Spokane is at a crossroads. While our community continues to grow, the supply of middle housing and homeownership opportunities is limiting economic growth in our region. And while plenty of solutions have been discussed and some well-meaning policies have been enacted, perhaps a fundamental reset is in order.

Longtime and well-respected developer Jim Frank has been opining about this of late, and we think he has a good point.

Fundamentally, he argues that the current narrative that the only way to meet housing needs of middle- and low-income families is to build more apartments, isn't necessarily true. If restrictive zoning, code choices, and subsidy preferences were removed, he says, small homes and mixed-use neighborhoods can be "the most affordable" and equitable solutions.

We've watched Frank's posts on social media, and wanted to echo them here.

To improve housing affordability and address economic inequity, we must diversify our housing stock. That's difficult given current development codes that seem to favor large, multifamily apartment complexes over the very projects — duplexes, triplexes, and townhomes — that allow families to build long-term wealth.

Frank argues that Spokane’s development codes make it remarkably simple to build a 200-unit apartment building with just a basic building permit, while the permitting burden for smaller middle housing projects is significantly higher, creating a process that is often too complex and costly for small, local builders to navigate.

This imbalance has led large companies to focus exclusively on rental apartments, leaving working-class families with fewer opportunities to purchase a home.

This regulatory bias isn't just a headache for builders; it's impacting our workforce. Some families, finding it difficult to buy in the Spokane area, are looking to North Idaho for more housing variety.

From an economic standpoint, prioritizing middle housing is common sense. Building housing on small single-family lots is far less costly for builders than constructing massive apartment blocks or even publicly-funded housing. According to Frank, co-founder of Liberty Lake-based development company Greenstone Corp., building middle housing on single-family lots costs an average of $200 per square foot, compared with large apartment projects which can cost between $350 and $450 per square foot, and $500 per square foot for publicly-funded housing developments.

These higher costs for large complexes are driven by requirements for elevators, fire systems, and stairwells. Furthermore, the city's current focus on large-scale developments fuels land speculation, which further inflates prices and incentivizes more rentals over ownership housing.

Beyond the economics, housing diversity is the key to vibrant, healthy neighborhoods. A mix of housing options allows residents to stay in their preferred communities through different life stages — from their first starter home to downsizing in retirement. It also fosters social cohesion by preventing concentrated pockets of poverty and encouraging interaction between neighbors with diverse life experiences.

As Frank says, we need to modernize our thinking about housing.

One promising solution is to leverage recent changes to the city's land-use regulations that allow up to six units per lot and some nonresidential businesses to operate in residential areas so long as those properties are integrated into the nature of the neighborhood.

By simplifying and leveraging our regulations, we can incentivize the development of affordable, entry-level housing that maintains neighborhood integrity, Frank says. We agree.