I'm not sure we need more single family home construction. We have way too much supply as it is. Renovation, I could buy, but construction doesn't need to be done on a massive scale.
I find this concept puzzling. Most successful cities are filled with transitional people. Manhattan is a revolving door. San Francisco real estate prices are not conducive for raising a family.Nearly all of the people moving into Detroit are temporary at this point. When they start thinking about having children,.. they will buy a home elsewhere.
The 2010 census shows Ann Arbor as having 45,000 households of which only 21,000 are families. Think about that...more than 50% of the households in Ann Arbor are not families settling down but more likely people who will move away in the next five years.
Heavens to Betsy...50% of Ann Arbor households plan to move in 5 years.
There is nothing wrong with building a core downtown around people who will likely be gone in 3-5 years. Hell, in most cities, that's exactly what is working best.
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