Mayor Lynne Robinson knows it's coming. So do the developers, the housing advocates, the retirees who don't want their suburb to change, and the business owners who both fear and covet more people and more employment.
Bellevue's surge in popularity, pushed largely by the tech industry and encouraged by city leaders, is projected to result in a wave of growth unlike anything the city has encountered.
Amazon is moving 25,000 workers into downtown; Facebook last year paid $367 million for a 400,000 square-foot complex; and others including Salesforce, Microsoft and eBay continue to expand their Bellevue offices.
The question isn't whether or not the city will face employment growth pressure, said Joe Fain, CEO of the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce. Instead, he said, the central question is who among those thousands of new employees will be able to live in Bellevue at all?
"Bellevue is one of the most unaffordable cities in Washington state,” Fain said. “The high-paying jobs we add will be rivaled by the blue-collar jobs we add. And unless you have considerable net worth, you will not be able to afford a single-family home here — unless you already own one."
That Bellevue is at a crossroads isn’t in dispute. The city’s own projections show a 25% growth over the next 20 years.
TORONTO ― Ontario has appointed nine members to a new Housing Affordability Task Force who will provide the government with recommendations on additional measures to address market housing supply and affordability.
“Young families, seniors and all hardworking Ontarians are desperate for housing that meets their needs and budget,” said Premier Doug Ford. “At a time when our government is hard at work building an economy that works for everyone, this Task Force will provide us with concrete, expert advice that will support our government as we make it easier for more Ontarians to realize the dream of home ownership.”
The mandate of the Housing Affordability Task Force is to explore measures to address housing affordability by:
Increasing the supply of market rate rental and ownership housing; Building housing supply in complete communities; Reducing red tape and accelerating timelines; Encouraging innovation and digital modernization, such as in planning processes; Supporting economic recovery and job creation; and Balancing housing needs with protecting the environment. The Task Force, chaired by Jake Lawrence, CEO and Group Head, Global Banking and Markets at Scotiabank, represents a diverse range of experts in not-for-profit housing, Indigenous housing, real estate, home builders, financial markets and economics. The chair’s report outlining the Task Force’s recommendations will be published in early 2022.
“Our government’s policies under the Housing Supply Action Plan are working to address affordability, but more needs to be done at all levels of government,” said Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “The Housing Affordability Task Force will help our government build on our progress by identifying more opportunities to increase the supply of all kinds of housing, especially the missing middle. Under Mr. Lawrence’s strong leadership, I am confident in the expertise and experiences of this Task Force, and I thank them for their commitment to help us address the housing crisis.”
“I’m honoured to have been appointed as the Chair of Ontario’s new Housing Affordability Task Force,” said Lawrence. “I’m proud to work with a diverse team of experts who are committed to ensuring improved housing affordability for current and future Ontarians. We are eager to begin our work to identify and recommend actionable solutions and policies to support the government’s efforts to address the province’s housing affordability crisis.”
“Having a safe
... keep reading on reddit ➡
Here is the big difference in social housing and public housing in America. "Public housing in the United States was designed to fail," as it was only available to the worst off economically in society and government used it to further segregate black Americans. Today, social housing in Vienna is available to people of all incomes. It has been highly successful proving additional investment to help with low supply of homes. Can this be something that the US does? Do you think it will help solve the affordability crisis in American cities today?
