home for under 350k and apartment rent is $1400. Or maybe when it takes you over an hour to commute 10 miles because every highway and sidestreet is at a standstill. Or maybe when the development consists of nothing more than Walmart/Target, Chipolte, Starbucks, and Asian Massage Parlors.
The people of Shawnee are the first to take the stand against the developers of the world that want to do nothing more than develop retail spaces and shitty restaurants that will close down 6 months after opening. Maybe these folks understand that when you make the area nothing more than a big shopping mall that the future consists of slum housing and vacant retail fronts. The signs of this have been all over JOCO for years. Just look at what happened to OP north of 119th street. Or PV on 95th street. BLIGHT.
Here is a great idea, stop building. If the area is so attractive then the vacant will fill. Build a new shiny thing down the road and they will go there. Build parks and recreational areas instead of freaking Targets. Greenspace always equals the quality of life and thus attracts businesses that create actual jobs that pay over $20 per hour instead of low-paying retail gigs.
The area was built on jobs, schools, and affordable housing. Sadly, you have to go to an abandoned bowling area to see any trace of that left in JOCO. The schools have gone ultraliberal, the jobs are fleeing the area and housing is unaffordable. BUT what do I know, I only lived there for close to 40 years.
