Missing middle housing

Filling the gap

To ease our housing crisis, we need to legalize duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes in Saint Paul. This is considered the “missing middle:" a range of multi-family or clustered housing types, such as rowhomes, that are compatible in scale with single-family or transitional neighborhoods.

We currently face a housing crisis – there is not enough housing to meet current or future demand. One of the biggest reasons for this is self-imposed: In Saint Paul, 72% of residential land is zoned for single-family detached homes. These rules limit the supply of housing, driving up housing prices and rents.

That’s why we’re excited about the City of Saint Paul’s 1-4 Unit Housing Study. The City’s Department of Planning and Economic Development is studying changes to the zoning code that would allow a variety of small-scale, multi-family housing choices throughout the city, such as duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, rowhouses, and cluster developments.

Sustain Saint Paul is partnering with other organizations to build support for the proposed changes and push for expanding housing choices. Join us! Learn more about Saint Paul’s 1-4 Unit Housing Study, and contact us to get involved in this work.

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