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Narples82 t1_iz9wu5u wrote

Reply to comment by Proof-Variation7005 in New design for Fane Tower keeps height the same by Rogue-Island-Pirate

And a 550 foot tower full of $3000+ a month apartments will? At best it will appeal to people of greater means that are thinking about moving here. Hopefully the expansion of Crossroads will compensate at the other extreme end of this issue. Everyone in between can just deal with it or leave.

Great cities are built on the middle class. Either build them up so they can afford the current standard of living or build housing down to suit them. Moonshot projects to entice the affluent just look good in renderings.

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Proof-Variation7005 t1_iza5cgx wrote

We need housing at all price points. There's already a market demand for this right now even if people weren't still constantly moving here. That isn't going to stop anytime soon.

This problem is decades in the making and any housing solution that isn't starting with "build a metric fuck-ton more of it as fast as you possibly can" is not a solution. Just the thousand or so apartments from this, the superman building and the other South Water development are barely going to make a dent in the problem, but they will definitely help.

Even in a scenario where we aren't way behind demand and didn't need thousands of new units and they somehow aren't going to almost immediately fill this tower with renters (unlikely), if there's too much of a good flooding the market and demand has dropped, the price of that good will fall. The basic law of supply and demand is still in play.

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Narples82 t1_iza7a5z wrote

Didn't the Dev for the superman building project think affordable housing meant a $2500 studio when asked on camera? I think you and I are the same page here but if the barrier to entry for these buildings is out of reach for most and it influences rental rates of existing buildings causing 50% or more of its occupants income to go towards housing rather than other economy-stimulating things we aren't really getting ahead.

I feel like the city wants to have nice things but cant produce an economy with a job market to sustain it. Rather they are counting on a "If you build it they will come" mentality to allure "better" citizens. To that I say "but we are here, we have seen it already and if history repeats itself we still cannot afford it."

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Proof-Variation7005 t1_iza9czn wrote

I'm not sure what interviews were done, but I know what they already announced the price points for the Superman building. The specific numbers are escaping me, but they were fine. The only real grip with that is that it's not enough of those units, since it's only like 50-60 apartments out of 300 and most of those are on the upper-tied of what qualifies for "affordable".

As for the job market? It's still plenty strong enough and I think remote work changed the game enough where you don't necessarily need to be adding more of the white collar office jobs in Providence. People are being priced out of NYC and Boston at a much higher rate. That ain't stopping and remote work isn't going away.

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radioflea t1_iza9r3i wrote

In addition to the housing crisis we have no significant employment opportunities bringing high income earners to Rhode Island.

We barely have common /good paying job opportunities keeping Rhode Islanders in Rhode Island.

We are literally are building properties that will likely go dormant. meanwhile we have a homeless encampment cropping up at the State House.

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lightningbolt1987 t1_izalavl wrote

I know SO many people who work 2 days a week in Boston and the rest from home in PVD, or are completely remote. This is the future. The best thing PVD can do to be competitive is be livable, vibrant, dense, and fun, in order to attract more people, who in turn attract more people and jobs.

Boston is economically on fire and is insanely expensive. We’re the only nice city commuteable to Boston offering a true urban experience.

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FunLife64 t1_izav4yb wrote

And there isn’t demand according to who?

The condos that go up for sale in the Omni and Waterplace are sold almost immediately. The apartments built downtown fill up rather quickly.

Also, companies don’t often relocate places where there is a lack of housing stock. Considering the Jewelry District is hoping to attract research jobs, a big ole apt building is actually a great thing.

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