Now THAT'S a Great Idea

I love creative people, especially creative people whose work benefits a struggling community.  I read this article about Chris Toepfer's work on cleveland.com.  He is a contractor from Chicago who uses his creativity to lessen the blight that vacant or abandoned homes can bring to a neighborhood, such as the neighborhoods I visited in Cleveland this summer.  I reached back into my memory banks when I read this article and it struck me that I had actually seen his work in Slavic Village last month; I just didn't know it at the time.


In a nutshell, Toepfer places decorative boards over the existing boards/HardiPlank on houses that have become eyesores, like this:





I would have loved to have seen a "before" photo, but this guy covers up busted-out windows and holes in the siding with colorful boards.  This lessens the negative visual impact that such houses have on the neighborhood, thus increasing the marketability of nearby houses that are for sale.  It also discourages squatters and further vandalism to the properties.  Toepfer even puts faux stained windows in churches that have been closed - I'm sure that his contract in Cleveland will be secure if he chooses to also work on the area's closed churches.  The best part is that this only costs around $1,000 per house.  I love this guy!  I have particular interest in this as the wife of a real estate broker, but also as someone who appreciates creativity and hates to see once-thriving neighborhoods destroyed by homeowners and landlords that couldn't care less about the impact their properties have on their neighbors.


I don't know the ultimate fate of these homes, but I would venture to say that at least some of them that are too far gone will be slated for demolition.  In the meantime, maybe this will encourage people to invest in these areas (every big city has them) and rehab older homes inside and out in hopes that they will once again become viable neighborhoods.


Here's another article on this guy's work in Minneapolis.