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by MichaelMug 734 days ago
Will Costco be collecting rent? The mental gymnastics are impressive. It’s not a good thing that Costco gets to expand to housing. This is just like private equity and 401k’s buying houses. People should be able to own their own housing not become lifelong renters.
2 comments
Arrath 734 days ago
Should Costco be explicitly banned from non-commercial development in the otherwise unused air-space above their store's footprint? Forced to sell the air rights to other developers? This mixed-use approach seems like a much better use of the lot space.

I wholeheartedly agree that people should be able to own their own housing, but I don't see the two as mutually incompatible in the larger scheme.

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MichaelMug 734 days ago
I don’t see how my comment would imply or could be understood as wanting a ban or being against mixed use development.
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Arrath 734 days ago
You didn't rail against mixed use development, nor did I imply that you did. Per your OP:

> The mental gymnastics are impressive. It’s not a good thing that Costco gets to expand to housing.

My definition of mixed-use development would include the case in TFA: Costco adding housing units above their store. Housing which you explicitly said is 'not a good thing'. I might agree with you, if Costco were slapping down a subdivision of company housing. But they're not, they're adding housing units above a proposed store in a mixed-use approach. This seems like a net good.

There could be a whole (cynical) side conversation as to whether or not Costco is adding these housing units simply to meet the criteria which allow for the expedited approval of this proposal, of course.

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javagram 734 days ago
Rental apartments are important for people who plan to live there less than 5-7 years. If all apartments were condos and there was no renting , where are people who don’t have a down payment saved supposed to live? What if they need to move to a larger place after a year or two?
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MichaelMug 734 days ago
That is entirely not the issue I’m raising here.
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BurningFrog 734 days ago
If you didn't intend to say that all rental housing is bad, you really phrased it badly.
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