Is the Vancouver Waterfront project a sign of gentrification?
Jody Strode has lived in the same Vancouver, Washington home for over 20 years. The 61-year-old nanny fears she will not be living here much longer.
“When I first moved into this house, my rent was $600 a month,” Strobe said. “It is almost $950 now, and I just don’t make enough to (pay) that.”
Strode, 61, is the perfect example of how the rising pricing in the housing industry is pushing low income families away. It’s a process called gentrification, which slowly turns areas from low-income to affluent. It happens when prices in housing, food and other various expenses increase due to an influx of wealthier population.
“I moved here years ago to get away from the busy city and to pay lower rent. All of a sudden, I’m having to borrow money just to get by,” said Strode.
Strode feels that the Vancouver Waterfront project is the major cause of early gentrification in her city. She is concerned for her neighbors as well. She explained that there is no alternative to the project — despite what the citizens of Vancouver want, the city’s money will support the Waterfront no matter what. The “gentrification will keep up no matter what,” she said.
Strode: “I think that this is happening unfairly, because people like me and my neighbors who have lived here for years have always been a little broke. And that was normal. It’s why we lived here. Now, despite whether we like it or not, the price is increasing. The Vancouver Waterfront is a big way to say ‘get out poor people!’ And I feel that it shouldn’t be that way.”
According to a story by CNN, Oregon was the number one state to move to in 2015, for the third year in a row. In the same year, according to The Oregonian, Oregon’s population surpassed 4 million. Portland was the number one destination in Oregon.
Housing prices in Oregon subsequently rose, and the city so far has been struggling to keep up with the population pace. That led to many Oregonians and Californians moving to Vancouver. According to an article published by The Columbian, Clark County (as a whole) placed second in the highest population growth in the state. Vancouver itself also placed second.
Already, low-income Vancouver residents are being priced out of their homes. According to The Columbian, tenants of a Rose Village apartment complex and other nearby complexes were all given notices to vacate. This was due to a raise in rent, in an effort to remodel the complex. Often, managers and owners of properties upgrade and remodel to attract higher-paying tenants.
The Vancouver Waterfront project is also bringing more expensive tastes to the city. The $1.5 billion project will have its first phase completed in summer of 2018, and is set to be open for both public and commercial access. It will include more than 1.25 million square feet of retail space, and 3,300 residential units, according to the Vancouver Waterfront website.
Those in charge of the project predict it will bring 10,000 new jobs, alongside $385 million added to the local economy over the next 20 years. It’s likely the increase in profitable activity will eventually lead to a hike in the prices of housing, food, and shopping and will push lower-income families away and allow others to move to Vancouver.
Seth Piper, a 20-year-old former Vancouver resident who serves in the U.S. Army and lives at the Fort Irwin military base in California, said he wants to move back to Vancouver — but fears he cannot afford to. At the military base, Piper pays the housing and bills with some income left over.
“If it (the housing) wasn’t so ridiculously priced, I wouldn’t mind moving back (to Vancouver) when my contract is up,” Piper said. “But right now, I don’t make enough, man. I think the Waterfront thing is just a big shiny example of the fact that they want poor people to leave.”
Piper feels that the community plays down gentrification. “Nobody wants to believe it’s true until they’re getting kicked out, or kicking someone out,” he said. When he was a child, Piper said, his family was evicted from a boathouse along the Columbia River. According to Piper, the manager of the property said “Taxes are increasing, guys. I don’t have a choice really.”
Jonathan Gregory, a master dispensing optician who lives in Portland, can attest to the gentrification around him.
“Absolutely,” he said. “I see it every day, from food costs to bills and rent.”
Gregory has lived in the area for over 15 years and says that in that time alone he has seen certain areas go through changes very similar to the Vancouver Waterfront. “The process is slow, but over a long period of time people will accept change. This is happening around here right now.”
