with which yesterdays workers embraced tomorrows economy was a big story that drew national attention. Making underwear was not sexy. Selling things online was.

Arlene Dishman began working at Fruit in 1970. She said she had earned as much as $15 an hour the equivalent of about $100 now sewing necklines on V-neck T-shirts. You cant hardly turn that money down, she said.

Her starting rate at Amazon was just $7.50 an hour, but she relished creating a digital outpost in Campbellsville. We felt responsible for a lot of the success of Amazon, she said. We were just so proud.

She became a trainer, worked with Bezos himself when he came to town, and was promoted to management. These were years of turmoil at Amazon as the dot-com bubble burst in the early 2000s. Pressure ramped up.

I worked on the third floor, Dishman said. No air-conditioning. I would have people on the line pass out constantly.

As a manager, she said, she was too understanding, which was her undoing.

I had worked with these people for so many years at Fruit that when a situation came up that management was not liking, I had a tendency to take the workers side, she said. She left after three years.

David Joe Perkins, who worked for Fruit for 24 years and then for Amazon, said he also took pride in being part of the e-commerce start-up.

We treated it like our company, he said. I have personally worked with Jeff Bezos. I actually liked the guy.

What Perkins did not like were Amazons managers.

My manager called me into the office one day and said, Dave, your performance is not what it needs to be. I said, How can I improve? He said, You dont fire enough people.

Several months later, Perkins was let go with little explanation.

Both Perkins, 64, and Dishman, 71, have Amazon Prime accounts. Dishmans daughter works for Amazon as a data analyst. Dishman even thought about returning to the warehouse during last years holidays to earn a little Christmas money. She did not follow through.

All the Numbers

Just about everyone in Campbellsville remains grateful to Amazon for coming and hiring people. Those workers take their pay-checks and spend at least some of the money around town.

There are not as many workers as people think, though.

When Amazon arrived, it said it would employ 1,000 people full time within two years. Thats still the official total from the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, a state agency, and in Gorin and Jeremy Johnsons two-volume history of the town, published this year. Team Taylor County, which solicits new industries for the community, puts the number of workers at 1,350.

Amazon said in October that the total was 655 full-time workers.

Im shocked, Gorin said.

Kelly Cheeseman, an Amazon spokeswoman, said the head count started to shift at the warehouse around 2016 to 2017. She said automation the deepest fear of every community with an Amazon warehouse had nothing to do with it.

We regularly balance capacity across the network, Cheeseman said. In November, Amazon said full-time workers had risen to 700.

Amazon said the money it paid in wages was an investment in Campbellsville and that it had contributed $15 million in taxes to Taylor County over the last 20 years. It declined to break down the numbers further.

Records and interviews indicate that Amazon paid about $350,000 in taxes this year to the city school system. The company paid the county $410,000 in property taxes.

Good Jobs First, the group that analyzes tax benefits for corporations, thinks that is not enough.

What has Amazon really done for the community? asked Greg LeRoy, the centers executive director. Its not like its a tech lab, diffusing intellectual property or spinning off other businesses. Its a warehouse.

Allen, the mayor, wants more money to pay the towns bills.

The people in Seattle are getting rich, she said. They dont care what happens to the people in Campbellsville, not really.

In the Community

In the 1970s and 1980s, life in Campbellsville revolved around Fruit. Townspeople learned not to be near downtown when the plant let out at 4 p.m., and traffic briefly became overwhelming. When Fruit shut down for the first two weeks in July every year, the town was so dead that other industries in the area scheduled their vacations for the same time. Fruit officials were active in the chamber of commerce, civic clubs and associations.

Amazon is not like that.

Amazon is everywhere and nowhere, Gorin said. This town runs on Amazon, but their employees are not in positions of political power.

Amazon is linked into the community in other ways that often end up benefiting Amazon. In 2016, the company donated 25 Kindle Fire tablets to Campbellsville kindergarten and first grade classrooms. It also donated $2,500 in content. The town schools are increasingly buying supplies from Amazon for a total of about $50,000 in the last fiscal year, records show.

We want to do business with those in our community, those paying local taxes, said Chris Kidwell, finance director for Campbellsville Independent Schools. Its kind of a good-neighbour policy.

The county school system, with 2,800 students, is dealing with state budget cuts. One way it has made up some of the shortfalls is by selling corporate sponsorships. Taylor Regional Hospital bought the naming rights to the health services room; Campbellsville University did the same for an education center. Amazon is not a corporate sponsor.

Were proud to have them in our community, and we would be proud to have them as a corporate sponsor, said Laura Benningfield, the assistant superintendent.

Last spring, the local library was to receive a $10,000 gift from Amazon for science and technology education. Amazon planned to supply whatever the library wanted by ordering the material through its own site. As this article was being reported and Amazon was emphasizing what it had done for the town, the company just sent the library the cash.

Were on the receiving end of a blessing, said Tammy Snyder, the town librarian. The library, like other public institutions in Kentucky, is dealing with the states largely unfunded pension system. Proposed changes that involve the library paying significantly more will bankrupt us, she said.

Justin Harden, 35, said he had no illusions about Amazon. He and his wife, Kendal, recently opened Harden Coffee, a popular meeting spot, on Main Street.

If they can figure out a way to cut me out and take my business, theyll totally do it, he said. They would destroy me, absolutely. But I am a 100% supporter of Amazon. I have five kids. We get stuff from Amazon almost every day.

He paused, acknowledging his own contradictions. Thats why theyre winning, he said.

Rubble Nation

A pile of rubble on Campbellsvilles southern approach marks the ruins of the Fruit plant.

The property is owned by Danny and Sandy Pyles, commercial contractors who run an excavating company in nearby Columbia. They bought the textile factory with other investors a decade ago with the goal of building a retail complex called Campbellsville Marketplace.

The graffiti-covered shell was torn down, and a Louisville developer, Hogan Real Estate, cobbled together a deal. Kroger, the countrys largest supermarket chain, would close its two Campbellsville stores. It would then become the Marketplace anchor tenant with a 123,000-square-foot superstore.

Work was supposed to start within weeks. Then, on June 16, 2017, Amazon announced that it was buying the upscale grocery chain Whole Foods. Kroger shares slumped. Its deal in Campbellsville was put on hold and then abandoned. Hogan chased other possible anchors Menards, Meijer, Home Depot but none were interested. (Kroger declined to comment.)

We used to talk about the Walmart Effect when you saw vacant storefronts in these small towns, said Justin Phelps of Hogan Real Estate. Now its the Amazon Effect.

Pyles Excavating is a good Amazon customer. The company needed a muffler recently for a track hoe. It would have cost $1,200 from a dealer. On Amazon, it was half that.

The internet has brought the world to our fingertips, Danny Pyles said.

The Pyleses recently bought out the other investors in the Fruit site. Their investment is now more than $2 million.

It really is a great piece of property, but right now its a reminder of the day Campbellsville literally shut down, said Sandy Pyles, the daughter of a Fruit worker and relative of many others. Its a sadness.

They would like a Whole Foods there but know the town is too small to support it. Danny Pyles has another idea: an Amazon Go store. These are experimental outlets with no cashiers.

That would put local competitors who still needed humans at a disadvantage while adding hardly any jobs. But it would be an investment by one of the worlds richest companies in one of the towns where it began.

Amazon is the future, he said. Wed like to be part of that.

David Streitfeld c.2019 The New York Times Company

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Prime Anchor: An Amazon Warehouse Town Dreams of a Better Life - News18

Midtown Gainesville

Midtown was in the news a good bit in 2019, and for good reason: Gainesville is angling to finally close the deal on a revitalization of the area that has been in the works, or at least in the hopes, for years.

In 2019, a real-deal developer signed on to build a multi-use project on the other side of the midtown bridge. Construction of more than 200 apartments and 10,000 square feet of retail space could start as early as May and take up to two years.

But things are already happening in midtown. In December, Diletto Bakery opened on Bradford Street also near the midtown bridge. The bakery spent years building a fanbase by plugging away at the Gainesville Farmers Market on Fridays.

While Diletto is in midtown, the business offering on South American flavors is finding itself well placed to fill the space left by Midland Coffee Co.s exit from downtown in 2019.

And then theres the skate park and new pond coming to the Midtown Greenway deeper into midtown. Not far from the park, Let There Be Rock School got rolling on Main Street, and has stayed rolling, in 2019. The Inked Pig is rolling out a new menu item smoked sausages. The sausages are ground, stuffed and smoked at the restaurant on Main Street. - photo by Nick Bowman

Midtown has also been the new, trendy home for home decor shops and one of Gainesvilles most interesting new restaurants: The Inked Pig.

That gravel lot downtown

If you thought you read a lot about midtown in 2019, how about the fourth side of the square in downtown Gainesville?

With retired Coca Cola Co. CEO Doug Ivester buying into the project after developer Tim Knights plans collapsed in 2019, this could be the year work begins on something, anything, in Gainesvilles favorite parking lot at the corner of Main and Spring streets.

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Midtown, downtown, South Hall and wine: Four cool things we're watching in 2020 - Gainesville Times

Bob Perry slings vinyl at Cheapo Records in Central Square, and every sale in his Cambridge shop is critical.

Perry hustles to stay ahead as he watches more and more of the city's funky shops shut down.

"Every year, when the rents go up and the workers want a little bit more money, it gets a little bit harder," Perry said.

Retailers like Perry are feeling the squeeze from soaring rents, disruptive construction projects and the growth of online shopping.

Not all survive; in greater Boston, about 10 percent of storefronts are now empty.

The numbers are better in Cambridge, but in busy places like Harvard Square, they're seeing more than twice as many vacancies as in the rest of the city.

Harvard Square has been losing spots its eclectic identity was built on: The World's Only Curious George Store, John Harvard's Brew House, Tealuxe, Black Ink. Eye-popping rents helped force many out, and the city is reckoning with how to stem the tide.

"You always want somewhere to feel active and vibrant," said Pardis Saffari, the city's senior economic development manager.

Data from November 2019.

Saffari said when storefronts are dark, city officials worry about vandalism, blight and the toll shuttered stores take on other businesses.

"It can maybe make people not stop and shop or explore the neighborhood," Saffari said.

So city leaders got creative, employing strategies like paying local artists to exhibit artwork in vacant buildings to help liven up the spaces.

"So instead of seeing something maybe dark or empty, you now see some wonderful artwork to hopefully brighten up your day," Saffari said.

Cambridge also helped facilitate pop-up stores in vacant buildings. For example, a group of vintage clothing sellers is paying month-to-month to rent a former mattress store in Cambridge that sat empty for years.

Perry, the record store owner, filled another vacant storefront with vintage rock 'n' roll gear. Perry wants to gauge demand in the neighborhood, and the arrangement allows him to dip his toe in the water without a lot of risk.

"This is a real store in a real space on Mass. Ave in this neighborhood with the clientele that walks around here," he said.

Cultivating an invested clientele is important, particularly for a place like Harvard Square, which took another hit when the iconic Out of Town News newsstand shut down after 60 years in business.

"It was a place where Joan Baez came and played her music, and where Julia Child would get her cookbooks from," explained Aaron Greiner, director of CultureHouse, a nonprofit that filled the empty building where Out of Town News was located.

Hoping to maintain that community feel while they figure out what to do with the building, the city provided the space to CultureHouse, which functions as a community gathering spot open for anyone to hang out as long as they like.

Many visitors patronize other businesses in the area, Greiner said.

"The businesses that are still open, [visitors] are going to go and buy a coffee there, buy a lunch there," Greiner said.

And the benefits of filling the empty space aren't solely economic, he said.

"We're seeing increased problems of loneliness in cities, of isolation, which is a bit ironic because we think of cities as places that are full of people, yet people are feeling more and more disconnected," he said.

CultureHouse aims to be a community living room, for everything from book clubs and brainstorming sessions to ping pong tournaments.

"People can come in and read a book. They can come in and bring a coffee, bring their lunch. They can use the space as they like. They can meet a friend. They can meet someone new," Greiner said.

Cities hope landlords will meet someone new, too: potential tenants to open their minds to creative solutions.

Read more:
In Cambridge, Artists and Nonprofits Liven Up the Retail Landscape - nbcboston.com

Amazon is expected to break ground on HQ2 in 2020.

Arlington County

Amazon's second headquarters in northern Virginia is taking shape.

Earlier this month, the company cleared the last hurdle to begin building its second headquarters, called HQ2, when its plans received unanimous approval from the Arlington County, Virginia board. Amazon now expects to break ground on the 2.1-million-square-foot development in early 2020 and construction is slated to be complete in 2023.

Amazon will transform a group of vacant warehouses in Arlington's Pentagon City neighborhood into two 22-story buildings. The towers will be part of a larger, mixed-use site, called Metropolitan Park, that's expected to house new retail, restaurants and a daycare center open to the public, as well as 2.5 acres of green spaces designed for dog parks, farmers markets and other uses.

The company expects HQ2 will add 25,000 jobs over the next decade, with half of employees working out of the Metropolitan Park site. So far, Amazon said it has hired more than 400 employees to work out of leased offices in Crystal City, Virginia with some working on its cloud computing and Alexa teams.

Amazon submitted renderings to the Arlington County board that give a closer look into what the campus could look like when it's finished.

Here's a map showing how Metropolitan Park will be designed.

The development site, called Metropolitan Park, includes two 22-story towers, as well as new retail, restaurants and green space.

Arlington County

The 22-story towers will be built at S. Eads St. and 15th St. in Pentagon City.

This rendering shows suggested designs for public spaces in Metropolitan Park, taking inspiration from Amazon's Seattle headquarters.

Ground-floor space is allocated for retail shops and restaurants.

This rendering shows a 700-person-capacity indoor event space that will be available to the public.

An overview of all of the HQ2 developments in Arlington.

The final phase of Amazon's HQ2 includes another 2.1-million-square-foot development, located north of Metropolitan Park, at a 10-acre site called Pen Place.

Amazon is still putting together plans for the Pen Place development, a spokesperson said. The company expects to submit the plans to the Arlington County board next year.

See more here:
Amazon will break ground on HQ2 soon here's what it will look like - CNBC