Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Gentrification Shell Game Continues on the Pike

Hey Yupette,

Seen the financials for the new unaffordable affordable apartment building on the Pike that's going to be constructed on the site of the old Shell station? Cost will be $32.2 million for 83 'affordable' units, or just over $388,000 per unit. More 'affordable' units for people with incomes of $37,000 and up (living wage in Arlington is $27, 310). Poor people who earn $8, $9, and $10 per hour and work on the Pike and in Bailey's are out of luck. Hey, it gets worse, people who work in the retail on the ground floor of The Shell Apartments won't be able to afford to live upstairs. Meanwhile, the building's owner and developer, AHC, is rolling is dough, having become a regional developer of  'gentrification housing'. I was not in favor of a housing authority for Arlington County until now, but have signed the petition the Greens are circulating. What kind of smart growth is it when people have to drive 40 miles to work in the restaurant they used to live down the street from?

Barbara, 22204