Sunday, July 10, 2005

Density doesn't make housing affordable

In this opinion piece, David C. Bloom blasts Mayor Nichols plan for increasing the density in our neighborhoods here in Seattle, as he states that affordable housing is decreasing at a time when we need more, not less, affordable housing.

Mr. Bloom is correct. In my neighborhood alone, over the past few years, I've seen several mixed use (commercial/retail/residential uses in the building) go up, and just out of curiosity, I checked into the prices being charged for the new condo's and apartments, and what I found should not be considered affordable to the average person or family.

Sample prices for condo's? $250,000.00 and up for a one bedroom unit. I don't know about anyone else, but I certainly can't afford that!

Sample monthly rents for apartments? $950.00 a month for a very small (think studio with a tiny bedroom) one bedroom unit, and that's just a starting point. They of course only go up from there. That's almost double what I'm paying for my 1920's vintage one bedroom apartment. And I know that these prices aren't isolated to new construction in just my neighborhood. As a matter of fact, prices in other neighborhoods are even higher!

Mr. Mayor, you have publicly stated that one of your "most important goals" is to increase the amount of affordable housing in Seattle, yet your plan results in fewer affordable housing units being built. In case you're not aware of this fact, Mr. Mayor, not everybody in Seattle works for Bill Gates!

No comments: