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Recently, Durham and Greensboro, two growing midsize southern cities have seen a very big boom in High end residential, mainly focused around their respective ball park areas. With large scale projects like carroll at belemeade in greensboro and the recent Van Alen district in Durham. As below.
Van alen, Durham, NC. Top, Carroll at bellemeade, bottom
I say Durham And Greensboro Because winston seems to be the only one that still considers the working class, as their newly built apartments(such as the link) still have slots and programs for lower income families. Or even section 8 housing.
Where as in Greensboro and durham, the high rents and rising property value seem to signify a push away from the lower income, this is especialy true for durham, both cities claim to want to target "everyone" but are mainly targeting people who have higher income...and politely but forcefuly pushing away lower income families.
i recently spoke to a gentelman at center city park saturday evening, and he was telling me about how the city "just don't want folks like us around no more" when i asked him to explain he simply said "money talks, look at all these new fancy condominiums and whatnot, look at that big blue building in front of us,that's what the city wants, the city just aint the place for are kind anymore, even the parks are pushing us out"
After hearing him also speak about the old days, that's what got me thinking.
Downtown property values have skyrocketed in the last 5 years, and with more of a push towards white collar jobs, the property value is going to keep on climbing as the cbd climate continues to change.
I spoke to a new resident of Carroll at bellemeade who was a doctor, after asking for her review because i'm interested in a unit myself, she said she was more than happy to pay the 3000$+ rent for her apartment facing the ball feild, claiming that "this is cheap compared to where i'm from(upper new jersey) while also telling me that this price is not going to last. Which we agreed on. "There building a office building infront of here ya know, it's going to be a snowball effect after that, so get in cheap while you can." as she climed into her audi and drove away.
In my opinion, and through the years of watching cities like detroit, charlotte and raleigh, i think greensboro is the latest to add the list of cities that are shunning lower income families and residents.. Greensboro is following Durhams footsteps. Which is a good and bad thing.
Recently, Durham and Greensboro, two growing midsize southern cities have seen a very big boom in High end residential, mainly focused around their respective ball park areas. With large scale projects like carroll at belemeade in greensboro and the recent Van Alen district in Durham. As below.
Van alen, Durham, NC. Top, Carroll at bellemeade, bottom
I say Durham And Greensboro Because winston seems to be the only one that still considers the working class, as their newly built apartments(such as the link) still have slots and programs for lower income families. Or even section 8 housing.
Where as in Greensboro and durham, the high rents and rising property value seem to signify a push away from the lower income, this is especialy true for durham, both cities claim to want to target "everyone" but are mainly targeting people who have higher income...and politely but forcefuly pushing away lower income families.
i recently spoke to a gentelman at center city park saturday evening, and he was telling me about how the city "just don't want folks like us around no more" when i asked him to explain he simply said "money talks, look at all these new fancy condominiums and whatnot, look at that big blue building in front of us,that's what the city wants, the city just aint the place for are kind anymore, even the parks are pushing us out"
After hearing him also speak about the old days, that's what got me thinking.
Downtown property values have skyrocketed in the last 5 years, and with more of a push towards white collar jobs, the property value is going to keep on climbing as the cbd climate continues to change.
I spoke to a new resident of Carroll at bellemeade who was a doctor, after asking for her review because i'm interested in a unit myself, she said she was more than happy to pay the 3000$+ rent for her apartment facing the ball feild, claiming that "this is cheap compared to where i'm from(upper new jersey) while also telling me that this price is not going to last. Which we agreed on. "There building a office building infront of here ya know, it's going to be a snowball effect after that, so get in cheap while you can." as she climed into her audi and drove away.
In my opinion, and through the years of watching cities like detroit, charlotte and raleigh, i think greensboro is the latest to add the list of cities that are shunning lower income families and residents.. Greensboro is following Durhams footsteps. Which is a good and bad thing.
Thoughts?
Its definitely happened in the Southside Neighborhood of downtown Greensboro. 30 years ago it was a neighborhood primarily of lower income minorities. Then in 1999, the neighborhood began to change. They tore down some homes essentially forcing people to move out of the neighborhood. Then they built pricier homes, townhomes and apartments. The demographics are totally different today with mostly middle class to higher income Caucasians. Gate City Blvd on the edge of Southside is the dividing line between the haves and have nots. I think class and race are an issue downtown. They drive lower income people away and they run African American clubs and lounges away from downtown. When large numbers of African Americans teens started hanging around downtown about 10 years ago they enacted a temporary curfew. So it does appear that Greensboro wants a more upscale image for its downtown. It is sad because they run lower income people away because they think it will discourage development. And don't let a bunch of African American teen males start walking around in groups. That happened at Four Seasons and they enacted rules that teens couldn't walk together in groups and had to be with parents. The real reason was that African American teens were "scaring shoppers away" but they'll never tell you that. Ever wonder why you see overpriced homes in certain predominantly white neighborhoods? Its away to keep certain people from moving into the neighborhood. They ended "busing" in the school system so now schools are essentially segregated again. Over the years I've seen schools with an even mix of white and and black students turn to schools with 90% of the students being black. I grew up during the busing era of the 1980s so I've seen the changes.
Its definitely happened in the Southside Neighborhood of downtown Greensboro. 30 years ago it was a neighborhood primarily of lower income minorities. Then in 1999, the neighborhood began to change. They tore down some homes essentially forcing people to move out of the neighborhood. Then they built pricier homes, townhomes and apartments. The demographics are totally different today with mostly middle class to higher income Caucasians. Gate City Blvd on the edge of Southside is the dividing line between the haves and have nots. I think class and race are an issue downtown. They drive lower income people away and they run African American clubs and lounges away from downtown. When large numbers of African Americans teens started hanging around downtown about 10 years ago they enacted a temporary curfew. So it does appear that Greensboro wants a more upscale image for its downtown. It is sad because they run lower income people away because they think it will discourage development. And don't let a bunch of African American teen males start walking around in groups. That happened at Four Seasons and they enacted rules that teens couldn't walk together in groups and had to be with parents. The real reason was that African American teens were "scaring shoppers away" but they'll never tell you that. Ever wonder why you see overpriced homes in certain predominantly white neighborhoods? Its away to keep certain people from moving into the neighborhood.
As a black male, i agree with this. This is especialy the case with durham, 10 years ago durham had a much more diverse downtown, now it's prodiminately white upper class.
As a black male, i agree with this. This is especialy the case with durham, 10 years ago durham had a much more diverse downtown, now it's prodiminately white upper class.
Race has always been in issue. In the early to mid 20th century urban cores were made up of white residents. When minorities started moving into the inner cities, white residents fled for the suburbs. Higher income people stop coming downtown to shop then they started building malls. This essentially led to the decay of downtowns all over the country. Now we are coming around full circle. But this time they jack the prices up to keep lower income people and lower income minorities out. Even today when a new subdivision is built, you'll see a large number of white residents but when more and more minorities start moving in the neighborhood, white residents move out and it becomes a minority subdivision. That has been the pattern for decades even in 2019.
That $3000/month figure OP mentioned for Bellemeade is an anomaly rather than the norm - the rest of those units go for far less than that. Even beyond that building, there are still a lot of more affordable decent apartments and condos in/near downtown Greensboro if you check Zillow - many of which are in the sub-1000 category. I personally don't get the allure of spending so much extra for a large luxury apartment, but if people want them then more power to 'em.
That $3000/month figure OP mentioned for Bellemeade is an anomaly rather than the norm - the rest of those units go for far less than that. Even beyond that building, there are still a lot of more affordable decent apartments and condos in/near downtown Greensboro if you check Zillow - many of which are in the sub-1000 category. I personally don't get the allure of spending so much extra for a large luxury apartment, but if people want them then more power to 'em.
You are paying for location. If you took the same exact apartments and put them in Manhattan you be paying a minimum of $8,000 to $9,000 a month and that's in the far low end. Thats considered cheap in Manhattan. But you are right. $3,000 a month in downtown Greensboro is an anomaly. Its going to be a little while before that becomes the norm which is already the case in Charlotte and some apartment complexes in downtown Raleigh. The average high end apartments in downtown Greensboro is about $1,800 to $2,200 a month. That's gone up quite a bit in the last 10 years. Back then apartments downtown were between $600 and $1,400 a month. I think we'll see another sharp jump in 10 years. But Carroll at Bellemeade is the Triad's most expensive apartment complex. It's no coincidence you see a number of exotic cars there. Even downtown condos. A 600 square foot unit in the Center Pointe tower will cost you $200,000. That's the size of a small studio apartment. In the suburbs you can get a decent size house for that kind of money with land. But there are people in Greensboro who will pay it. All units in Center Pointe have been sold.
Apartment rates are based on demographics. The more high paying jobs a city has, the more expensive it becomes to live in those cities.
You don't have to convince me of the demand for high end apartments - I agree that it's there, otherwise these units wouldn't be built. However, all I was saying is that there are still many affordable(-ish) options downtown if you look, staying away from the "luxury" choices.
The Green movement or Agenda 21 was created from the theory of man-made global warming. This movement has been the catalyst for redevelopment in and around downtowns all across America. The Demorats are pushing this agenda. Scientists around the world claim that it is an unproven theory.
But this gentrification is putting pressure on lower priced housing. Seattle and SanFrancisco are experiencing homelessness at unprecedented levels and it is increasing rapidly. Due to this phenomenon, the two cities with the highest property crimes are Seattle and San Fran.
CLT has recognized a problem on the horizon and it is setting aside tens of millions of dollars for affordable housing. The city is encouraging developers,to build some apartments to be set aside for low income residents, as new apartments are built in close in neighborhoods such as southend, NODA, Plaza Midwood and others.
The city is buying older apartment complexes with the millions it has set aside. It is renovating this older complexes then renting at more affordable rates. Developers have been pitching these older complexes, renovating, and and doubling or tripling the price. The city hopes their program can slow this.
Unfortunately, this is what happens with rapid gentrification. But gentrification in CLT is not going to stop. The city’s tax base increases dramatically, and the city becomes more dense, interesting, and exciting.
I don’t know if Greensboro is growing fast enough to see the cost of housing to rise as sharply and rapidly as CLT and Raleigh. But gentrification will bring higher prices. It will force some relocation of those less fortunate. But gentrification is for the better. Former BOA head, Hugh McColl, once said that a city and metro are only as strong as its downtown. Gentrification of downtowns and inner city neighborhoods is great, but Greensboro must begin planning for providing cheaper housing if and when gentrification gets all of the close in housing beyond the reach of many.
This has already happened innCLT. There is no lower priced housing in uptown CLT or surrounding neighborhoods. But CLT is a much more interesting place than it was just 10-15 years ago. With almost 500k new resident each decade in the metro and almost 200k new residents to Mecklenburg each decade, CLT is changing rapidly. There is also little doubt that the rapid growth in and around uptown creates energy there that creates future exponential growth.
Here's a quote from an old article on the coming S. Elm apartment/townhome development
"The city plans to spend millions building streetscape and sidewalk improvements along South Elm, and the redevelopment plan requires Arden/Greenline to offer 51 percent of the town houses and apartments to people who make less than 80 percent of the median Greensboro wage, which was $29,366 a year in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau."
Judging by this, it appears maintaining some level of affordability is at least on the city's mind.
The Green movement or Agenda 21 was created from the theory of man-made global warming. This movement has been the catalyst for redevelopment in and around downtowns all across America. The Demorats are pushing this agenda. Scientists around the world claim that it is an unproven theory.
As much as i wish it was just an "agenda " Global Warming is real and sadly as a young person i will have to deal with these issues in the future. 98% of scientists agree and when i hear this argument that 2% is the whole i think about the old toothpaste commercials 4 out 5 dentist agree so that means i shouldn't brush because of the one?? Lol
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