To all of you “Portland is ruined by developers and assholes paying xyz for houses” folks: have you ever taken the time to consider what this city’s close-in neighborhoods would become if it weren’t for companies and individuals investing in our multi-family, commercial, and residential infrastructure? Meaning new buildings, renovation of old buildings, and buying and restoring / maintaining single family houses?
Answer: it would all go to shit. The close-in neighborhoods’ buildings are getting older…like many in the 100 – 120+ years older. You living in that quaint, old, yet soon to fall apart $500 a month close in apartment that you were lucky enough to score in ’97 simply wasn’t sustainable. Same with that sweet bungalow off of Hawthorne that you shared with 3 roomates that was cheap as shit and approaching the century mark. Buildings have a finite lives without needing major and costly repairs or needing to be torn down and replaced. Rents at the levels they were at 5 – 10 years ago weren’t going to cover these costs for landlords.
Thank you to those individuals taking on the task (and financial risk) of adding to, improving and investing in our close-in infrastructure. You may get shat upon in the media and by every nostalgic person complaining that it is no longer dirt cheap to rent in a prime close-in location, in a prime west coast city, but the investment you are making in our infrastructure is absolutely critical and will benefit the city for decades
Thank You Developers, Homeowners and Landlords
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Sometimes I really miss the I, Anonymous Full of Shit-o-meter.
My house is 114 years old and it’s totally fine. It’s even been inspected so you shouldn’t worry about it. STFU.
Sincerely, Charlie Hales.
PS Thanks for the opportunity to rebuild my contacts with developers in Portland for the last few years, after I took some time off to sell trains. Those contacts should really come in handy when I go back to living in Washington. Don’t worry, I won’t completely abandon you. I plan to keep voting in Oregon.
Damn, better tell all of those folks who live in Europe! Stop using those updated 500+ year old homes! Tear it all down and build something new, with inferior materials and unskilled labor! Because newer is *always* better! Screw history and culture! New, new, NEW!
What a brown-nosing piece of tripe. Who wrote this? Tony J from Sunnyside- the great hater of trees? Sarah Inane, babbling doctoral candidate in planning? One of Bike Portland’s spandex encased engineers?
Yeah- I know you want to pay “Sim City” with Portland, but you are finding out that the majority of Portlanders hate your overbearing centralized planning plus your soviet-era taste in architecture.
Then again, this could just be Stockholm Syndrome by some poor loser trapped in an expensive studio apartment.
“the majority of Portlanders”
Or just the loud, super whiny ones who didn’t get in on the homeownership gig when the market was still cheap as hell.
Your over use of the term “close-in” is staggering. You should get with “Captain Quotation Marks” and build an evil city all your own.
Yeah, until a major earthquake levels half of it.
“Prime close-in location in a prime west coast city”–such words say a lot about you.
What’s evil about preserving and adding to a city?
Hey. I just gotta say F%#k you douchebag! Go back to San Francisco and spend 5000 on your updated closet. You obviously have no problem believing your own crap. I hope portlands homeless destroy you and every building you live in, steals every bike you ever own and leaves piles of shit on your updated porch.
Agreed! Homes need to be taken care of. Water is a homes worst enemy and you need to repair the roof and openings when they leak. For all of you bitching about this excellent post of reason. Go fuck yourself! Hey R.C., you can say fuck on here, but I’d change the profile picture, this isn’t match.com… Anyways, I installed a new exterior door last weekend and it looks awesome! Fuck all of you who can’t see how wonderful the future looks for Portland. It’s not, “it was great.” Portland school system is on par with Mississippi. Portland is and will continue to be great, because people who care about a happy life, not drugs and cheap rent, will invest in the city.
I’d be willing to pay even higher taxes on my Portland properties to fund some mental health care for you, R.C. You seem to need it.