Costco and Target Use Affordable Housing to Enter Dense Cities
Source: NYT > Business (paywall)
Big-box retailers are anchoring themselves in mixed-use affordable housing projects, converting community benefit into prime retail real estate. Housing developers need retail tenants to make projects financially viable; retailers gain ground-floor access to high-density markets they've historically struggled to enter. The arrangement works because municipal affordable housing goals get partially met while retailers access markets at below-market rates. The incentive structure creates a gap: affordable housing mandates are technically satisfied but stripped of their intended neighborhood-serving purpose.