Seems like “red-light” districts in Europe and worldwide are prime for real estate development … er gentrification, according to this Financial Times report.
Across Europe and around the world, soaring land prices and increasing demand for luxury living are fuelling a building boom on skid row. Despite a global economic downturn that has pummelled many new condominium projects and erratic global financial markets that have spooked wealthy home buyers, developers’ appetites for building in areas long associated with adult entertainment have not waned.
“It’s not at all surprising to see developers targeting these areas,” says Eric Damian Kelly, an American land-use attorney who has authored several studies on gentrifying adult entertainment zones and other low-income areas. “Particularly in older cities in Europe and Asia, [the red-light district] is where you often find many historic buildings and architectural landmarks and that’s a very attractive selling point to builders and investors.” …
But rising investment in red-light districts is leading to protests, and in some cases lawsuits, by long-time residents and citizens’ groups. They complain that new schemes are driving up real estate values and rents. Critics also charge that some developers have little regard for preserving the neighborhood’s architectural integrity.
August 12th, 2008 at 9:52 am
Do the red-light businesses stay put? If not, where are they going?