Recent laws making it easier and less costly to build smaller residential buildings are having their intended effect.
Data from the city of Spokane reveals that missing middle housing including duplexes, townhomes, accessory dwelling units and other small multifamily buildings made up 20% of permitted housing units in 2025, signaling strong growth in the sector.
As Karina Elias explains in the Spokane Journal of Business, middle housing accounted for just 3% to 4% of permits between 2020 and 2022. "The uptick in middle housing projects follows the passage of a set of zone changes previously dubbed the Building Opportunity and Choices for All. BOCA was an interim ordinance allowing up to four units to be developed on a single-family lot approved by the Spokane City Council in July 2022." The ordinance, now known as Building Opportunity for Housing, was made permanent in November 2023.
Read the full story: Missing middle housing gains traction in Spokane
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