Downtown Development

I heard a while back that the city of Bakersfield was planning on building a bunch of “cottages” across the street from Central Park for small families priced out of the real estate market. I found the idea interesting and I have taken to driving past the area to monitor the progress. In my minds eye I pictured something like the cottage style apartments downtown; several small structures gathered around a central courtyard. That’s not what happened.

The cottages being built are narrow, two-story, “craftsman” style homes that are lined up, San Francisco style, with little more than a few feet between them. No yard to speak of. Yuck. They look pleasant enough, but they’re really nothing more than glorified condos. Nevertheless, according to an article in the paper, there is a waiting list with more than 200 people on it. They have yet to announce how much the homes will be selling for.

Given the area that these homes are being built, it will be interesting to see how this project develops.