Substantive ways to address the high cost of housing for workers

1. "UW hopes to build hundreds of condos for faculty," according to the Seattle Times.

2. In the UK, a few years ago, the supermarket chain Tesco realized that they had land resources in their supermarket sites, worth a good deal of money in redevelopment opportunity for the creation of mixed-use development, including building housing above stores. See "Tesco seeks cheap staff homes," a 2003 report from the BBC. From the article:

A recent report, sponsored by Tesco and the Housing Corporation, said more than 10,000 homes could be built on supermarket sites in London. Tesco has already built more than 200 homes above its supermarkets in London.

Last week, Tesco announced specific plans, according to the BBC, in "Tesco to build homes for workers." From the article:

The UK's largest supermarket has allocated 13 of the 250 flats it is building alongside the Streatham store in south London to staff... If the trial is successful, the chain intends to incorporate staff housing into further developments.

A spokeswoman for Tesco said they hoped the scheme would be "beneficial for staff retention" in London, where they suffer from a high turnover of workers. She added: "It is being led in London because there is more need for affordable housing... the sites in London are more constrained so you need to be a lot more imaginative." ...

The flats will be sold to a housing association and staff will not be treated any differently to other tenants, retaining the right to stay in the property even if they stop working for the supermarket giant. However, if flats become vacant, staff will be offered them first. Key workers, who are often priced out of the London housing market, are intended to benefit from the pioneering project, in addition to Tesco employees.

This certainly puts my complaint about the missed opportunities in the development of the Brentwood Shopping Center in perspective. (Check out this City of London report, "Making Better Use of Supermarkets.")

Brentwood Shopping Center, DC.

Index Keywords: housing