To be fair, the article seems to try to pit Kroetsch against Farr but I'm not sure the councillor even mentioned Farr. I think the article is written in a way to make it seem like he did though. He was simply saying the pricing is expensive for students, and he's not sure how much benefit it will bring to the downtown with students paying such high rents compared to their disposable wealth. Kroetsch is an advocate for affordable housing, I would expect him to make a point about the affordability of housing for students and of course it would be great if this could be cheaper for grad students, and I don't think that's a controversial point to make.
That being said, I'd agree that the prices seem reflective of the current market and in a few years with rent prices continuing to climb, these will look significantly more affordable.
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