It seems that we have more condos downtown than are needed... at least if you do a search on any local real estate listings website... it appears that a significant number of them are for sale... Just how many rich folks want to live downtown...esp. if all they've got to look at is the brick wall of a neighboring loft?
Just what percentage if any is "affordable housing?" How does the developer profit machine work? What's the cost of construction for them versus the profit they get and how much does the city subsidize...for example to clean up environmental problems or overall construction costs? Seems like alot of developers are leaping on the gravy train without and looking at their individual project without anyone apparently looking at the overall housing market demand (at least on the HIGH end) downtown. Of course someone probably has done studies, someone probably does know that this a big profit machine but that someone is being ignored....their reports probably lying at the bottom of a drawer somewhere... It's good to see a certain amount of development...but not good to see so much housing exclusively for the wealthy...and it's not good to see businesses or artists driven out because costs are too high. It's good to see an industrial neighborhood full of energy and lots of new businesses...but not good to see every gritty old historic building so over-oppressively yuppie clean and gentrified and new that you can't feel it's soul anymore or see any trace of the dirt, sweat, noise, metal and stink of the lumber, flour mills and manufacturers that made Minneapolis what it is. Madeline Douglass Kingfield REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
