High-rises price out the middle

No one can settle into the streamlined opulence of 1521 Second Avenue until 2008, but I'm sure they're counting the months.

The toilets in this planned high-rise condo will open and close by themselves. The pantry drawers ease back, too. There are foot pedals and recessed thresholds and a choice of three heights for the cool granite counters. And the view.

There are 30 more of these sleek condo projects coming to downtown Seattle, many of them aimed at buyers with handsome incomes.

Consider the marketing: Life at Vulcan's 2200, at Denny and Westlake, is all about shopping at Whole Foods and cocktailing at the Pan Pacific Hotel.

The Escala condo's Web site features swanky sounds and images. The cheapest unit: $499,000.

I like the idea of an army of spit-shine new residents invading downtown. It's fewer cars on the road, a nod to our healthy economy and hints at the world-class city we've always wanted to be.

But I don't see any place for the middle class. Any firefighter, teacher or store manager (we're what the city calls its "work force") will have to borrow a jacket to be seated.

One exception is the "green" Veer Lofts at South Lake Union, which start in the mid-$200,000s. With their laminate cabinets and concrete floors, the industrial-style lofts are considered "entry-level."

So of course it's like scaling a mountain to get one. Potential buyers must attend an informational overview, get pre-approval from a lender, fill out a lottery card and then cross their fingers.

This spring the city took a small step in keeping downtown living within reach by instituting new fees for residential developers who build higher than 290 feet. The fee averages $18.94 per square foot, to be put into a fund for "affordable" housing.

And what will that buy? Over time, about 30 affordable apartments a year. So while some 11,000 new downtown condos are in the works, a fraction of that will be apartments for the working class.

I guess that's what it means to be "world-class." Like New York and Chicago, Seattle is becoming a place of haves and have-nots, where the affluent enjoy the banquet of downtown life while we mortals can only window shop.

Can we do more? How can the working class even consider living closer to their jobs if the city doesn't have a better strategy for affordable living?

Justen blames it on taxes and fees like the $1.75 million on his project: "By putting those fees on a project, they're raising the cost of housing."

But when the units start at $1 million, as they do at 1521, an extra tax for affordable housing is a pinch Justen's buyers probably won't feel.

Meanwhile, too many of us feel forgotten as the city makes room for high-rises, high salaries and low incomes — but is not doing enough for those of us stuck on the middle floors.

Nicole Brodeur's column appears Wednesday and Sunday. Reach her at 206-464-2334 or nbrodeur@seattletimes.com.

DeLaine has gone off campus.