The Missing Middle

The “missing middle” in housing refers to the lack of diverse, house-scale housing types like duplexes, triplexes, townhomes, and small apartment buildings that fit between single-family homes and larger apartment complexes, offering more affordable and walkable options.

Myth	Reality
Missing middle housing is new.	Missing middle housing has existed for decades and is already part of many established Lakewood neighborhoods.
Zoning changes create affordable housing.	Zoning changes alone do not reduce construction costs or guarantee affordability.
More density automatically lowers prices.	Higher density often increases land prices, fees, and risk — pushing projects toward higher price points.
Small multi-unit buildings are cheaper to build.	Smaller ownership projects often cost more per unit due to building codes, fire suppression requirements, and liability risk.
Developers avoid affordable housing by choice.	Many builders avoid entry-level housing because fees, timelines, and legal risk make it financially infeasible.
Missing middle means large apartment buildings.	Missing middle refers to duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, townhomes, and small courtyard buildings — not high-rise apartments.
Allowing more units guarantees homeownership opportunities.	Without changes to construction defect laws and financing rules, most new projects become rentals rather than ownership housing.
Zoning reform fixes the housing crisis.	Housing affordability depends on costs, risk, infrastructure, and timelines — zoning is only one piece of a much larger equation.