Spokane Six: Successful Middle Housing Stacked Flat
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Course Details
Middle Housing is a potent opportunity for infill development, but stacked flats are nearly impossible to build today. Why?
The Spokane Six is a case study in how development standards can support stacked flats, illustrating how to overcome the code, financing, and construction issues that create headwinds for any stacked-flat development.
For all planners who are looking for denser alternatives to townhouses for their neighborhoods, stacked flats can be more affordable, accessible, and flexible solutions to the nationwide housing crisis. The presenter, the architect, developer, and owner/landlord of the Spokane Six — and a planning commissioner — shares a broader perspective on middle housing.
Learning Outcomes
- Gauge the impact of development standards on stacked-flat viability: density, lot coverage, parking, height, floor-area ratio, building articulation, and neighborhood context.
- Point to a successful example of a middle housing, stacked-flat sixplex that was built in the current economic and regulatory environment with 33 percent workforce housing.
- Design better development standards that will positively affect housing affordability, respect neighborhood context, and lead to more climate-resilient cities and towns.