Multifamily and single-family developers, however, say the blueprint eventually will raise shelter costs, citing scarce 50-foot by 100-foot empty parcels (5,000 sf) already going for $150,000 or $30 per sf.

City officials and the Downtown Development Board cite Seattle, San Francisco, Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA as examples of communities that have successfully used a master plan to blend culture, cash and shelter into an identifiable Downtown core.

For housing at least, the guidelines suggest but don't mandate specific construction and design steps for owners, developers and architects to follow to ensure the ambience of older neighborhoods is not disturbed or damaged.