Some of Denver's leaders are sounding the alarm over rising household income levels and the threat to affordable housing. But in an editorial in The Denver Post, Vincent Carroll argues that an exclusive downtown Denver is better than the alternative.
"We have reached the point in the development of downtown Denver when people are complaining — or at least seriously worried — about its successful transformation," writes Carroll.
"Denver really runs the risk of becoming an elitist city," Councilwoman Judy Montero told The Post. "With development and transportation build-out and all of these transit stops, the idea was for this to be mixed income and equitable. ... We have to find a middle. We have to find a balance."
"Good luck locating that middle," answers Carroll. "When neighborhoods gentrify with the sweeping speed that has occurred downtown (as well as in Highland in north Denver, and years ago in Cherry Creek), the pressure on prices can prove irresistible. Preserving or expanding 'affordable housing' in such an environment — meaning residential units that people with median household incomes can afford — becomes an increasingly difficult task."
"Yet why cavil? Many cities would give anything to possess the allure of Denver's downtown — a magnet for educated professionals in their 20s and 30s."
Read the full story: Carroll: Downtown Denver too exclusive? Better than the alternative
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