City Housing Authority In on Capitalizing on The Real Estate Boom Too (Gentrification) (Seattle: sale, rent)

[JL1585]

Seattle Housing Authority seeks buyer for 4 acres of land | KING5.com Seattle

This was on the news today. I NEVER watch local news. They're going to make a s*** ton I bet. I think Seattle will eventually lose alot of it's charm, and the very little diversity it has. Apparently Yesler Terrace is being remodeled, but that might last 10-15 years before they're all priced out too.

Also, another article that showed Seattle is #2 in the country in gentrification in the past 15 years or so. Also disturbing and under publicized. Anybody who talks about the great diversity in Seattle, can I please hand-feed this to you as food for thought? #'s don't lie my friend.

Report: Seattle Out-Gentrifies Many Cities | KING5.com Seattle

[sean98125]

If they are as successful with Yesler Terrace as they were with Holly Park it will be a good thing for the neighborhood and the city.

We need denser housing, and Yesler Terrace is within walking distance of downtown and it is along the new streetcar line. The transportation plans the city has won't work unless there are more people per block than currently live there. SHA doesn't have enough capital to build denser housing or to build additional units without raising it from projects like this and the occasional parcel sale.

It sucks that the people who have lived for a long time in taxpayer-subsidized housing are going to be relocated to other taxpayer-subsidized housing, but the money that SHA will make from this sale can pay for new units and the tax revenue generated by the new business or better-heeled residents will increase the money available in the city budget for social and community programs.

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by JL1585

I think Seattle will eventually lose alot of it's charm, and the very little diversity it has. Apparently Yesler Terrace is being remodeled, but that might last 10-15 years before they're all priced out too.

I'd strongly disagree that Seattle's charm is enhanced by public housing, or that diversity is inherently tied to having an ample supply of poor minorities subsisting on government handouts - that's kind of offensive.

Carry this thinking through and the city may as well set up some 'poor people preserves' on unused industrial land and provide varying incentives to live there based on race quotas - all in the name of supporting economic and racial diversity.

[sean98125]

I was thinking the same thing, mkarch - of all the words that you can use to describe Yesler Terrace, "charm" is probably not in the top 25.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by mkarch

I'd strongly disagree that Seattle's charm is enhanced by public housing, or that diversity is inherently tied to having an ample supply of poor minorities subsisting on government handouts - that's kind of offensive.

Carry this thinking through and the city may as well set up some 'poor people preserves' on unused industrial land and provide varying incentives to live there based on race quotas - all in the name of supporting economic and racial diversity.

The thinking behind projects like Holly Park and Yesler Terrace isn't just to add low-income density, but to provide for a range of affordable housing opportunities aimed at different income points. The old "public housing" model is what they're trying to get beyond. The more it can pay for itself, by leveraging the value of the land, the less it need rely on the public.

By the way, the vast majority of people receiving "public assistance" are...white.

[mkarch]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

The thinking behind projects like Holly Park and Yesler Terrace isn't just to add low-income density, but to provide for a range of affordable housing opportunities aimed at different income points. The old "public housing" model is what they're trying to get beyond. The more it can pay for itself, by leveraging the value of the land, the less it need rely on the public.

By the way, the vast majority of people receiving "public assistance" are...white.

Which begs the question as to why redevelopment reduces diversity. To put it in context, the wealthier suburbs are more diverse than Seattle. If redevelopment is reducing diversity, it's not just due to income.

[sean98125]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

By the way, the vast majority of people receiving "public assistance" are...white.

That is true on a national level, but is it true in Seattle?

Demographics of Yesler Terrace in 2012 are available in a report, here - http://www.seattle.gov/council/attac...g/tab10/05.pdf

Yesler Terrace is:

47% Asian
40% Black
10% Caucasian

Also, 60% of the working age adults work more than 30 hours per week. More than half of the working age adults said that they need help from others to read. 2/3 of the adult residents never finished high school or got a GED.

[amaiunmei]

Originally Posted by sean98125

That is true on a national level, but is it true in Seattle?

Demographics of Yesler Terrace in 2012 are available in a report, here - http://www.seattle.gov/council/attac...g/tab10/05.pdf

Yesler Terrace is:

47% Asian
40% Black
10% Caucasian

Also, 60% of the working age adults work more than 30 hours per week. More than half of the working age adults said that they need help from others to read. 2/3 of the adult residents never finished high school or got a GED.

Another note: the terms "black" and "African-American" get conflated in the survey, but consider that 64% of respondents "need assistance with reading/writing/understanding English". At least half of the people identifying as "black" are actually from East Africa (Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia); in that area, I hear FAR more Oromo and Amharic than English.

The vast majority of people living in Yesler Terrace are fairly recent immigrants, especially nowadays. Of course their employment prospects would be colored by that fact alone, if not other factors.

[JL1585]

Its hard to even figure out a point of where to start with some of the responses. They've made my eyes wide.

Yes, generally when "redevelopment" takes place regardless of what you folks are talking about people are being priced out of public MIXED income housing which is what Yesler Terrace is going to be. But you guys aren't getting the big picture here. Did you even read the article? They're vying for a large tech firm to relocate to the downtown Seattle area. Last time I checked, Amazon moving downtown sent rent skyrocketing. And now theres going to be another large one potentially coming to the area? What's going to happen to food, events, etc in the area? Things will be unaffordable to several of the people.

You folks just don't get it. Diversity has never really been Seattle's thing, so I guess I shouldn't expect you to understand.

[amaiunmei]

Originally Posted by JL1585

Its hard to even figure out a point of where to start with some of the responses. They've made my eyes wide.

Yes, generally when "redevelopment" takes place regardless of what you folks are talking about people are being priced out of public MIXED income housing which is what Yesler Terrace is going to be. But you guys aren't getting the big picture here. Did you even read the article? They're vying for a large tech firm to relocate to the downtown Seattle area. Last time I checked, Amazon moving downtown sent rent skyrocketing. And now theres going to be another large one potentially coming to the area? What's going to happen to food, events, etc in the area? Things will be unaffordable to several of the people.

You folks just don't get it. Diversity has never really been Seattle's thing, so I guess I shouldn't expect you to understand.

I guess my question is: what do you want to do about it? SHA is NOT a city agency, nor are they a public entity. They are a non-profit, but clearly, they are leveraging an asset.