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Originally Posted by PhillyPDX
Key idea in that article, "prices are starting to drop, making it more affordable and accessible". Like some have been saying, downtown needs to gentrify. Costs come down enough (total, including taxes), people will move in.
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The post Covid era sure feels a lot like the post WWII era for downtowns… the office vacancy rate in smaller cities and suburbs is like one third of downtown. Free parking, low crime… all the same issues are at play again. If this pandemic happened 20 or 30 years ago, before remote work was so common, we wouldn’t have nearly the same challenges since people would’ve actually gone back to work in person. The lack of foot traffic from lockdowns for a short period is one thing, but when it goes on for years, it’s very difficult to recover.
Like you say hopefully lower costs will put downtown on more even footing. But I’m happy to hear these cleanup efforts are making a difference, even if it’s small at this point. The effort just has to be consistent and sustained.