What About Public Space?

Apartment buildings continue to propagate in and around urban cores to satisfy move back in trends and meet expected continuing demand from career-focused young adults. High rises with floor-to-ceiling glass and surrounding views, granite kitchen counter tops, well-appointed gyms, roof decks, pools, and business centers are all the rage.  Developers and advisors sell institutional partners and investors on almost can’t-miss “build-to-core” projects. Build them, lease them up, sell them to core investors hungry for any product, or in some cases hold them longer-term with the lucrative potential to convert into condominiums.

In the past, I have written about the apartment waves in Toronto and downtown Los Angeles, but the same phenomenon is happening in just about every major urban core. Planners and local pols give way and let developers build cheek-to-jowl projects on strips in old industrial districts or in emerging neighborhoods with plenty of nightlife–bars, trendy restaurants, and sports arenas. The prime target renters are high-salaried young professionals—singles and couples, looking for convenience to get to nearby work places and pay for the privilege. Their influx is supposed to create greater 24-hour vibrancy as well as tax base, while the need for affordable housing isn’t much addressed since developers can’t make money that way, and essentially they get a pass despite some lip service.