Big Cities

If you don't see how you can make a Two Towers  project affordable in some place like New York or Los Angeles but would like to build in those places anyway:

First of all, pricing of the residentisl units doesn't include parking. Residents with vehicles will be charged an additional amount per parking space.

Parking adds enormously to the cost of a project and a primary goal of this project is to separate the price of the rental unit from the price of parking so individuals without a car aren't being charged for the cost of parking.

This piece on a different blog by the same author talks a bit about the substantial existing research into the high cost of parking. Parking minimums tend to make it impossible to build market rate affordable housing by adding enormously to the cost of the project and the poorest people without cars wind up being charged the same rent as people with cars.

This project is inspired in part by my firsthand experience with giving up my car, paying the same amount in rent and having everyone in the building decide they were free to use my space. I couldn't have even had a guest park there because it was a good spot and never empty once people realized I no longer had a vehicle.

It infuriated me and made me extremely aware of how unfairly I was being treated as a car-free American. And since then, I spent years homeless or in poverty housing and that firsthand experience informs my understanding of the problem space when I read research into how much carless people are bled financially for the benefit of people with cars in this country.

A goal of this project is to make it possible for someone without a car to find rental units in some parts of the US in the $500-$600 a month range because years of talking with homeless people repeatedly brought that up as a rental amount many of them could afford but they couldn't find anything in that range.

The idea is that any parking spaces not rented by residents will be available for a fee to the general public.

It may not be possible to get a unit down to that range in a big city, but if it's $1000 without parking, it could be shared by two people as roommates and that brings the per person amount down to that range. (These units are intended to be for households of 1-3 people.)

The brochure and website should clearly explain that rent for parking is a separate fee in a way that helps residents understand that how much they pay will vary depending on how many vehicles they store without framing this as a reason for "poor people" to live there. Just put out numbers and examples for what to expect and note "Prices are for illustration purposes and were correct as of publication date xx/xx/xxxx. Please see management for current prices."

Let people infer for themselves "This means this is THE CHEAPEST apartment in town FOR ME because I have no car!" and let other potential applicants stay in the mental box of "Total rent is about average for a couple with two cars or a little more than average, but worth it due to location and amenities."

If two or three people room together with no car and prices are cheap FOR the big city in question, it's affordable compared to other options. 

It may not hit my financial targets for this project, but that doesn't mean it won't make life better for locals who currently have nothing similar available.

This is intended to be a mixed-income building and designed to allow residents to remain stable even if their income changes. If their income goes up and they buy a car, they can rent a parking space. If they get older and can no longer drive, they can give up their car, reduce monthly "housing" expenses by giving up their parking space and remain in a familiar setting which older people with failing memories prefer as it helps them maintain their independence and quality of life.

The luxury vacation units help keep services alive and available that lower income individuals may only use occasionally. The full-time residents help keep the building secure and reduce the risk of theft from units that are frequently unoccupied.

I believe it's possible to make life better for "rich" and "poor" alike. By design.