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18 Comments:
Do you know if this project has a website with plans and/or info?
Yes, the Compound website will be updated within about a week. The renderings and floorplans will be viewable here: http://www.marfa.org/compound OR you can click the link in the sidebar.
terrific. thanks. I look forward to checking the floorplans.
The Third Street Compound website is now updated. http://www.marfa.org/compound
This REALLY SUCKS!!! HOW FREAKIN GROSS could this be in the great town of Marfa.
Adding these "wanna-be-hip" structures does nothing for Marfa or the people of Marfa - just gives someone who has never even been here another excuse to come here and ruin our town.
STAY OUT
It is a real shame that developers have to come to Marfa and put their stamp on this town or try to get their "piece" of Marfa.
I agree that this "compound" has no place here. Buying an abandoned or falling apart adobe house and rebuilding it is one thing, but putting twenty units together adding 40 or so vehicles to a small area is just not my idea of good updating for us.
although this is technically a development, it is not being done by "developers". My partners and I are architects with an understanding of Marfa's unique sense of place and community vibe. I own a house in town and been spending as much time as i can there for the last 3 years. These understated one-story dwellings will not be out of scale in the community and will add considerably to the tax base, generating over $70,000 per year in new tax revenue for the Marfa Independent School District. Other positive aspects of the project are its focus on infill instead of sprawl which is an important issue we face. The project is also planned in an environmentally sensitive way - with permeable paving and native landscaping and a shared open common space. I will be happy to explain the ideas further if you have additional questions and am truly curious to hear more detail about your apprehension.
in response to "how freaking gross"
Are you a native marfan? if not how long have you lived there? In the time i have been going to marfa (since 1998) i have seen many positive changes in the town. Do you really feel newcomers are ruining the town? Many transplants that i know are very active and making positive contributions in the community. Is Marfa perfect now? was it 10 years ago? was it one year ago?
Even though you say you are not a developer, with all due respect, you seem to still have the sensibilities of a developer when you speak of generating tax base of $70,000 per year. Maybe I’m totally wrong about this, but it seems to me that if every empty lot in Marfa had a compound on it, or just a simple dwelling, we could add $3,000,000 per year to the Marfa Independent School District coffers and I certainly do not think that is a good idea.
I’ve been coming to Marfa since 1984 and have seen the changes, and not all of them good. I have owned a house here for 10 years and I never bought it to "flip" it or to make money off re-selling it. I bought here because I fell in love with the serenity of West Texas in the early 1980's. I love Marfa for it’s quiet simple easy going offerings - I accept Marfa for what it is, not what I’d like to see it become. When people visit their "weekend" or "summer" houses here and take what Marfa has to offer and enjoy it, I think that is great - I tend to get shaky when big city people want big city luxuries like a latte on every corner, or a dry cleaners. Reminds me of an incident in Carmen’s last year when a very obvious "visitor" requested an orange juice with no pulp - I was stunned - and further stunned when after being delivered his juice, of course with pulp - the only juice in the house - he stood up and clasped the glass with his thumb and forefinger as if he were carrying some vial of nuclear waste back to the front room counter, where he loudly exclaimed throughout the place "I said NO PULP"…can people not leave all that behind when they come here -it seems not - and this compound demonstrates just that to me.
The sprawl you speak of is also in my opinion not a great thing - To own a place in town as you do is great. I just feel strongly that people should enjoy being here, without having to put up a website advertising dwellings like this.
There are newcomers who have helped the community greatly - but there are others as well.
It’s a tough call - Marfa will change, I’m sure - It's never going to perfect for everyone- It just seems scary when people buy property here without ever having visited - when people want to advertise what is going to be here, etc. - by the time they get here they may not have a view of the Davis Mountains or the arroya.
I also don't like this idea of these "Studio Lofts".
This old mobile home park would be great with funky old 50's and 60's mobile homes jazzed up and made into living quarters - of course they probably wouldn't generate the profit for the builder that these units will.
what a disappointment to hear about this developement. marfa has always been a legend to me from the stories friends of told me. i was finally fortunate enough to visit a month or so ago and marfa far exceeded my expectations for its rugged, simple beauty. to hear that a slick development is being built ruins what i believe marfa and its people (whether weekenders or permanent) are about-- nature, land, simple pleasure are what is important. i agree with the previous posting, a funky development of vintage trailers or small cabana structures would better serve to keep the sprit alive. keep the downtown safe for the strolling quail!!!
Dear Mr. Baker,
I find it hard to believe that you have been coming out here to Marfa for several years, bought properties, and now you need to build a development of hipster homes all in a little corner of Marfa! Are you nuts, man? My wife and I ( and a lot of other people for that matter) came out here to get away from all of this kind of fast progress that goes on in Austin, Dallas, etc. You own a few houses here and that's not enough? Can't you fix those up and sell one to someone who's looking for a cool place to live? I mean really dude. Take a look around. I imagine you're a bit like the rest of us and enjoy the quirky things about Marfa--like the mix of wealth and poor--neighbors with mobile homes--neighbors with an old bathtub by the shed that's falling down. Do you really hang out in Marfa?
I really think that what you are considering needs RECONSIDERING. Sure you'd make a handsome profit. And then the next guy's gonna see your "cool" development and see a potential lot and say "wow, we could put up some really cool duplexes that are affordable". More cars dude, more action, more stuff. HELLO, Mr. Baker. I know you've got great ideas, maybe some cool designs, but this ain't one of 'em. If you S--t in your own backyard, eventually it's gonna start to stink.
Regarding the funky old trailer park idea. Its been done - The Shady Dell in Bisbee Arizona. check out www.theshadydell.com Its a hotel made of restored airstreams and spartan trailers. I have been and it is fun to "live" in a vintage trailer at least for a few days.
Nature, Land, Simple Pleasures - You hit the nail on the head. These are some of our inspirations for the project. Our modestly sized simple structures of natural and native building materials oriented to views of the arroyo and newly created shared open space WILL be simpatico.
Attractive homes; reasonable density without crowding to reduce sprawl; local jobs during construction with tax revenue afterwards; change of a rundown mobile home lot to well-built permanent structures. Seems good so far. Marfa is a hot spot on the map. There is nothing we can do to slow the interest of people coming here. The same things that attracted newcomers like me still attracts newer newcomers. It is unstoppable. There are only so many old adobes to fix up. Not everybody has the money, skills, patience or desire to do so anyway. Marfa is changing. We need to face that. Then we need to voice our opinion over "how" we deal with these changes. But you cannot close the door and lock Marfa now that you have arrived. If people continue to want to move here, there will be a demand for housing of some sort. And somebody will try to fill that demand. As far as I am concerned, I would rather see 20 of these newcomers in a compact attractive development than in 5-acre ranchettes on the edge of town.
At last some words of REASON. Rob C's comments are graciously received.
20 newcomers adding new energy to not only a small pocket of town, but to the community as a whole is the real reward to Marfa. The planners of the Third Street Compound want to provide a planned community for artists, retirees, weekenders, visitors, and even Marfans. Their intentions are to promote "smart growth" by grouping or clustering the homes. Burying power lines will minimize visual clutter. The common green space of indigenous landscape will provide areas for residents to interact, while also serving as a functional sculpture garden. The "ditch" (as the Marfans call it) or arroyo that borders The Compound to the east can become an asset to the town instead of an eyesore or dumping ground. Deer,antelope,jack rabbits and other wildlife inhabit this small area, and stewardship to the "ditch" by the residents could begin a trend within the town. The "ditch" that runs north-south through the town should be seen as a natural artery or life line that should be nurtured, not ignored.
Yes, Marfa will grow. If the population doubles in size, it will be roughly the size it was in the 50's around 5000 people. Most likely it will still be a small town- with its unique charm, it's mysterious lights and it's artsy visitors from cities far away. The planners of the Compound want to set a standard for any future developers to follow. Not slick places, but smart places. Not stylistic dwellings immulating an architecture from another time, but simple, environmentally friendly, energy efficient, flexible pallets where the buyer can make his or her own place to be.
We just visited Marfa and fell in love with the town. We saw the model in the storefront window for the Third Street Compound and took pictures of it to bring back to the city council where our weekend escape cabin is located in Twenty-nine Palms, CA. I can understand all of the reactions here regarding change and growth. But let me give you some perspective. In Twenty-nine Palms the developers have descended and are scraping the desert flora, plopping down a hideous half-assed Spanish with no thought to the desert climate. The Third Street Compound is well designed both esthetically and environmentally. The long overhangs, openness to the surrounding views and creating a community are all things that are very desirable. It sets a standard for the town of Marfa that is welcoming, elegant and understated. Your town is "hot" and developments will be coming. Consider yourselves lucky that this one is way better than most.
I don't think that THE CHINATI FOUNDATION OR JUDD FOUNDATION OH YAH AND ALL OF THE OTHER GALLERIES YALL BROUGHT HERE IN MARFA TEXAS AREN'T HELPING US ANY SO LEAVE....PWEEZ
AND SUCK IT NIGGS
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