This broken ruin of a tractor seems to symbolize the destruction of farming along the eastern end of Ellingson Road. (Photo taken Jan. 10, 2026)
It was in the spring two years ago that an old broken Allis Chalmers tractor caught my eye on the south side of Ellingson Road opposite Lochner Road, at the south end of Albany.
This is what it looked like then:
Last week it was in pieces, as you can see in the shot at the top of this story.
The bike took me out to that part of town Saturday to see how the area had changed. It has changed a lot.
From Lochner Road east to Columbus Street, Ellingson Road has been built up to be an urban thoroughfare, with paved sidewalks and off-street bikeways.
On the north side of Ellingson, there’s the large Henshaw Farms subdivision, and another phase of the same development is getting started on the south side. The southern extension of Lochner Road across Ellingson looks finished, but developer Lennar Homes tries to keep people off it with a “no trespassing” sign.
Inside the northeast corner of Lochner and Ellingson, streets and sidewalks have been built for Curry Meadows Place, a “middle housing” subdivision of 172 townhouse lots the City of Albany approved last March.
Curry Meadows had originally been approved for 86 residential lots, but Lennar Northwest applied to double the number of lots under the state’s “middle housing” law.
Only a few years ago, all that land around Ellingson and Lochner roads had been grass seed fields interspersed with a few stands of oak.
Subdivision developers have this habit of naming their housing tracts after the land uses they replaced. Hence “Henshaw Farms” and “Curry Meadows.”
The same can be said of “Meadowlark,” another new tract of densely packed houses that Hayden Homes is building in a former field a bit closer to town on the east side of Lochner Road, across Lochner from the Oak Creek Youth Correctional Facility.
None of this wave of housing development should be a surprise. The City of Albany expected it, indeed hoped for it, when it adopted the South Albany Area Plan in 2012. (hh)
At the entrance of Meadowlark, a subdivision off the east side of Lochner Road.
Curry Meadows Place is being built as a middle housing project of 172 townhouses, at the corner of Lochner and Ellingson roads.
The view east toward Henshaw Farms along Ellingson Road, from Lochner Road, on Jan. 10, 2026.
I think it’s disgusting. I, for one, am tired of the “If it’s empty, build on it.” mindset.
Yes, no more houses after we have moved into our houses here….
I agree. I’m also disgusted.
Hasso: Your latest picture of the old tractor is an accurate depiction of the state of this country we live in.
As I recall, the plan for the southern part of town also included retail spaces, grocery stores and gas stations. (7-11 is not a grocery store!). None of that has materialized. What about schools, medical facilities and fire stations. Columbus street is poorly designed to handle the traffic from all this residential growth. Does anyone consider these issues?
Look at the multiple pages of plans in the link Hasso provided. Park, school, FD, etc., all part of those plans. It’s taken ~13 years to get this far. NO development will occur until-if-when a devloper chooses to do so.
No is the answer to your question. Things are done by people with dollar signs where eyeballs usually are. And, the Council is way out of their depth. People with egos big enough, and enough time and money, run for the Council positions. And, they don’t know what in the hell they are doing? (Fire away, Ray K.!!!!!)
Nahh… You’re doing just fine all by your lonesome whining from afar… LOL
You always manage to insult. I imagine when you were younger someone “cleaned your clock” now and then. (For those who don’t know, than means beat the living daylights out of ‘ya.) I’ll add LOL here like Ray did, although I don’t understand why he added that… unless it was trying to show Hasso that he isn’t mean.
I see… So it’s perfectly acceptable for you and some others to slam-denigrate commenters and not expect any kind of response? Laughable for sure!
Hasso, when will you finally turn off comments (or ban pseudonyms) so these sad people have to actually get out from behind their keyboards? Maybe it’s time for a Susan Collins-esque “very concerned” post about civility?
Someone awhile back said we are a bedroom community to Salem and Eugene.It appears so as the job infrastructure isn’t here anymore.
If only people would stop having children. They have to live somewhere. When I was born the population of the US was 220 million. now it is 50% more.
I love how my home town keeps growing. Albany was 14,000 when I was a kid (according to the popular photo of the population sign in North Albany on Hwy 20 during the 1964 Christmas flood). “Grow, or Die” is the old saying. As long as growth is well planned and executed, it should be celebrated.
“Grow or Die”.
In business & leadership
Mandatory adaptation: Companies must innovate and grow, not just in size but in value, or they’ll be overtaken by competitors.
Focus on culture: It’s about fostering a growth mindset, developing people, and bold goals, not just revenue.
Improvement over size: Some argue that focusing on continuous improvement (quality, value) is more crucial than just growth (size), as unchecked expansion can dilute value.
In personal development & spirituality
Learning mindset: Individuals need to keep learning and evolving, or they risk stagnation.
Spiritual growth: In faith, it means continuing to bear fruit and develop spiritually, as a lack of spiritual growth can signal decline.
In survivalism & gardening
Self-sufficiency: Books like Grow or Die: The Good Guide to Survival Gardening teach how to grow food to survive crises, highlighting a fundamental biological imperative.
Parents in 1940s/50s: “Let’s move to Albany.” Also, “protect farm land and prevent sprawl!” (Cheer SB100).
Their kids: “PULL UP THE DRAWBRIDGE.” Also, “Why would anyone want to live here? Albany is terrible now and my rose-colored glasses tell me everything used to be great.”
SMH