Hub shoos away future residents
BRIAN MCGRORY'S thoughtful column, ''Evidence of Trouble" (City & Region, April 25), raised points that have been troubling the real estate community for some time. Boston's declining job market and population may affect prices unless something changes.
Boston doesn't seem to understand what comprises a dynamic city for students, young professionals, and families. Students here are regarded as a necessary evil rather than as residents in training. Given that one in five residents is a student, Boston should address their needs.
Restaurants stop serving at 10 p.m., bars close at 2 a.m., and subways close before the bars. When students return from internships in New York, they begin to see Boston as a small town with big buildings. Thus we lose future residents to Manhattan.
Boston lacks vitality in part because it provides few affordable options for nightlife. To make the inevitable comparison, New York's well-designed restaurants and bars are packed nightly with 20- and 30-somethings. Prices here are geared to an older, affluent crowd. The result? Many young professionals spend their weekends -- and their discretionary income -- elsewhere.
CONSTANTINE A. VALHOULI, Bradford
The writer is a principal with the Hammersmith Group, a real estate development company. 