As the Downtown community grows rapidly, and rents continue to skyrocket, will the next wave of housing create more up affordable homes? Probably not, says the Los Angeles Downtown News.
Billions of dollars have poured into the community in the past 10 years, while additional billions are already in the works. According to the Downtown Center Business improvement District, more than 9,000 apartments and condos are under construction and another 13,500 units are being proposed.
When Downtown was more empty and gritty during its 1960’s to 1990’s decline, only a few bold artist types and a few Downtown business people lived here. Now Downtown appeals many more who are seeking an exciting urban home that is walkable to many new shops, restaurants, entertainment and public transportation. The mainstream crowd is now on its way.
Downtown has created a large number of tech and media jobs recently, raising the average income, and allowing higher rents. Land costs have gone up, and the City of Los Angeles creates higher prices with more bureaucracy and limitations on apartment construction. It takes months or years to just to get construction started in L.A. The results is rents that are up by 10.4% in a 12-month period.
Like the rest of America, the middle class is getting squeezed out of Downtown by policies that increasingly favor the wealthy and the poor, while ignoring the hard-working person who would like to move to Downtown. In 2012/2013, the state and federal governments both stopped several programs to help the middle class to rent and buy in Downtown.
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