Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

Esbey t1_j3m8cjy wrote

This is a local black run non profit that has the full support of the local black neighborhood. It receives minimal support from Yale. Adding 34 affordable units increases housing affordability. If you know of a way to fund more units without using revenue from market rate housing, then you should build those units.

In general, there is a huge body of careful empirical evidence that increasing housing supply decreases rents relative to the counterfactual world where housing is not built. Most displacement gentrification takes place in cities where demand for housing is increasing (because of new jobs, etc) and where new housing supply is restricted. Wealthier new residents then end up moving into the existing historic housing stock, pushing out the poor. This is to the great benefit of incumbent property owners, like Mandy here in NH.

Look at Cambridge MA where old three-flats built to house working families now house tech workers who pay millions per unit. This is the future that left NIMBYs want for New Haven. Huge profits for existing property owners and the poor pushed out. But the newly rich neighborhoods will be quaint and historic, how nice.

15

buried_lede OP t1_j3mvazp wrote

There are a couple people on the sub invoking some monolithic “Black community” solidly behind this but when it was first proposed there was a great deal of conflict and activism attempting to modify as best they could what are perceived to be the negative impacts not only of this project but the overlay zone. ConnCAT has a very deep relationship with Yale, and the Black community, so, it’s not one or the other for them. Yale has plans for that area. They work closely with Yale.

Catching up on the progress I noticed this article and read up.

I’m very familiar with the position of more new units, market rate or otherwise, are a positive. I don’t think it’s enough to solve New Haven’s affordability problem. Unfortunately I worry it will barely do more than maintain the status quo.

Edit: Isn’t ConnCAT a nonprofit with a for profit arm? There are nonprofit housing developers in new haven that have built 100-percent sliding scale buildings charging 30-percent of income. Arlow, for example.

Someone wants to fancify that block of Dixwell, attracting high incomes. Arlowin Westville fancified by ensuring that the renaissance went to everyone without excluding low income

−2

SnowhiteMidnight t1_j3x3obu wrote

Nonprofit/for profit mix has become common, otherwise nonprofits find it difficult to survive or manage to accomplish much.

1