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Originally Posted by Keith P.
There is no rationale for "affordable" housing units on SGR, Young Avenue, or any number of other high-end areas. Those occupants would stick out like sore thumbs and significantly devalue the saleability of the other units in the development. Perhaps we should do "poor doors" as has been done in NYC and other areas where property values are through the roof to keep the affordable units and their occupants well-separated from those paying market price.
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One solution to this might be to give developers the option of either providing below-market units or paying the market value of those units into a fund that can be used for other affordable housing projects, like the Housing Trust of NS buildings planned for Gottingen Street. Incidentally, those have taken years to get off the ground because of a lack of funding and approval issues. The biggest threat to affordable housing in most expensive Canadian cities is NIMBYism. Housing here in Vancouver costs a fortune because 80% of the city is off the table when it comes to intensification through redevelopment. There's a lot of contention for that remaining 20%, so most people can't afford it. The suburban and exurban areas meanwhile are often not so great for low income people because they basically require private vehicles. Even in Halifax the situation is pretty bad; rather than building more apartments on the peninsula the poor people get to live in areas like Spryfield and Sackville and rely on terrible bus service. The only good thing is that the far-flung areas in Halifax are a 40 minute bus ride rather than a 1.5 hour bus ride.
I do think the idea of mixing people of different incomes does make some sense, but you also get more bang for your buck building affordable housing in areas with lower property values. Even the units developers are forced to build are not "free" -- affordable housing units cost developers more in the higher-end neighbourhoods and that income can be redirected into affordable housing.