Urban rehab: Nine cities confront change

The media these days can't stop saying that the cork is out of the housing bottle. Sure, the fizz is gone in many domestic markets. But the momentum didn't vaporize immediately. Projects still managed to get underway that are significantly altering the character of urban centers.

Fact is, across the country, private and public efforts have propelled renewal and reinvention in America's downtowns. Run-down and underused areas are being rebuilt into zones populated by the young and the middle-class.

This month's National Market Report highlights various ways in which the industry is getting aggressive in nine cities.

The trend in most cases builds on the cities' established identities, whether as an environmental leader (Portland, Ore.), a city of passionate sports fans (Boston), a government hub (Washington, D.C.) or a haven for celebrities (Los Angeles).

In Boston, nearly a billion dollars is being pumped into the area around Fenway Park to grow an around-the-clock community that has more to offer than tickets to the Red Sox. Housing, retail, dining and transportation upgrades are all in the works around the historic stadium.

Portland, meanwhile, long an environmental leader with more green-certified buildings than any other U.S. city, is adding new tricks to its repertoire. The city has been the first to list a home's environmental features as part of its multiple listing service, and the city council is set to decide on a tax early next year that will penalize private developers for not building green.

In the quest for renewal, some real estate markets are wrestling with more elemental problems. The wildfires that ravaged San Diego last month have homeowners and insurers wondering whether subdivisions on the city's scrubland fringes are viable, and have led to an uptick in interest in downtown living, brokers report.

Likewise, two years after Hurricane Katrina, brokers in New Orleans say
business there is returning to normal, but slowly. The number of agents is actually higher than before the devastating storm, as many newcomers dabbled in real estate to serve the returning residents who created a brief real estate bonanza.

Initiatives in Chicago, Columbus and Miami are changing aspects of their civic character, too. As you read these pages, you'll see that there's a reinvention and transformation happening in our urban centers.

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source: therealdeal.net