Emmy's job is to bounce between the apartments of millennials who want a bit of fur to pat after a hard day. That's right, tenants "will be able to pick her up in the lobby, take her upstairs to their apartment or for a walk, and return her as they would a library book, a DVD or bowling shoes."
Emmy's place of
Yup, this is what luxury looks like when its marketed to millennials. Age-appropriate symbols of luxury. Your kitchen will have granite counter-tops and stainless steel appliances. You'll have cupcakes delivered on your birthday (from Georgetown Cupcakes of course because you could also end up on TV). And, the concierge will drop off your dry-cleaning while you're out hustling for a date with your wing-lady Emmy in tow.
Emmy's just the latest feature designed to make an apartment building--in this case 2M--stand out in the sea of granite counter-tops, rooftop decks, and cupcakes that has become the new DC.
What does all of this say about the DMV as a whole?
First, the District is becoming an attractive place for the wealthy to live. This wasn't the case even 15 years ago. 1-bedroom apartments at one of the new luxury properties profiled in the Post article, for example, ranged from "$1,786 to $2,347." The range was even higher for 2-bedroom apartments--"$2,315 to $3,145." That's right, some people are paying more than 3k a month for a two bedroom apartment.
But, poor and working class people haven't gone away--someone still has to work those minimum wage jobs. In fact, it's an open question whether the region is actually getting wealthier or whether the city is simply catering to the wealthy at the expense of everyone else. And, this brings us to our second trend. As the city gentrifies, working class and low income people who used to be able to afford to live in the city are now heading to the 'burbs.
Of course anyone who's tried to buy or rent in the close-in suburbs knows that rents aren't much of a bargain there either. So, poor and working class people frequently settle outside the beltway, or even further afield, in the exurbs (think Gaithersburg in MOCO).
A new distribution of wealth and poverty is emerging in the DMV. We'll keep tracking it here, and hoping Emmy finds a real owner.
Wait a minute.... Who the heck are these people willing to pay 3K in RENT for a two bedroom apartment?
ReplyDeleteNot only that, but who is paying them crazy amounts of money and why?
And more importantly, how do I get in the act of fleecing these suckers!
Maybe I can write an ap for them to i-pet my dog.