re: Trader Joe's too snazzy for one Portland neighborhood

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How is a grocery store going to drive up rental costs?

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A neighborhood where one can buy trendy foodstuffs may become more desirable than one where you cannot?

It's called gentrification and is happening all over the U.S. Land/buildings become cheap in the ghetto because, well you know why, so some enterprising developer buys up a bunch of cheap property and makes it nice. He asks fair market value for the nice redeveloped properties and (Oh! The horror!) decent people move into the properties. Then along comes the Race Baiters and scream RACISM! those aren't "my people" living in those new properties. It is the worst form of double standard reverse racism IMO.

From the internet:

Gentrification is a shift in an urban community toward wealthier residents and/or businesses and increasing property values, sometimes to the detriment of the poorer residents of the community. Gentrification is typically the result of investment in a community by local government, community activists, or business groups, and can often spur economic development, attract business, lower crime rates, and have other benefits to a community. Despite these potential benefits, urban gentrification results in population migration, with poorer residents displaced by wealthier newcomers.

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How is a grocery store going to drive up rental costs?

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One store by itself probably wouldn't, but a store like Trader Joe's attracts wealthier shoppers than your average store (despite the fact that TJ's is mostly just mediocre frozen food). So if wealthier shoppers start traveling there for the Trader Joe's, that will attract other businesses that cater to that crowd which will start to push out the local businesses that are there now and eventually lead to higher rent and so on.

It's called gentrification.