don’t think you’ll find a community that hasn’t been impacted by the housing shortage,” Mayor O’Connell acknowledges. “We just had about 100 units come online this past year right in the downtown area. We have another project downtown that will bring about 36 more units online.” These downtown residential developments support the city’s revitalization efforts by increasing population density in the urban core, a strategy urban planners advocate for creating vibrant downtowns. The city has particularly focused on rejuvenating dormant properties, exemplified by the Whittenton neighborhood Mills project. “In our Whittenton neighborhood, we have a project of 390 apartments going through the approval process in the former Whittenton Mills, which has been sitting and decaying for well over a decade,” says Mayor O’Connell. “Our team has been laser focused on vacant blighted properties and getting them developed.” This adaptive reuse approach preserves architectural heritage while adding housing stock—a sustainable development model gaining traction nationwide. 212 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 05
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