More than a few parallels with Asbury Park, and some food for thought, here:
Real Estate, NYT, March 4, 2007 National Perspectives: _A Portland Community Forges a New Identity - New York Times_ (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/04/realestate/04nati.html?ref=realestate) Excerpts: We were looking for a city that was close to the ocean, and a neighborhood that was as diverse as possible. Stirring again after decades of neglect.... Now it is possible on the same block to eat a $100 meal at one of the city’s fine seafood restaurants or get one free at a soup kitchen that feeds 500 people daily. Residents here sleep in historic homes, some worth $300,000 or more …while transients can get a free bed at overnight shelters…. On Bayside's south end are worn convenience stores with metal grates on the windows selling cigarettes and beer. On the north end is a new 47,000-square-foot Whole Foods Market. So you just knew that the city’s deteriorated back door could become its handsome front door. The question facing developers and the city…was this: Would people with means, particularly college-educated professionals just getting started, be willing to settle in a neighborhood known for its soup kitchen, shelters and transients? A sense of community for those with rising fortunes…, and those less fortunate. It has coaxed people of different incomes, backgrounds and races to live side by side. “A lot of people didn't think it could happen. Piece by piece, it’s happening.” Upwardly mobile young professionals resettled the city’s seaside neighborhoods. Artists colonized lofts and old homes in other neighborhoods. With its ample open spaces and old homes ready to be rehabilitated, was seen by city planners as a place of metropolitan opportunity....The designers minimized the number of parking spaces and maximized the development’s density. In 2005, the federal Environmental Protection Agency awarded the Environmental Merit Award for significant contributions to environmental awareness and problem solving. "These projects take stamina, patience and creativity," the award citation said. <BR><BR><BR>**************************************<BR> AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
