Uh HUH. Once again, if the developers can't sell it as a boon for the yuppies, or for the "creative class", sell it as a balm for the homeless. I seem to remember that the Pearl District boom started when developers and Vera Katz told everyone that the first few buildings were going to be low-income housing to help people who'd otherwise be out on the streets. That did a world of good, didn't it?

But then they can really sell the "no need for parking" argument, because certainly no homeless person would own a car - or get one after their lives have stabilized.

UR proponents can come u0 with new excuses from now until eternity but they never honestly measure if it makes sense diverting the property taxes from essential services to do so. Nope. They just state that if they can spend the (borrowed) money then something will get built.
Later when the debt servicing siphons away money that is really unavailable as it's being spent on services they are no where to be seen or heard.
TIF is the biggest municipal financing/funding scam in US history.

What's really going on here is there is a sea of bureaucrats, consultants and others at the UR feeding trough who's jobs and cozy compensation relies upon these schemes continuing. Along with property owners and developers who are glad to take the money they push for more of the same regardless of how wrong it is.

Supporters in the community are so conflicted or shallow minded they simply do not care.
It's legal and we get to see stuff get built.
Yippee!

The construction mafia and the banks that fund this crap are the central reason our city is worse off.

Nobody from the political class will admit that this is all a big scam because they are sucking off the money tits and don't want to piss off their big mama.

Gosh, Fish, since Affordable Housing doesn't pay any property taxes which generates TIF dollars, which hopefully will pay off an URA, then how can a URA be financally successful?

For example, take SoWhat. Its TIF maximum is $290 Million. But as projected by the financial gurus at PDC, the URA will be generating only $9 to $10 Million in TIF property taxes as their latest budget to 2017 projects. The debt service costs alone, on the TIF dollars so far spent (most don't realized that most of the TIF dollars are bond borrowed dollars), is over $12 Million per year. So the URA is broke, can't even pay its interest cost and nothing on the principal owed.

Now why is it broke? One major reason is that over 1/2 of the URA is in non tax-paying properties, constituted with OHSU, PSU, and AFFORDABLE HOUSING that doesn't pay any property taxes. That is why the proposed PSU Education URA and others URAs Fish lauds, with him advancing Affordable Housing, is a disaster in the makings. The tax burden is shifted to the few of us still paying property taxes. Now, Fish, lets discuss these facts.

Didn't Fish come from the Housing Authority?
Not a good sign, we need people making decisions such as this
who are independent from such organizations.

Fabulous! More welfare housing, to be built with scarce dollars that should have been used for critical infratructure and basic services! Portland really isn't doing enough to attract ne'er-do-wells from around the country. Maybe these units will come with free bicycles.