Stalled Munson Project Rumbles Back To Life

The gentrification monster rumbles on.....

The question is this good or bad for the community overall?

Elmcitybornandraised, there is no single definition of gentrification. But it is often understood as higher income people, mostly white, pushing out lower income, largely black and brown, residents. That has not happened to date in New Haven. The proportion of city residents who are African-American or Hispanic has increased steadily in recent decades, and the proportion living below the poverty level has been steady. When I moved here, the majority of the residents of Dixwell, Dwight, Fair Haven, the Hill, Newhallville, and West Rock were African-American or Hispanic, with most residents having incomes well below the regional average. Thirty plus years later, this is still the case.

Having said that, few city residents will be able to afford these apartments. Even without displacement, the influx of better-off residents will accentuate the polarization of the city. The question is how the city can work for all of its residents.

Turning a toxic waste site into housing isn’t gentrification.

Gentrification is what happens when you don’t build enough housing, so workers in the area who need a place to live are forced to bid up the price of the existing housing stock. That is what is happening now with rents, and people getting pushed out to places like Waterbury.

Gentrification will get even worse, unless the city gets developers to build dozens more apartment complexes like this one.

elmcitybornandraised
Jun 15, 2022 11:16 pm

The gentrification monster rumbles on.....

The question is this good or bad for the community overall?

It is the death of the community.

Kevin McCarthy
Jun 16, 2022 7:15 am

Elmcitybornandraised,, there is no single definition of gentrification. But it is often understood as higher income people, mostly white, pushing out lower income, largely black and brown, residents. That has not happened to date in New Haven. The proportion of city residents who are African-American or Hispanic increased steadily in recent decades, and the proportion living below the poverty level has been steady.When I moved here, the majority of the residents of Dixwell, Dwight, Fair Haven, the Hill, Newhallville, and West Rock were African-American or Hispanic, with most residents having incomes well below the regional average. Thirty plus years later, this is still the case.

Have you talk to the people who live in those Hoods? If you have not.You should talk to them.I have and they will tell you they are being push out.In fact a lot of them I talk to now live in WATERBURY and Meriden.The African-American or Hispanic that you say increased steadily are from New York and Other States.The one's from New York I talk to told me that they move from New York to get away from the gentrification and now they see the same gentrification like in New York and D C.

I said this years ago.You have to under stand.THE STAGES OF GENTRIFICATION

THE ORIGINAL FOUR STAGES:
STAGE 1 — INDIVIDUAL, LOWER-MIDDLE CLASS RESIDENTS FIX UP THE NEIGHBORHOOD
STAGE 2 — VACANCIES GO DOWN, THE MIDDLE CLASS MOVES IN AND DISPLACEMENT STARTS

STAGE 3 — PUBLIC AND PRIVATE INTERESTS SINK MONEY INTO A FORMERLY DISINVESTED NEIGHBORHOOD

“Really the only people with enough capital to gentrify at this point are companies,” said journalist Peter Moskowitz, author of How to Kill a City.

By the way.Read his book How to Kill a City.

Part One.

Part Two.
STAGE 4 — IT’S NOT ABOUT HOMES ANYMORE. IT’S ABOUT MONEY.

Once the real estate landscape of a neighborhood surpasses mixed-income housing and transitions to upper-class living, according to Clay’s model, that neighborhood has entered stage four. A major influx of newcomers settle down in the area, while artists, immigrants and people of color are less prominent in the community. In stage four, many once vacant properties are converted into luxury condos by large-scale developers. At this point, gentrification is no longer contained in the neighborhood’s geographic region and overflows into nearby communities.
She drop the mic when she said this.
Ruth Glass, London: aspects of change (1964)

One by one, many of the working class neighbourhoods of London have been invaded by the middle-classes—upper and lower. Shabby, modest mews and cottages—two rooms up and two down—have been taken over, when their leases have expired, and have become elegant, expensive residences … Once this process of ‘gentrification’ starts in alike district it goes on rapidly, until all or most of the original working-class occupiers are displaced and the whole social character of the district is changed.”

I give New Haven about another six years for gentrification to take over New Haven.Also you forgot about cultural displacement that happens when gentrification moves in.


Having said that, few city residents will be able to afford these apartments. Even without displacement, the influx of better-off residents will accentuate the polarization of the city. The question is how the city can work for all of its residents.

Hands down I agree with you on this one.

anonymous
Jun 16, 2022 8:02 am
Gentrification is what happens when you don’t build enough housing.

Sky High Rents that people who can not afford to pay when Gentrification moves in.

I appreciate your comment @KevinMcCarthy , from a personal viewpoint, as someone who has lived in a few different neighborhoods in the Elm I'll have to respectfully disagree. The neighborhoods I used to live in are either owned by landlords renting to the Yale elite (some traveling nurses) or other professionals that work in the city that became homeowners. The neighborhood transition is clear and evident.

I'm not a stats person, because stats rarely paint an actual picture of what "boots on the ground" (as my pops would say) feel and experience. My pops used to say at community meetings when Chief Pastore was at the helm of the PD, "F*ck your stats!"

This is not directed at you, this was more so tongue-n-cheek in regards to my pops abrasive but passionate personality concerning the community we lived in. The neighborhoods are turning my friend and it's going to happen I would say even more rapidly as these large rental entities (we shall not say those names like Voldemort) begin to turn an eye towards higher end more affluent renters.

@anonymous the definition states this; "Gentrification: the process whereby the character of a poor urban area is changed by wealthier people moving in, improving housing, and attracting new businesses, typically displacing current inhabitants in the process:"

Tell me how many of our New Haven residents live in these recently built housing complexes? These are where stats get juicy. I remember sitting in on a meeting for this complex soon-to-be on Munson Street. I remember the developer saying a "small percentage" of those units will be dedicated to "lower income" families. Smells like gentrification to me but remember two truths can always exist at once. Perhaps we are both right?

My G and fellow King @THREEFIFTHS you already know what it is family. The push is real and everyone can remix it and try to sell it, spin whatever way they see it, but it's pure gentrification. We have seen it first hand, the push is real.

elmcitybornandraised, if you want to see what real gentrification looks like, stop all of these new housing complexes from getting built.

All of the hundreds of thousands of people working in our region who need homes will just move into the existing homes in areas like Edgewood and Newhallville instead. That bids up the rent, and is what pushes people out.

In fact, that's already happening, because we aren't building new projects like 201 Munson fast enough.

Look at San Francisco. It has built practically no new housing, because the homeowners there are politically powerful and generally oppose any new construction. As a result, apartments there are now regularly going for $20,000 per month.

anonymous
Jun 16, 2022 2:21 pm

Look at San Francisco. It has built practically no new housing, because the homeowners there are politically powerful and generally oppose any new construction. As a result, apartments there are now regularly going for $20,000 per month.

I have friends who live in San Francisco.They told me Ongoing and advanced gentrification is most prevalent in San Francisco -Oakland.They told all of the new Housing is going to the Silicon Valley Tech Hub workers.They told me that the Rents are so high that the Silicon Valley Tech Hub workers have to take in roommates.They told me longtime working-class residents of the city are being push out.
This is what the CEO of Hudson Meridian Bill Cote said.

“We are excited to contribute to the excellent progress being made in the redevelopment of Science Park area with the development of this great new, amenity-rich apartment community to meet the growing demand for young urban professionals to live, work, and enjoy the lifestyle in New Haven,”

Notice young urban professionals to live, work, and enjoy the lifestyle in New Haven,”
That's Right.These will be market it to young urban professionals.Not the Community.And I will bet you it will be the Same thing for the Building of Science Park.

elmcitybornandraised, thanks. I am all for civil disagreements. And I have no reason to dispute your personal experiences. There are some NH blocks that have gentrified - Mansfield Street comes to mind. But there is no New Haven equivalent of Central Harlem, where the African-American share of the population in the neighborhood went from 88% in 1990 to 54% in 2019.

There certainly has been a growth in mega-landlords. But the demographics of their tenants have not changed much in recent years. Pike, Mandy, et al. have a far larger presence in Dixwell and Fair Haven than East Rock and Westville. (You’re right that they have begun to move into these neighborhoods, but they are still minor players.)

There have been lots of people forced to move from their neighborhoods due to rising rents. But this equally true in neighborhoods that have seen little or no large market developments (e.g., Fair Haven and Dixwell) as neighborhoods with extensive development.

Today's cost of construction make it impossible to build affordable housing, this is why there is an affordable housing component. It cost around 300,000 minimum to build a unit today. If someone was to pay 1,000 for such unit, and assuming about 40% expense ratio, the return on the ultra risky construction net income of 600 per month x 12 = 7200 divided by 300,000 would equal 2.4% at this level, not only it does not pay to build, but you cannot finance the construction. Construction needs around 7% return to make it worth the risk as opposed to the say 5% return on an old building, the premium. So essentially, you would need 3 times that rent to justify new construction, or a massive tax break to reduce the expense ratio. Accordingly, it's not about gentrification, or exclusion, but about costs plain and simple. Rents going up and up is not gentrification, is simply inflation of supply and demand. Kevin is correct on the subject. However, note that when you do not build, regardless for whom, the result is that higher earning people start to move into more affordable areas, and so construction at the end benefits everyone when it diverts higher earnings to new development. Like it or not, development is and will always be private, and for profit, and anyone taking multimillion dollar risk will go for the highest return

NelsonBenson
Jun 16, 2022 4:00 pm

Today's cost of construction make it impossible to build affordable housing,

If that is that case then how dose Maurice "Mo" Vaughn who has a company call The Omni Organization which acquires, rehabilitates, builds and manages quality affordable housing throughout the United States. Since 2004, Omni has owned and managed 17,000 units of affordable housing in eleven states.
http://www.onyllc.com/

Check out there Properties
Hunts Point Apartments
Bronx, NY

Hunts Point Apartments is a Project Based Section 8, 165 unit property located in Hunts Point area of the Bronx.

Longwood Residences
Bronx, NY

Longwood Residences is a Project Based Section 8, 361 unit property located in the Longwood section of the Bronx.

Maria Lopez Plaza
Bronx, NY

Maria Lopez Plaza is a Project Based Section 8, 216 unit complex located in the Melrose section of the Bronx.

They even do middle income apartments and senior apartments.

Bedell Terrace
Hempstead, NY

Bedell Terrace is a property consisting of 26 garden-style buildings with a total of 245 units of affordable housing in Hempstead, NY.

Wesley Hall
Peekskill, NY

Wesley Hall Apartments is a Mitchell-Lama property for senior citizens consisting of 118 units in Peekskill, NY.
http://www.onyllc.com/properties
The question that I am asking you is why these type of real estate development companies not at the table?Could it be that the powers that be do not want these class of people?

Accordingly, it's not about gentrification, or exclusion, but about costs plain and simple. Rents going up and up is not gentrification, is simply inflation of supply and demand

Not true.You see the real grand plan is to reverse the demography by forcing the people out and bring in a New Class of people.Neighborhoods that used to be havens for middle-class families are getting more expensive every day and those who built those communities up, are being pushed out.

As I said read THE STAGES OF GENTRIFICATION.

@KevinMcCarthy and @Anonymous I always appreciate the respectful discourse. No matter our opinions, certain facts or personal experiences, I can see that we all want New Haven to be a better more productive place for all citizens. I can appreciate that and recognize that fully. Once again, I appreciate the comments/conversation.

@Threefifths you are a wealth of factual information my G... the community appreciates you.

Elmcitybornandraised, thanks. You’re right, we are all want New Haven to be a better, more productive place for all of its residents.

We face a conundrum. Anonymous and Nelson are correct that if market rate housing is not built, better-off people will seek housing in lower rent neighborhoods, exacerbating the market there. But the market rate housing will do very little for low- and moderate-income people in the short- or mid-term. Filtering will happen in the long run, but as J.M.Keynes observed “in the long run, we shall all be dead.”

There are a couple of things the city can do. It can do a better job of identifying and preserving existing affordable housing that is at risk of being becoming obsolescent and taken off the market. It can amend the zoning ordinance to facilitate the construction of small and medium size housing developments. And it can enforce the state law that bars landlords from accepting applicants solely because they are on Section 8.