Reply to We need homes. A lot of homes. Not just affordable, but also middle-income homes.

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Reply to "We need homes. A lot of homes. Not just affordable, but also middle-income homes."

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I agree DC needs more middle income housing. While we are building more townhomes and condos, the townhomes are still often out of reach for true middle income people (HHI &lt;150-180k). And most condos in the city are not built for families (few units with more than 2 bedrooms, emphasis on amenities likely to appeal to childless professionals but not necessarily to families). All the incentives in DC are to build high end units with a small footprint so as to squeeze as much profit as possible out of real estate.

There are some incentives for low-income and subsidized units, but developers seek to merely qualify for the bare minimum of these, and middle income folks often don’t qualify.

It us very hard to find adequate housing in DC for a middle income family. Close in suburbs are often no better because while there is more family housing, it is largely less dense and therefore no more accessible. Far out suburbs are cheaper and have family housing, but long commutes are particularly hard on families due to childcare needs and the importance of family time on the health and well-being of kids and marriages. And mid-income people are often less able to work remotely because they are more likely to work in service jobs (teaching, non-doctor healthcare roles) or customer-facing industries (food, retail, events).

So yes, we need more duplex and triplexes, more pop ups, more 3+ bedroom apartments, more townhouses near public transit.

Notice I’m not even saying we need this stuff near “good” schools or in more desirable neighborhoods. Families will accept middling schools and less perfect neighborhoods if they can just get on the property ladder. [b]Right now, other than EOTR, and a handful of far NE and SE neighborhoods WOTR (many of which have poor transit options) there are very few options. [/b]And prices in places like Hyattsville, Silver Spring, and Mt. Rainier are rapidly moving out of reach as well.

If your only options for housing in DC for a family of 4 with an HHI of 150k involve an hour plus commute, people will just choose to leave.[/quote]

You are writing off half of the city.  That’s like me saying i should be able to live in Manhattan.  You want to live on the red line.  It is the most expensive part of the city.  You need to let it go.  Plenty of real estate out there.  Send your kids to parochial school or advocate for better dc schools.  Get over your entitlement.  [/quote]
Exactly. The only reason why Logan Circle is even a rich neighborhood today is that people got over the entitlement of living west of 16th. When I first arrived to DC Logan Circle was impoverished and dangerous. People seriously need to get over themselves. [/quote]

True, but the people who decided to get over themselves and move to Logan circle first were not, by and large, families with children.[/quote]

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