It's partly a matter of extra-careful and caring design. It's partly an avoidance of speculative development. And it partly requires a long-term view. This is because the units might fall apart by the time they are paid off. This becomes quite likely since tenants see little point in taking care of buildings that nobody cared to build well.
Tenants are careful if they have control over, and responsibility for, their housing and workshops.
These are not arguments against housing people now. The West End will be a seed for further development of its kind in Eugene. Certainly it will have value as a demonstration project, but we intend to take a more active role in promoting responsible, publicly-minded development. Based in the West End, the Trust will also strongly pursue further housing in Downtown Eugene. This is modeled after the successful Prince of Wales Institute of Architecture in London.