You Probably Own This 7-Eleven (and That's Why It Looks So Sad)
A 7-Eleven in Williamsburg, Virginia, is a tenant of Agree Realty Corporation, a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns nearly 3,000 retail properties across the U.S. The REIT is partly owned by Vanguard, whose funds are held by millions of investors, including through 401(k)s. This means many Americans unknowingly own a stake in this nondescript convenience store. The article argues that such distant, commodified ownership, enabled by zoning laws and tax policies favoring large-scale development, leads to bland, characterless landscapes. It contrasts this with traditional neighborhoods like Alexandria's Captains Row, Tokyo's lively blocks, and Cairo's informal housing, showing how different property regimes shape the built environment.
Commodities aren’t lovable.
- bradly
In the past 7-Eleven was unique in the franchise world where you could make a comfortable living owning a single store and that was the major ownership model. McDonalds and other options at the time really depended on a multi-store ownership model. Corporate 7-Eleven (Southland Corp technically) moved away from this single store model in the mid to late 90's, instead preferring single, larger corporations in a region, owning 10+ stores over a single store owner. They made this happen over a 20 year span by changing the contracts franchisees sign and must to re-sign every x years. Every contract renewal drastically reduced the single store income and made it much harder for single store owners to make a living. Corporate also started preferring to give new stores to existing, large scale franchises over new store owners which changes the initial capital needed for a store by over 10x as with an existing store you will have to pay the rights from the previous franchisee instead of just the corporate.
My parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles all own or have owned 7-Eleven stores and have since the 80's. I've worked there, been to their conferences, and still get to hear about them at all family gatherings :)
- sodality2
This was my home gas station for 4 years so I may be biased, but it is fine. Symptomatic of a deeper car-centric problem, sure.
- throwitaway222
I think part of the reason the US doesn't feel like the US anymore is that ownership of properties is no longer Bob who dreamed of some day opening a Pizza shop on Main st. It's all corporate now, all the way down.
- javier_e06
Not to be a contrarian but that vanilla look is what creates traction or commerce. When we pull into a 7-Eleven weather in Seattle or Florida people want the same experience and the same expectations. And as such with end with liminal space. A sad space where the coffee and the Slim-Jim are the same. The familiarity of nowhere or anywhere America.
- kccqzy
The article spends a lot of time describing problems that I would see as a result of car centricity and land use patterns, but it just fails to make a point on why it’s a problem caused by REITs.
You can easily go to NYC and find entire neighborhoods owned by large absentee landlords and yet are still walkable and desirable to live in. Yes perhaps regulations and tax laws favor large firms, but in the end zoning laws can easily require those large firms to build desirable neighborhoods.