This is jaw-dropping:
Ultimately government leaders’ actions — or inaction — could shape Boston’s identity for decades, experts say.
“The next generation is in trouble, unless they have wealthy parents who can help,” said economist Barry Bluestone, professor emeritus at Northeastern University.
“We have some housing for the very poor,” built with the help of state and federal subsidies, Bluestone said. “And there’s more than enough for the very wealthy. But everybody in between — the working and middle class — is just being priced out of the city at a faster and faster pace. And those are the people who, let’s be honest, make the city.”
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It is often hard to tell who owns high-end US real estate, as affluent people frequently buy property through shell companies that protect their transactions’ confidentiality. It’s even harder to know how many buyers actually reside in such residences.
At One Dalton, about 15 percent of the building’s 171 units remain unsold, four years after the building opened, according to city and state records as of Sept. 25. Griffin, the spokesperson for One Dalton’s developer, said that although numerous units are unsold, some are not being marketed at this time.
Meanwhile almost two-thirds of One Dalton buyers are limited liability corporations, trusts, or other entities that can enable owners to obscure their identities.
There is no definitive way to tell how many residents sleep there, or for how many days a year. But there is this suggestive indicator: Only 16 percent of One Dalton’s units have owners who filed for a residential tax exemption, affirming that it was their primary home, city records show.