It was only a matter of time before realtors began advertising Citi Bike as an amenity.
Hard to believe it was just over two months ago when residents of 99 Bank Street in Manhattan’s West Village sued Citibank, Citi Bike’s sponsor, and the City of New York fearing the bike share station in front of their building would decrease the value of their properties. It’s especially hard to believe given the evidence that proximity to bike share stations tends to have the opposite effect.
In London, there’s no surer sign that a property is located in an upward-trending hot spot than the presence of a nearby bike-share station. One real-estate broker notes that her company’s agents “have been inundated with questions from prospective tenants about the nearest docking station.” […] In Washington, D.C., proximity to a Capital BikeShare station now appears in real-estate listings — along with hardwood floors and top-of-the-line appliances — as an amenity.
Many of the existing Citi Bike stations are located in well-established neighborhoods, but will be interesting to see the impact Citi Bike has on property values as the system expands throughout the rest of the city.
So, let’s say Citi Bike DOES have an impact on property values – land prices go up, real estate taxes go up, and rents go up. Great for those who can afford it.
But I’ve always wondered what happens to residents who cannot afford the increased costs. It seems to me that they often become exiles faced with living in less desirable neighborhoods and longer commutes to work.