A diorama of downtown Fairbanks with 3D-printed buildings sits atop a table at the Wedgewood Resort March 21, 2024, in Fairbanks, Alaska, as part of a weeklong housing symposium.FAIRBANKS, Alaska - Amid an ongoing housing crunch, a parking code quirk in the Fairbanks North Star Borough could ease costs for future development of a housing type popular in pre-World War II America.
“There’s subsidized projects, and then there’s market rate, and missing middle is an opportunity to kind of help bridge the gap between those two,” said Miki, who’s a studio manager at Opticos. The “middle” part of the term refers to the medium population density the homes create, falling between single-family homes with yards and large complexes that take up a street block or more.
“That is a huge implication because it’s both additional materials and additional costs in labor,” Miki said. He explained the lower parking spot threshold lowers land costs, theoretically making it easier for missing middle housing development to live up to the goal of being affordable.