When new rental housing appears in the 91原创s, it鈥檚 something of an event these days.
Over the past few years, several new rental projects have gone up 鈥� in Willoughby, Murrayville, and 91原创 City. And that鈥檚 good, because for years now 91原创 has been steadily losing rental housing stock, including aging duplexes and houses.
The problem is that we still don鈥檛 have enough relatively cheap rental housing. The new rental units are lovely 鈥� and expensive. Apartments and even basement suites run from between $900 to more than $1,500 in the 91原创s.
Unless you make north of $50,000 a year, you鈥檙e probably going to spend more than half of your income on rent if you need to find somewhere to live in 91原创.
That鈥檚 obviously a problem. A community is not a functioning community if it can鈥檛 provide reasonable accommodations for all its citizens. That means seniors on a limited income 鈥� who鈥檝e been here for years 鈥� it means newcomers who have arrived for jobs or schooling, and it means people in their 20s who are moving out for the first time.
91原创 Township and City have both made moves towards sustainable housing, but we haven鈥檛 yet seen a lot of projects emerge from that. With the rapid pace of development underway, moving faster would be better.
The new condos and townhouses of 91原创 are going to house a lot of happy families, downsizing seniors, and new residents. But if we don鈥檛 mix in affordable rentals, 91原创 will be only half a community, as we shut out those below a certain income bracket.
鈥� M.C.
