

The 70,000-square-foot mansion was last on the market for $11 million. But only his daughter-in-law would survive the trip George and Harry perished at sea. So the family patriarch decided to bring his family home to their $8 million Elkins Park home - about $256 million today with inflation - in style. Morgan associate’s son, daughter-in-law and grandson - George, Eleanor and Harry Widener - were overseas in France to hire a French chef for their new hotel, the Ritz Carlton, according to a Widener University professor’s research. Lavish mansion homeowner Peter Widener, a 20% investor in the Titanic, declined his spot on the ill-fated ship in 1912 because of his age, approximately 78 at the time.īut the J. This family moved into a Home Depot shed after going into debt - then made a huge profit selling itĪ $256 million mansion tied to the Titanic tragedy is in ruins, new photos by urban explorer “Abandoned Southeast” show.

“Solutions need to be implemented to bring in new generations,” says Nozawa, “or otherwise the rapidly declining population will only fuel more vacant towns and buildings.Inside the stunning $1 trillion mirrored ‘landscraper’ of Saudi Arabiaīone collector opens museum: 100 human skulls, skeletons and ‘spine wall’įor $60K you can live in the middle of the ocean in this WWII sea fort This means that the future of these buildings – and, often, the small towns hoping to court residents to live in them – depends on whether or not local councils take strategic action to utilise akiya. This is especially the case as suburban towns spring up with new housing in lieu of residents taking up akiya. So far only seven families in Okutama have chosen to opt for akiya, according to the council.ĭr Chie Nozawa, professor of science and engineering at Toyo University, predicts the akiya problem will grow largest in central areas of big cities that haven’t found solutions to revive older neighbourhoods in which populations are declining rapidly.
ABANDONED HOUSE FREE
Still, despite the town facilitating basic architectural maintenance, offering an additional allowance of up to $18,000 to renovate the property and including free children’s services for prospective tenants, Okutama is still struggling to find new residents – especially with other schemes subsidising family housing that include newer homes. In effect, the rent contributes to a small portion of the property tax, with the council providing them with help on the rest. New tenants who take on an akiya can pay a small monthly fee across 15 years, after which they’ll get the property’s title as well as fees refunded. In rural Okutama, a quiet, mountainous town in the north-western valleys of Tokyo prefecture two hours from the capital, akiya are in oversupply.įour years ago, Okutama Council’s Youth Revitalisation Department started a programme to use the akiya donated by heirs who preferred giving away homes to leaving them vacant. Akiya are particularly concentrated in rural areas as younger generations abandon their roots in favour of settling in cities where there are more opportunities – a phenomenon that’s causing dramatic global population shift around the world. A record high of 13.6% properties across Japan were registered as akiya in 2018, and the problem is predicted to get worse not only do relatives want to avoid inheriting homes due to Japan’s second-home tax, but there are fewer citizens overall to occupy them.Īkiya dot the landscape all over Japan, listed in ‘akiya banks’ from Tokyo prefecture to rural Okayama prefecture to mountainous Kumamoto prefecture in Kyushu, at the southern end of the Japanese archipelago. Known as ‘akiya’, these are homes left abandoned without heirs or new tenants. This is already happening in Japan, where the country’s dramatically ageing population is fuelling a massive inventory of vacant homes. In 2018 the lowest number of babies were born since the country began keeping records, while deaths steadily outpaced births.Īnd, as populations decline in countries across the globe, the demand for housing will also drop as the number of households decreases. It’s of particular concern for Japan, which after experiencing a major boom throughout the 20th Century is now seeing steep population contraction. Population decline is a major issue for many countries.
