Thanks to Pat for another very nice article. We do indeed need to support our downtown.
I would like to take issue with one statement: "There are also hundreds of new residences in the city core. Much of that can be attributed to the Multifamily Property Tax Exemption." I don't believe this is true. The increase in downtown housing construction was due to the increase in rent levels. That's exactly what developers told us over and over when we asked why they weren't building housing.
State auditors agree. They found no evidence that this tax exemption does what it is intended to do. So it's just a tax subsidy to wealthy land speculators and developers. It should be repealed and the savings invested in housing for really poor people.
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