April 1, 2026
In 2025, the “missing middle” construction saw its largest increase in 18 years, and some state policy leaders are pushing to elevate the trend in Tampa Bay and Florida.
The National Association of Home Builders unveiled data that indicates missing middle construction rose to a level not seen since 2007. The sector, which includes duplexes, townhomes, and other small multifamily properties, increased from 18,000 units in 2024 to 19,000 units in 2025. This construction is seen as a solution to the housing affordability crisis because missing middle units lower costs by requiring less land.
However, barriers have stunted construction of the units since the Great Recession. From 2000 to 2010, missing middle construction made up a little less than 11% of total multifamily construction. In the fourth quarter of 2025, despite the surge, it composed just 5% of total multifamily construction.
Construction of the missing middle has still lagged during the post-Great Recession period and will continue to do so without zoning reform focused on light-touch density. Light-touch density involves a strategy of building denser types of housing.
A case study from George Mason University’s Mercatus Center revealed positives from that approach. A Bergen County, N.J. borough, Palisades Park, adopted a permissive approach towards duplexes. Today, it has newer homes, higher land values, and lower tax rates than other Bergen County boroughs, according to the study.
Zoning restrictions, parking mandates and community and political resistance are consistently cited as issues in slowing missing middle construction. Former state senator and Florida Project Policy founder and president Jeff Brandes constantly calls for zoning reforms. “Florida must legalize townhomes, duplexes, ADUs, and other missing-middle housing types in areas already served by roads, water, sewer, and schools,” Brandes wrote in a January column for Florida Politics. “These housing forms once built Florida’s middle class, and we essentially made them illegal.”
Tampa Bay Partnership CEO Bemetra Simmons also has called for zoning policies to be revisited. She notes that missing middle housing represents proven solutions that foster economic resilience and workforce stability. “These homes serve real people: your child’s teacher, your mom’s home health aide, the officer who patrols your street,” Simmons wrote in a Tampa Bay Times column. “When communities welcome a wider mix of housing types, timelines speed up, costs go down and more builders choose to invest locally.”
Some city leaders appear to be answering the call. In Largo, Heron Properties recently announced plans for an urban infill project that will feature missing middle housing, including live-work duplexes, villas, and townhomes. Meanwhile, the Tampa Housing Authority has earmarked 240 to 274 units on Main Street just west of downtown that will target households earning between 80% and 120% of the area median income.
“That’s the missing middle,” THA director of real estate development David Iloanya told Tampa Bay Business & Wealth, referencing teachers, police officers and firefighters whose incomes exceed traditional affordable thresholds but do not align with current market rents.