I recently told the city council that we have a housing crisis on all income levels in Sioux Falls. It doesn’t matter if you have the resources to get good permanent housing in town, the availability is lacking even on the high end.
WAPO wrote a great illustrated story about Missing Middle Housing, the argument is simple;
Still, many economists contend that building a bunch of new homes for middle- and upper-income families – in Arlington or elsewhere – can reduce competition for older homes and keep them more affordable.
I am having a better understanding of ‘trickle down housing’. It seems the sweet spot is building good, affordable workforce and middle income housing freeing up less expensive housing and creating more units and density.
Of course, the City of Sioux Falls Planning office thinks that building homes and condos for the super rich will trickle down to all income levels, but it seems the approach that works the best is building middle income housing first.
The city recently passed new mixed use zoning rules, and it is a good step, but it is going to be a bear to fight all the residential neighborhoods around these projects.