Apartments above, vacant storefronts below. Why do commercial spaces in mixed use developments remain empty?

Now ... and forever?

Obviously, we have less of a problem with vacant commercial spaces in new developments because there are fewer of these sort of extravaganzas in New Albany than in larger cities.

Our civic tastes run to free-standing strip mine sites on formerly forested hilltops.

The perpetually vacant (though reasonably sized) corner commercial space located within the Break Wind Lofts at Duggins Flats was discussed here in January of 2017.

Two months ago, a local restaurateur told the Green Mouse that the unfinished potential eatery space in the former showroom actually is priced fairly -- for being unfinished.

Flaherty and Collins apparently is offering to lease this space at the low bargain rate and provide something like $50,000 in cash for the build-out (the Green Mouse was told by the restaurateur that it wasn't enough of an enticement to interest him), but the dollars-per-square-foot price fairly skyrockets if the building's owner must finish the space.

Always be aware that as City Hall touts the many restaurants and bars downtown, as though it had anything whatever to do with their founding and operation -- and you can ask virtually any eatery owner to explain where the bulk of the start-up capital originates, this being with them, and not a magical bunkerside ATM -- the fact that the city subsidized the entirety of the Break Wind development means that the city also is subsidizing the eatery or bar that eventually comes to rest in the rough unfinished space. The city might as well be the one writing the check for $50K, right?

I'm not making this point owing to my antipathy for the current occupant, which is real, but rather because it's absolutely true. With Break Wind, the city's been picking winners with your money -- and is picking winners with your money the sort of thing you want Jeff Gahan doing?

Rachel Quednau breaks it down in the article linked below.

The reason these (often) mandated retail spaces remain empty is because they're priced too high and sized too large for indies; cookie cutter developers with little interest in the real world apart from grabbing municipal abatements and incentives don't bother very much to consider what might actually work in these commercial spaces, and they're willing to sit on emptiness rather than put in the effort to learn.

Or: the polar opposite of the patience and pure acumen that our local developers (Resch, Chalfant, the Carters) have displayed over years of grassroots transformation.

And who gets the money? Faraway folks like Flaherty and Collins from Indianapolis -- then it comes back around to the mayor, which was the point from the very start.

It isn't rocket science after all.

What’s up with all those empty commercial storefronts in new mixed-use developments? by Rachel Quednau (Strong Towns)

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where I live, is going through a massive building phase, with new construction popping up on every corner in and around our downtown and other popular neighborhoods. If you live in any number of mid-sized cities, this is probably a familiar story. And because recent trends in urban planning have encouraged a return to mixed-use developments, those sorts of buildings dominate the new construction landscape. It has resulted in some lovely new ground-level restaurants and shops emerging in areas that previously lacked much street life.

But here’s the more common picture: a cookie-cutter five story apartment building over a vacant commercial space. This image is probably also familiar to you if you live in one of those cities experiencing an urban growth spurt. One might expect this set-up to last a few months, perhaps, while the apartment units are in the process of being filled and the building manager seeks a commercial tenant. But in fact, in my city, it’s not unusual to see a commercial space sitting empty for months and sometimes years. There are buildings like this near my home and, while they may be a shade better than the derelict one-story structures or vacant lots that used to occupy the area, an empty space is an empty space. At the end of the day, a vacant storefront makes the whole street feel neglected and undesirable, and it isn’t fulfilling its purpose.

At first, the whole scene just didn’t make sense to me. What business owner wouldn’t want to move into a brand new space with freshly painted walls, new windows and a blank canvas to lay out in whatever way suited the needs of the business? Why were these storefronts sitting empty?

The building pictured on that meme isn't fast-casual, penny-pinching, developer-driven architecture at all.

Above, I've refashioned a meme about "fast-casual architecture." Before linking you to an explanation of the visual, below is the actual meme. Recently it went viral.

What makes the meme relevant to New Albany? Our fast-casual Break Wind Lofts at Duggins Flats, that's what. Can an interim executive director of public housing afford one of those units?

Ironically, the structure pictured in the viral meme isn't faux luxury housing at all. Rather, it's low-income housing for seniors in a neighborhood of Seattle.

Here's the rest of the story.

The Story Behind the Housing Meme That Swept the Internet, by Kriston Capps (CityLab)

How a popular meme about neoliberal capitalism and fast-casual architecture owned itself.

The Providence Gamelin House opened its doors in Seattle in 2005. It was built to offer safe, affordable housing for low-income seniors in Seattle’s Rainier Vista neighborhood. To occupy any of the facility’s 77 units, residents must be ages 62 and older and earn below 50 percent of the area median income for King County in Washington. Most of them earn far below it: The average annual income for Gamelin House residents is $11,000.

For more than a decade this permanent supportive housing facility has served low-income residents of south Seattle. It’s their home. But the Providence Gamelin House only came into its own at the end of 2017, when an architectural rendering of the project was compelled into service as a meme. Specifically, as a housing meme, which is its own bucket for signifiers of our slide into late capitalism.

The meme surfaced wherever memes surface and spread however memes spread—idk. Eventually it found its way to the desk of Timothy Zaricznyj, director of housing for Providence Supportive Housing, the person who now oversees this alleged gentrification nightmare. (In fact, he manages 16 affordable-housing developments in Washington, Oregon, and California.) Zaricznyj was not exactly tickled. “They chose the wrong project, if they want to slam developers,” he says ...

 ... The fact that this meme depicts modest affordable housing—not penny-pinching, developer-driven Fast-Casual architecture—even inspired a meta-meme backlash ...

 ... The original meme is a vague critique of “architecture by bean-counters” (of which Seattle does not lack for examples) and developers’ thirst for transitional neighborhoods. The Gamelin House was the work of Michael Fancher, an architect who designed affordable housing across the Pacific Northwest in the 1980s and ‘90s. But don’t blame Fancher: Affordable housing is subject to severe restrictions and even worse funding shortfalls.

Those drab "luxury" condos and apartments? "Policymakers, pretty much across the board, don't value design."

I'm just trying to figure out why The Breakwater Lofts at Duggins Flats gets an exemption from the street spam ordinance.

Those 'Luxury' Condos Look A Little Drab (WBUR)

In cities like Seattle, Boston, Denver and Charlotte, new "luxury" condos and apartment buildings are going up to meet demand for new housing. But many of these buildings look like simple, plain boxes.

Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson talks with architecture critic and author Sarah Williams Goldhagen (@SarahWGoldhagen) about what makes these buildings "poor," "boring" architecture, and how monotonous architecture actually negatively affects us.

On why there are so many of these kinds of buildings being built

"There are a lot of different reasons for it. If you separate it out into supply and demand, one is that that's what's being built, so that's what's cheap to build, because the wheels are greased for that kind of architecture. Buy in bulk. That's what the market has been giving and so it's easy to give that. The second reason is that there's a general point of view, both among real estate developers, who are building these buildings, and among clients who are buying these buildings, that good design ... is an unaffordable luxury. And we know two things now: one, it's not unaffordable. It costs just as much to build a well-designed building as a poorly designed building. And neither is it a luxury because the research is clearly showing that people actually respond very poorly to those bad buildings.

Redevelopment's greatest quality-of-life project scratches every itch: "The Facility Is an Underground Compound Made Up of Luxury Apartments."

It's a must-have for all aspiring Dear Leaders. The perfect spot for a luxury bunker? Subterranean Summit Springs, of course.

TIF may wish to price a hernia truss or three.

The Facility Is an Underground Compound Made Up of Luxury Apartments, by Jenny McGrath (Digital Trends)

It might be better described as an underground (45 feet down) compound, as it has four luxury apartments, five staff bedrooms, a 15-seat home theater, conference rooms, a first-aid room, and a commercial kitchen. Above ground, there’s a 100-yard firearm range, so you can practice for the zombies. To keep the lights on, it has a three-phase power plant and backup solar system. “Above ground, The Facility offers 2,000 square feet of commercial space, a renovated 1,000-square-foot caretaker’s home, and below ground the facility offers 14,000-square-feet of living and working space,” according to a press release.

Hitching Post ... or Noma Mexico?

Photo credit: New York Times.

To begin at the very end, Pete Wells concludes his rumination about a pop-up restaurant where diners enjoy very special meals priced at $750 per person, including tax and gratuity.

 ... They’ve chosen to pour their creativity into something that, because of its planned scarcity and relative expense, has to be seen as a luxury product. Luxury goods tend to float free of the everyday world and create their own cultural context, one of wealth and exclusivity. There are many ways to respond to that, but in this case, I don’t think a review written by me is one of them. I’d rather review a restaurant that has its roots in the ground.

In seemingly unrelated news, last week the Hitching Post Tavern caught fire. As of this writing, the bar's future is uncertain, although one regular customer told me there'll be a comeback for sure even if the specifics are uncertain.

More power to them.

It's been almost eight years since I last patronized the Hitching Post, but I'm not being hypocritical in wishing them the best and hoping they return soon. Advocating for independent local businesses means all of them, not just the ones on one's personal regular rotation.

Importantly, in terms of food and drink downtown, the Hitching Post has been a valuable component of the indie biz ecosystem -- for what the tavern is, what it does, and who values it.

Or, as a Hitching Post customer wrote on Facebook (lightly paraphrasing), "Now where will we go for a drink? There are so few places left."

Think about that.

Within a three block radius of Hitching Post, there are at least 15 establishments serving alcoholic beverages, with two (maybe three) on the way. A half-dozen others offer food, but no alcohol.

Rather, there are so few places downtown like the Hitching Post, which is to say -- using old-school terminology -- "popularly priced" neighborhood joints.

Of course, this isn't to imply that the newer wave of restaurants has not been welcoming to one and all. They have been, but it long since has become clear that New Albany's ongoing downtown revitalization has relied on an almost inevitably exclusionary socio-economic metric.

We're making New Albany luxurious again.

I'd posit that Jeff Gahan's public housing putsch has laid this latent seam raw, while at the same time having the salubrious effect of revealing the spiritual impoverishment of his cult of personality's bizarre trickle-down prosperity gospel.

Because this: "Luxury goods tend to float free of the everyday world and create their own cultural context, one of wealth and exclusivity."

In a nutshell, it's the fundamental problem with the city subsidizing a "luxury" apartment complex like Breakwater, which strives to give its residents the sort of posh amenities calculated to keep them cocooned at home, safely segregated from the poor schmucks a few blocks away who'll be gone as soon as Gahan can arrange the requisite cattle cars.

In the end, these observations are hardly novel. For thirteen years, NAC has been debating topics on a general theme of "proper balance": urbanism, sustainability, revitalization, gentrification, and naturally not to exclude inebriation. It's been a constant and wearying process of examining premises, over and over. I'd suggest that it can be no other way.

All I know at this precise moment in time is that it shouldn't be a question of either Hitching Post or Noma Mexico, but if it is, my answer might not be the one you think.

Why I’m Not Reviewing Noma Mexico, by Pete Wells (NYT)

Under the rustling palms of Tulum, Mexico, the chef René Redzepi has been serving what Kevin Sintumuang, reporting for Esquire, called “the most enviable meal of the year.” Mr. Redzepi, who transplanted most of his staff to the Yucatán, while Noma, his restaurant in Copenhagen, prepares to move, said he wanted Noma Mexico to be “the meal of the decade.” For Jacob Richler, who wrote about the dinner for The Toronto Star, it was “the meal of a lifetime.”

And I’m going to miss it.

Not that I will be entirely in the dark about what other people have been eating when Noma Mexico, sometimes referred to as Noma Tulum, reaches the end of its seven-week run on Sunday. Despite having accommodations for just 7,000 people, all of whom claimed reservations within two hours last December, it may be the most exhaustively documented pop-up restaurant in history.

Handbags, toothpicks, gladrags, matchsticks and the re-erection of Break Wind.

How deep do you think those bunkers really are? Do they connect to City Hall's? What about One Southern Indiana?

DOOMSDAY PREP FOR THE SUPER-RICH, by Evan Osnos (New Yorker)

Some of the wealthiest people in America—in Silicon Valley, New York, and beyond—are getting ready for the crackup of civilization.

Steve Huffman, the thirty-three-year-old co-founder and C.E.O. of Reddit, which is valued at six hundred million dollars, was nearsighted until November, 2015, when he arranged to have laser eye surgery. He underwent the procedure not for the sake of convenience or appearance but, rather, for a reason he doesn’t usually talk much about: he hopes that it will improve his odds of surviving a disaster, whether natural or man-made. “If the world ends—and not even if the world ends, but if we have trouble—getting contacts or glasses is going to be a huge pain in the ass,” he told me recently. “Without them, I’m fucked.”

Huffman, who lives in San Francisco, has large blue eyes, thick, sandy hair, and an air of restless curiosity; at the University of Virginia, he was a competitive ballroom dancer, who hacked his roommate’s Web site as a prank. He is less focused on a specific threat—a quake on the San Andreas, a pandemic, a dirty bomb—than he is on the aftermath, “the temporary collapse of our government and structures,” as he puts it. “I own a couple of motorcycles. I have a bunch of guns and ammo. Food. I figure that, with that, I can hole up in my house for some amount of time.”

Survivalism, the practice of preparing for a crackup of civilization, tends to evoke a certain picture: the woodsman in the tinfoil hat, the hysteric with the hoard of beans, the religious doomsayer. But in recent years survivalism has expanded to more affluent quarters, taking root in Silicon Valley and New York City, among technology executives, hedge-fund managers, and others in their economic cohort ...

For some, it’s just “brogrammer” entertainment, a kind of real-world sci-fi, with gear; for others, like Huffman, it’s been a concern for years. “Ever since I saw the movie ‘Deep Impact,’ ” he said. The film, released in 1998, depicts a comet striking the Atlantic, and a race to escape the tsunami. “Everybody’s trying to get out, and they’re stuck in traffic. That scene happened to be filmed near my high school. Every time I drove through that stretch of road, I would think, I need to own a motorcycle because everybody else is screwed” ...

At least Flaherty & Collins had insurance.

Awed throngs gather their headgear as the Toothpick Colossus of Duggins rises again, right there, across from the fire station.

Income inequality can wait ... this is "luxury" paradise.

The Breakwater fire: Luckily there were no injuries, but are we REALLY sure the deity favors subsidized luxury?

Courtesy WHAS.

Some of us have spent a great deal of time and effort debating the merits of the Flaherty and Collins "luxury" apartment complex at the former Coyle block. These long hours might have been devoted to martinis, books and heavy metal; it's a dirty job, but one that remains sadly necessary in the absence of responsible local journalism.

The overall question has been phrased somewhat like this:

To what extent (if any) should City Hall subsidize private, for-profit development with an array of sewer tap-in waivers, tax abatements and other incentives -- enticements generally unavailable to smaller business entities, who must sink or swim by their own merits -- especially when the objective is high-end housing in a locale where poverty is rampant?

Yesterday morning the unoccupied, about-to-be-completed wing of The Breakwater, comprising two-thirds of the development's residential space on the west side of the block (Elm and 4th), caught fire. The sprinkler system had not been activated because construction was ongoing. The result was an arduous daylong firefighting battle in adverse conditions.

It is far too early to judge, but the likelihood is high that the wing is a total loss, and the developers already have publicly committed to a rebuild, at least in statements to local media. There'll be an investigation into the cause of the fire. Presumably insurance will impel Flaherty and Collins forward to completion, while local taxpayers get the bill for fighting the blaze.

But it might have been far worse. We're all grateful that the building had no residents, and as usual in these cases, our first responders deserve comprehensive kudos. Fire fighters were on the job yesterday at 5:00 a.m. on a windy and cold day. They were joined by compatriots from Jeffersonville, Clarksville and Georgetown, and some of them probably are still there more than 24 hours later.

If I were Flaherty and Collins, there'd be 100+ area first responders enjoying complimentary steaks at Brooklyn and The Butcher.

Beyond all this, one point needs to be reiterated. I overheard a discussion at a recent meeting, in which The Breakwater was being discussed, and its luxuriousness praised. There were oohs and aahs, but without any meaningful context (how did this come to be?), it's impossible to arrive at a balanced conclusion.

City Hall obviously picked a winner in The Breakwater; conversely, it let "losers" languish. Discussions about propriety are by no means concluded, and the unfortunate fire doesn't change the parameters of this debate one single, solitary bit.

Civic engagement is not zero-sum. There are more options than all/none, and more angles of discussion than this/that. Assuming the developers rebuild, a finished and fully occupied apartment complex also won't change the parameters of the debate.

That's because it is perfectly legitimate to continue to ask questions about the applicability of taxpayer subsidies, the precedent of sewer tap-in waivers, the quality of construction techniques, the use of union versus non-union labor, the applicability of giveaways in the cause of "economic development" -- to name only a few issues.

In summary, profuse thanks are due our firefighters and first responders. It's a good thing residents weren't in the building. Decisions having already been made, the fire is a setback (see CM Knable's video and comments) and probably nothing more.

We'll be watching to see what happens next, and those questions? There is no reason to stop asking them, is there?

Breakwater, Break Wind: "We got to move these refrigerators, we gotta move these color TV's," or else we'll miss the thrill of public housing demolitions.

The expected breathlessness comes to us straight from the Hanson Advertising Aggregator, so a few actual facts are worth remembering:

1. Break Wind is the first instance in municipal history of sewer tap-in fees being waived for a private, for-profit developer, adding another few hundred thousand to the bonds mentioned below.

2. At a time when affordable housing is a nationwide dilemma, this public relations exaltation of drywall 'n' pressboard "luxury" is occurring simultaneously with Mayor Jeff Gahan's packing of the New Albany Housing Authority Board with slobbering sycophants (sorry, Shane) in anticipation of permanently reducing affordable housing (and shrinking the safety net) for the city's working poor.

3. Finally, seeing as the city is subsidizing this private for-profit development with sewer tap-in waivers, bonds and infrastructure, the city also will be subsidizing the private for-profit eatery mentioned as potential tenant of Break Wind's retail space.This is an affront to every entrepreneur who has invested in downtown with little or no similar assistance from Team Gahan.

In the Dear Leader's shining city on the flood plain, the beat (and the hypocrisy, and the reconstituted prostitution) goes on ... and on ... and on ...

The Breakwater starts moving in tenants; 13 leasers set to move into the first, 66-unit residential building by the end of the month, by Danielle Grady

Flaherty & Collins is still looking for a tenant to fill the retail space, however. A restaurant that benefits the city would be ideal, Carmony said.

As the property continues to take shape, Carmony said he expects more Breakwater residents to sign leases.

The Breakwater, a $26.5 million project, is being built with the help of $4.9 million in bonds from the city and a $3.3 million tax credit from the Indiana Economic Development Corp.

The development will pay $250,000 in property taxes, and its residents will pump millions into the local economy, said David Flaherty, the CEO of Flaherty & Collins, in a previous News and Tribune article.

The impending grandeur of breaking wind (or, All About The Breakwater).

The Break Wind Lofts at Duggins Flats, sometimes referred to by those enamored of literalism as The Breakwater, soon will be leasing.

More on that in a moment.

First, echoing a question asked on social media, there's the question of parking. Are there sufficient spaces on the old Coyle block for the number of cars we'd expect to belong to Americans residing in 190 units?

Almost certainly not, although I can't find the answer to this question (please direct me if you know), although very early on, the city began referring to parking arrangements with AT&T just across the street, and this likely is a tacit admission of parking inadequacy within the confines of The Break Wind itself.

In turn, it's recognition that non-automotive millennials with bicycles, not cars, actually won't be able to afford living in these apartments, but let's ignore that and consider what it means to offer overflow parking across Spring Street when there is no semblance of a crosswalk mentality, now or in any two-way future -- hence, the photo above, and another view here.

Of course, the dynamic renderings already posit a two-way future -- if not a crosswalk. Recall that City Hall denies ever discussing the street grid with the builder, Flaherty Collins, a representative of which confirmed such talks when asked by a citizen.

The view from 4th and Spring:

These renderings also take a highly stylized view of downtown Louisville's proximity to one-way Nawbany.

Talk about plate tectonics -- Louisville has shifted overnight, and residents of The Break Wind will almost be able to reach out and touch the Yum! Center.

I went to The Breakwater web page to see if the parking question is answered there, and it is:

"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiuts smod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua."

Just look at these amenities, this time in English:

"Resort-Style Heated pool, Cabanas, Outdoor Kitchen w/ Grilling Stations, Fire Pit, Pet Spa, Dog Run, Smart Package Room, Bike Room w/ Storage and Repair Tools, Courtyard w/ Pool Deck, Outdoor Movie Screen and Fitness Club."

But what about rental prices? For this, we must visit Craigslist (thanks to T) and dodge exclamation marks.

New Albany Indiana, just outside of Louisville Kentucky, now has BRAND NEW LUXURY apartment homes for rent!

The Breakwater is a brand new luxury community that offers studio, one, and two bedroom apartments for rent in downtown New Albany, IN.

As you step into your apartment home, you will enjoy 9 foot ceilings, 42" kitchen cabinets, granite counter-tops, hard wood floors, full size washer and dryer, stainless steel appliances, and blinds.

Our residents will enjoy upscale, resort style amenities, including a heated salt water swimming pool with cabanas, outdoor movie screen, bike storage, pet wash room, fitness studio, dog walk, club room, and an outdoor kitchen with grilling stations and a fire pit. Attached and Unattached garages are available to rent also! The Breakwater is just minutes from shopping, dining, entertainment, and provides easy access to the freeway. Take advantage of the upscale amenities available to you at The Breakwater today!

We have the following floor plans available:

* Studio - 517 sq to 622 sq - $705 to $830
* One bedroom - 769 sq - 912 sq - $910 to $1190
* One bedroom with a Den - 1148 sq - $1195 to $1215
* Two bedroom/Two Bath - 1180 sq to 1204 sq - $1495 to $1670

Call now to pre-lease your new apartment home today, we are filling up fast!

I suppose this means the Bocce Ball court didn't make the cut.

Sad!

Just imagine what these units would cost had the city not waived sewer tap-in fees ...

In spite of the best pressboard TIF can buy, "Many downtown luxury apartments sit empty."

The Omnibus Millennial Resettlement Act of 2012 - 2016.

Thanks to M for this link, which makes the point that America's downtown "luxury" apartment building boom may be leaving out a key component -- millennials, who can't afford the high prices.

I've not idea why this reminded me of New Albany's forthcoming Break Wind Lofts at Duggins Flats.

Maybe it's just a coincidence. Anyone up for a game of Break Wind Luxury Vacancy Rate Bingo?

Many downtown luxury apartments sit empty, by Paul Davidson (USA TODAY)

Apartment building owners are struggling to rent many of the luxury units that have flooded downtowns across the country in recent years even as a relative shortage of multifamily homes in the suburbs has driven up rents.

Since 2012, the nation’s supply of apartments has swelled 16.6% in central business districts and 13.5% in “secondary core” areas surrounding the downtowns, but just 5.5% for mid-priced suburban units, according to real estate research firm CoStar.

The downtown building frenzy has been well-publicized as developers cater to Millennials, among other age groups, who have streamed into revitalized cities to be closer to amenities, nightlife and a car-free lifestyle. The CoStar data, however, shows that builders may be putting up too many apartments — most of which are at the high end of the market — in the urban hubs and not enough in outlying areas.

Over the past four years, the vacancy rate in downtowns and adjacent districts has climbed from 3.4% to about 5.5%, CoStar figures show ...

Previous Breakwater coverage at NAC:

The Indy rental experience and our Breakwater: "Why the discrepancy between high demand for housing in the city but low growth in occupancy rates?"

Big Dig secret revealed as Mayor Jeff Gahan presents ... the Break Wind Subway Station.

Duggins: Indy developer has "vested interest" in our community, and millennials prefer biking alongside Padgett cranes.

Yes, Jeff, we know you're The Luxury Mayor: "Working so hard, to keep you from the poverty.

Coyle sitecapades: In New Albany, Democrats WILL be Republicans ... and Jeff Gahan WILL stay on the down low.

A stellar subsidized evening of Reaganite corporate welfare, New Albany Trickle-Down Democrat-style.

Mute balsa agony amid luxurious rabbit hutch erections as bicyclists and walkers fend for themselves.

Pressboard makers of America, unite. You too can hang your ladders by nocturnal crane -- not that the neighborhood has a crime problem or anything.

Break Wind Lofts at Duggins Flats is coming long swimmingly, and -- wait, what's THAT?

Ah, yes. The middle-of-the-block "bikes merge" sign.

Cyclists, merge into THIS:

Do you feel safer yet?

Mayor Gahan is doing his best to ignore church-state separation, so bone up on your prayers. They'll probably be the most effective traffic calming strategy in Race Through City.

The Indy rental experience and our Breakwater: "Why the discrepancy between high demand for housing in the city but low growth in occupancy rates?"

In which you put yourself into Flaherty and Collins' shoes, up there in exploding Indianapolis, on that day when the fax first arrived from David Duggins, the one expressing keen interest in top-dollar pads for millennials and oh, by the way, there's a few million of TIF lube and a line or three of sewer tap-in waivers waiting -- then a colleague says "hey, what's that?"

"Dunno, some rube in Hicksville by Kentucky somewhere. Where are you headed?"

"The bathroom; those tacos are lighting me up. I've been breaking wind all morning."

(Breaking wind ... hmm)

"Hey, wait -- ever heard of Nawbany?"

Read the whole piece.

From our perspective Down Here, only an excerpt is necessary to make the point, followed by Nuvo's first example of high-priced vacancy -- featuring a familiar name.

The rent is too damn high! How Indy's rental boom leaves a lot of people at the curb, by Annika Larson (NUVO)

 ... Why the discrepancy between high demand for housing in the city but low growth in occupancy rates?

Maybe it's the lack of understanding what most millennials and the working middle class need. Or perhaps it's the price-gouging that luxury apartment complexes impose on their tenants (extra fees for parking, pool access, gym access, pay-by-load laundry rooms, glamorous lobbies, full balconies, a bigger bathroom, etc.). After all, these apartments are supposedly aimed at the top 1 percent of millennials that are making around $90,000 a year. The reality of Indianapolis demographics is that the average household income is $63,865 at the median age of 34 years old. Under the age of 25, the median income rests at $28,553. That's not to say there aren't people who earn the top dollars here in Indy, but they just don't exist in high enough numbers to fill up all of the amenity-rich apartments that are currently built — and have yet to be built — in 2016.

Instead, most people — specifically the younger demographic — currently living in Indianapolis (or looking at Indianapolis as a prospective future home) look toward the neighborhoods directly outside of the city, such as the Old Northside, Fountain Square, and Woodruff Place. The luxury apartment boom actually makes certain parts of the city unattainable for most people, specifically the Wholesale District and Monument Circle. Development of these living spaces is supposed to cater to residents who wish to make direct downtown living a reality, but high rent turns people away. So, direct downtown neighborhoods like the Wholesale District and Mass Ave aren't seeing the vast influx of new residents and high rates of growth that was projected — instead, neighborhoods directly outside of the city are seeing growth because it's the only affordable way to attain the vibe of downtown living ...

Photo credit: Annika Larson, NUVO

Axis Apartments, Flaherty and Collins

• 336 units total
• 303 units occupied
• 33 units vacant
• Studios start at $1,245/month

Flaherty and Collins kicks off Break Wind Flats with a boffo map fail.

Jeff Gillenwater reporting from geographically indeterminate New Gahania.

Here's a rendering Flaherty and Collins is using to promote their development on Spring Street in New Albany. Based on the location of the river and downtown Louisville in it, they apparently don't know where Spring Street in New Albany is. Or maybe they don't want others to know.

Previously at NAC:

As the Coyle site is prepped for luxury, city functionaries praise corporate welfare "done right."

Name That Boondoggle Episode 1: The apartments at the Coyle site really should be called ...

Seriously, the "luxury" apartments at the Coyle site will be called The Breakwater. No, really.

Yes, Jeff, we know you're The Luxury Mayor: "Working so hard, to keep you from the poverty."

Subsidizing luxury, ignoring affordability ... or, "housing strategies from our local Democrats."

The city of New Albany is subsidizing "luxury" apartments to the tune of millions of dollars, even as all available evidence indicates these are not what the market demands.

At the same time, any mention of affordable housing before mayor or council is met with the modern-day equivalent of waving the bloody shirt: "No More Housing Projects."

Undoubtedly this stems from the firmly suburbanite-centric conceptual orientation of New Albany politics, wherein affordable rentals are associated with unclean lifestyles and the "wrong" kind of people (see: registrations and inspections, rental properties, NO GO).

And yet escalating experience all across the nation indicates that any genuine concern for the housing needs of strongly desired "millennials" would be met by affordable housing, not "luxury" housing.

Once Flaherty Collins has bankrolled its Gahan-induced profit guarantee and made the requisite political deposits, will the apartments remain "luxurious" if the market rules otherwise? If they did not, wouldn't this finally represent a rational response?

There Are Plenty of New Apartments Being Built—Just Not Affordable Ones, by Gillian B. White (City Lab)

... The Fed researchers took a look at housing supply and found that there’s a lot more construction happening at the top of the market, where developers and builders are quickly getting luxury apartments to market. The wide selection of swanky apartments actually helps to keep inflation at bay for pricier properties. Since there are so many options at the top of the market, landlords compete for new tenants, which helps keep the cost down for consumers.

But for those in lower income brackets, things aren’t working out as nicely. Construction has been slow for cheaper apartments, since many developers are more focused on renovating existing properties or building new ones in hopes of appealing to more affluent renters ...

A stellar subsidized evening of Reaganite corporate welfare, New Albany Trickle-Down Democrat-style.

Tonight's city council verdict: In a "free" market economy, risk is a necessary condition for small local businesses, developers and entrepreneurs, while for-profit businesses of larger size, pursuing ventures of a certain vaguely defined "magnitude," must forever be sheltered from the vicissitudes of risk by means of civic subsidy.

Democrats did this -- except for John Gonder, who joined Kevin Zurschmiede in voting against the $4.9 million bond.

It bears repeating: Tonight's exercise in risk-free corporate welfare and purely trickle-down economics, wherein "luxury" apartments matter more than neglected areas of blight and impoverishment situated yards away?

Yep: Democrats did that.

Not Republicans.

Democrats.

With his spirited defense of subsidized luxury apartments as curative for what he referred to as "blight," 3rd district councilman Greg Phipps apparently has coined a new re-election campaign slogan.

"The Needs of the Luxurious Few Outweigh the Needs of the Marginalized Many." 

Mr. Spock would be appalled. Then again, he never was a Democrat in New Albany.

Jeff Gahan did not attend the meeting. At the conclusion, as I stepped into the hallway to chat, Gahan could be seen emerging from his office. He saw me, and ducked back inside.

He must have been there all along.

Wouldn't you have liked your elected mayor, and not an appointee like David Duggins, explain the merits of this purportedly transformational luxury bocce empowerment project?

I sure would. More tomorrow.