I read the article, but the focus is specifically on the concern of working class renters housing. This is an important concern, but there are a number of other concerns completely ignored that may outweigh the rent argument. There’s only one mention of the influx of jobs from the development of the currently vacant old steel plant which could benefit working class residents living in and around this new project where the vacant plant generates zero jobs, but takes up a large chunk of real estate that would otherwise be productive for the neighborhood.

I could see unemployment is possibly the highest concern for this area. Here’s a quote from the article:

“Costing an estimated $20 billion, the IQMP would border the South Shore neighborhood, where the unemployment rate is four times the city’s average”

While renters may take a hit, working class homeowners in the same area will certainly benefit from the increase in the value of their properties. I found a study for the area just north that is perhaps a bit out of date (from 2019) but gives a good assessment of the time of the make up of home owners to rentals, and even rentals owned by institutional investors. That PDF can be found here.

In those streets to the north a bit more than 30% is single family homes:

Further in the study, it noted the community concerns:

Specifically, the long-term residents want more development in their neighborhoods. They also want currently vacant residential and commercial buildings to be refurbished and put back to use.

I’m certainly not ignoring the challenges of affordable rentals for working class tenants, but that isn’t the only factor to look at when determining if this new development is positive or negative for the area. On balance, for the long-term residents of the area, it appears they would see it as a positive development.