BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) A planned luxury apartment complex in downtown Bakersfield is drawing fresh debate about what kind of housing the city needs most and what it’s like for people already living in the area.
Some residents responding to the project on the Eyewitness News Facebook page said they would rather see more affordable housing downtown.
Comments included, “You can’t pop up luxury buildings with homeless on the sidewalks” and “Thousands of people in Bakersfield need affordable housing near essentials.”
For at least one downtown resident, safety and quality-of-life concerns are part of the picture.
Cordero Martin said he has had multiple negative encounters since moving downtown.
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“When I first moved here, I actually did get assaulted twice by two random individuals and I’ve been verbally and racially accosted by just people driving across the road,” Martin said.
He said he is now looking to move away from the area.
“I’ve lived here almost two years. I would’ve left earlier but I was going through some things,” he said.
Downtown Bakersfield already has two luxury apartment complexes less than half a mile away from each other.
The location for the new Greyhound Flats is next to the existing New Yorker Vintage Apartments.
CSUB economics professor Dr. Richard Gearhart said the market for new luxury units may be tied to economic changes since the pandemic.
“Post COVID Bakersfield has actually seen a pretty significant explosion in both wages and incomes,” Gearhart said.
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Gearhart said the new apartments could cater to people who moved to Bakersfield from places like Los Angeles and the Bay Area during the pandemic and are accustomed to denser, urban living.
“Because that’s usually where they’re used to living and where they’re used to working in more kind of dense urban environments than the suburban brawl we’re seeing,” he said.
He also addressed concerns about gentrification in downtown Bakersfield.
“Gentrification is not necessarily a bad thing if it’s paired to economic revitalization. Because downtown 10 years ago was essentially dead in the water,” Gearhart said.
He also noted that more locals could have incentives to live downtown due to more revitalization efforts.
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“It’s because there is a lot of economic revitalization going on downtown, and there’s a lot more eating places, leisure places and it’s become a lot more walkable,” he said.