Do you live in P Town? I do and yest most of what you say about the Pearl is true, but there is a law that a certain percentage of the apartments in those new downtown areas like Pearl district must be designated for low income housing, so there are still poor and some formerly homeless people mixed in.
It's kinda sad that Portland is probably the best place to be homeless and even we don't treat them that great.
Portland neighbor, Calfzilla, I actually live in out in the burbs in West Linn. I've read that in urban renewal areas such as the Pearl and the South Waterfront development there is supposed to be housing for lower income folks. At least in the South Waterfront area, I believe that this housing was never built because, in part, of the real estate bust resulting in the developers going bankrupt. Last I heard, they were still trying to auction off those high end condos there. Even at auction prices, moderate and low income folks cannot afford them. There are still some areas near the Pearl were there is low income housing and supposedly some areas where there are street people and drug trafficking stuffed between China Town, north of Burnside and the Second Ave over toward the railroad station. To me, it is all part of downtown living. Of course it is easy for me to say that from my safe haven in West Linn. If we have a homeless person here, I've missed seeing them.
Where in the Portland Metro area do you live? Where do you work out? I work out at Nautilus Plus in Oregon City on Beavercreek Rd across from Fred Meyers. I've been a member of this gym since it was first started back in the late 1980's by Billy Jack Haynes, the wrestler. Of course, that was a few owners ago. Most of the time I've been a member, the gym was known as Nelson's Nautilus. Unfortunately, the Nelson's lost ownership in a financial mess they created for themselves. Never the less, there are quite a few of us old timers who still have memberships at ridiculously low rates.
Don't tell me you selected your handle because you have big calves. Mine are genetically wimpy. No matter how hard I work them they just don't grow.