Quote:
Originally Posted by bcp
This was a pretty good article...not too bleeding heart, and had some good facts...
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I assume the article was similar to one
written by Molly Armbrister in the DBJ on Dec. 8. This 5 page article was rather pointless (generally) to me though.
Quote:
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Colorado and metro Denver need a larger selection of diverse housing options if residents want to avoid quickly and continuously rising housing prices in the coming years, according to a study released Monday.
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Okay then. /yawn
bcp
Quote:
YES! but then this issue of using zoning as a carrot, rather then stick, was barely explored (see below on lot-splitting etc.)...still encouraging to see this inserted. Also, this article had ZERO mention of the HDL (housing defect liability) problem in CO....why are TX and NC able to be popular, gain jobs, and keep housing affordable? They have fixed this issue...CO must continue dropping the protectionism stance.
Good point...even though it kinda supports endless sprawl...would have been nice if the author had connected this issue to our transportation system and the VAST amounts of land available within a half-mile of our future train stations.
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It's easy to confuse and conflate different issues and areas. With respect to downtown's popularity and densification it's mostly a demand supply issue which includes the value of land in any densely desired area.
If we're talking the metro area as a whole then the issues and solutions will vary from Littleton to Thornton or Adams county to Douglas County.
With respect to "condo defects" I'd suggest that's a small part of the problem although a growing one. I wouldn't want to solve affordability with "cheaply" built condos. The conversion of more modest apartments is a better solution IMO. I do agree certainly that a compromise or fix needs to be found so that new condos can be built at a variety of price points.
I can't speak to North Carolina but with Texas there's a couple of key differences. Texas has high property taxes which might be triple what Colorado property taxes are. That definitely affects the pricing of homes. In conjunction with this is that cities have been built on the sprawl model keeping land costs very reasonable. Same as with the Phoenix metro area.
I didn't know about the recent development near Watkins that
EngiNerd mention's until I saw
Molly Armbrister's article in the DBJ today:
"Exclusive: Sprawling community proposed east of Aurora"
Quote:
A 5,144-acre master-planned community has been proposed in unincorporated Arapahoe County, bordering the eastern edge of Aurora south of I-70, according to plans submitted to the county.
The community has been dubbed "Prosper" in the planning documents, and is expected to eventually include nearly 9,000 residences and 8 million square feet of commercial space.
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Like it or not this is probably the best solution to affordability as a metro area problem.
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