I'd rather see them bawitdabawwing about opportunities.

Affordable housing is good, but what would be better is if the hopelessly homeless were housed permanently (or until they're ready to be independent) so that our resources could go to homeless people who are capable of transition into one of these low income houses, or holding jobs. Currently, we rely on jails to do what long term mental health care should be doing. We might also differentiate the homeless from the juvenile delinquents who hang out on the streets loudly embarrassing the real homeless population.

Profit and loss is a yearly thing, and I'm not sure if I believe in karma... But, the cost of an over priced markup always bites back.

***** "When condos are going up for $1 per square foot, making it so (if you take financial advice) your rent is 1/3 of your income, you need to make 6,000 a month to afford a two bedroom, you have a fucking problem."

Uh, sorry sugartits but if you think 2,000sq ft is mandatory for 2 bedrooms you're high as a kite. This isn't Friends where you can work a shitty job yet afford some fanciful epic loft in the city.

***** "these mystical people who make 72,000 per year and aren't buying houses can rent something and totally miss any opportunity to provide for the under employed who make the average 40,000 year."

Since when is it my job to supplement your rent because you want some huge loft in the Pearl? You make 40k, you white-problems-having drama queen. You make 40k yet call yourself "underemployed"? Try under-educated and under-motivated. Live within your means instead of demanding people who make more than you subsidize your rent because "iss nawt faaaair".

So glad I'm not a bum. The bums will always lose. My advice is to do what your parents did, find a job sir.

BOOTSTRAPS

But all is overlooked if you wrap a project in the sheen of "sustainability", "encouraging density" or "reducing car trips."

Hey, throw a couple of "affordable" units into some undesirable part of the complex during the planning stages and bam, you're as politically correct as could be! Just conveniently forget to actually build those apartments. It's not like anyone at PDC will bother following up to see if you've actually placed a low-income family in the heart of a yuppie / retired-yuppie entertainment playground. Because come on, that would be ridiculous.

"Since our city is full of awful low paying jobs and people are underemployed, no one can afford them."

Well, you're half-right, Anon.

But as 'overpriced' and annoying as these condos might be to you and i and the rest of the poorer folks who want to live closer-in, it doesn't change the fact that there's no shortage of people willing and able to cough up the extra cash to get into these places just like they are to get a few spoonfuls of hip, artsy ice cream.

If you want to blame somebody, blame them. But it's their money, so i don't really see how you could. These developers and sushi-peddlers ain't all air -- they simply see a demand and are filling it...at the highest price that the market will bear.

Remind me to buy you a beer next year, Anon, by which time i'm sure we'll be roomies in Troutdale.

Hmm, rent is $1 per square foot, you make $40,000 per year, don't want to spend more than 1/3 of income on rent. How about you live in an apartment of 1,100 square feet? Or did you fail math class and that is why you are stuck at $40,000 per year?

Haven't you been reading the news? Most of the over priced condos in this town are so poorly built that they are one of the worst real estate investments you could possibly own. Let the stupid rich assholes that want to pay $500,000 dollars for some tiny fancy looking piece of shit in a trendy neighborhood lose their shit, just like all of the dumbasses that are under water down on the south water front from the last round of luxury condo development. Who cares?

^ Envy rage

And what about the price of weed? It's crazy.

I think I see your point. Older neighborhoods have lost their character due to expensive new condos and tiny expensive crapartments. The city talks about affordable housing, but it's all empty blather. Big developers run this town and they have made a foolish bet that there is a market for expensive, cramped, crap.

Just for fun, go see the presents that the City just gave to the developers of the SE Division crapartments. Fancy streetscaping. Meanwhile it takes three deaths to get a sidewalk on SE 136th. It would probably take five deaths
in Lents.

I actually find myself paying less and less for weed these days. I guess I've just been smoking long enough to have found good connections.

Sad some of the things that make Portland wonderful are being pushed out because this town used to be great. Go around any old million dollar neighborhood in Portland and you'll see cute tiny apartments that were put there when developers had to follow the law and not make country club exclusive areas. Beyond that your numbers are screwy. Find me a dollar a square foot apartment anywhere and I will be chomping to move into that cute 350 square foot studio.