Breakthrough: Using Structural Insulated Panels in Workforce Housing

Sep 27

So today was a really big day for my workforce housing design team.

About 8 years ago we began experimenting with structural insulated wall panels in workforce housing.

We began with an easy design – a one-story duplex building – and tallied up the costs/benefits of building with panels over traditional stick-built framing. What we learned was this: By spending a little more on the panels (about $4,000/unit) we were able to attract $11,000/unit of capital waiting on the sidelines to invest in ENERGY EFFICIENT workforce housing.

So we began tinkering with a more complex design – a three-story walk-up garden apartment building. Our team came up with a design that ended up attracting over $19,000/unit of capital for the first of these projects: Davidson’s Landing in Kansas City.

Today we set our first panels at Davidson’s Landing. Our construction guys make it look easy, but trust me – A LOT of coordination and hard work went into planning this.

Cheers to my workforce housing design team. You rock!!!

Link to photo album found here.

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October 5, 2026

Grand Opening: Buchanan’s Crossing

October 5, 2026

This post highlights the grand opening of Buchanan’s Crossing, a fully accessible mixed income community serving veterans and seniors in Kansas City, Kansas. Project sponsors, city leaders, lenders, investors, future residents, and the construction team gathered to celebrate the completion of the first phase. The development will ultimately include forty two and three bedroom duplex units and required a major off site sanitary sewer improvement, including a one hundred forty four foot bridge that supports utilities for the project and future growth in the area. Jeff Carroll and Bob Hughes addressed attendees before the ribbon cutting and walk through, marking an important milestone for the community.

October 5, 2026

CBRE Report: The Case for Workforce Housing

October 5, 2026

CBRE Research’s report, The Case for Workforce Housing, outlines why this underserved segment offers strong investment potential. The study points to solid supply and demand fundamentals, noting that workforce housing consistently demonstrates stable occupancy, resilient renter demand, and reliable performance across market cycles. CBRE concludes that these characteristics give the sector a strong foundation for continued good investment returns, reinforcing the importance of expanding housing options for middle income renters.

October 5, 2026

Fannie Mae Report: Workforce Housing

October 5, 2026

This post summarizes Fannie Mae’s findings on the workforce housing market, defined by the Urban Land Institute as households earning sixty to one hundred percent of Area Median Income. This group represents roughly thirty percent of all renter households in the United States, yet very few new units are being built to serve them. Most new construction targets renters earning above one hundred percent of AMI or below sixty percent of AMI, leaving a significant gap for the middle income households who form the backbone of local economies.

October 5, 2026

Jeff Carroll

Marcus & Millichap Multifamily Market Report: Charlotte

Marcus and Millichap’s fourth quarter twenty eighteen multifamily report for Charlotte shows strong market momentum driven by household formation and economic growth. Metro vacancy declined twenty basis points to four point four percent, while average rents increased four point six percent. Developers delivered seven thousand eight hundred units over the past year, two hundred more than the prior period, yet absorption remained brisk as renter demand continued to outpace new supply. The report also highlights a four hundred thirty dollar affordability gap between renting and owning and notable rent growth in older, more affordable pre nineteen seventies buildings, underscoring the ongoing need for workforce housing in the Charlotte area.

Marcus & Millichap Multifamily Market Report: Raleigh

Marcus and Millichap’s fourth quarter twenty eighteen multifamily report for Raleigh highlights strong economic and housing market performance. Metro vacancy contracted sixty basis points to four point eight percent as renter demand outpaced new inventory. Average rents rose three point five percent to one thousand one hundred six dollars. Employers added twenty six thousand workers over the past year, fueling demand for housing. More than five thousand two hundred sixty units were delivered, nearly matching the prior year’s production, yet absorption remained high. The report also notes a seven hundred twenty five dollar affordability gap between renting and owning and significant rent growth in older nineteen seventies era buildings, underscoring the need for additional workforce housing in the Raleigh area.

Planning Commission Meeting: Davidson’s Landing

Tartan Residential presented the site plan for Davidson’s Landing, a proposed one hundred fifteen unit apartment community in Kansas City, Kansas, during the Unified Government Planning Commission meeting on December ten, twenty eighteen. Jeff Carroll led a fifteen minute presentation, answered questions from staff, commissioners, and neighbors, and outlined the project’s goals and design. The commission voted seven to zero in favor of the proposal, allowing the development to move forward.

Jeff Carroll WorkForce Hosuing Development.jpg

HousingThink Podcast – Episode 1

This inaugural episode introduces the HousingThink Podcast team, including producer Phil Erhardt and co hosts Doug Koch and Jeff Carroll. The conversation outlines the show’s format, its goals, and the topics listeners can expect in future episodes, setting the foundation for ongoing discussions about affordable, workforce, and multifamily housing.

Largest Passive House in North America

This post highlights Park Avenue Green, the largest Passive House development in North America. The project delivers 154 low income housing units, including 46 reserved for formerly homeless residents, and showcases how cutting edge energy efficient design can be integrated into affordable housing. The building’s Passive House certification reflects its commitment to dramatically reduced energy use, improved indoor comfort, and long term sustainability.

Modular Construction in Multifamily

This article highlights the rapid growth of modular construction within the multifamily sector. Although modular still represents only a small share of overall commercial construction, it is expanding quickly. Research from the Modular Building Institute shows that manufacturers produced just over 1,100 modular apartment units in 2017, and more than doubled that output to 2,300 units in 2018. The piece underscores how off site building methods are gaining traction as developers look for faster, more efficient ways to deliver high quality multifamily housing.

HousingThink Podcast – Episode 2

This episode offers a clear overview of the rental housing marketplace, breaking down the differences between affordable, workforce, and luxury multifamily housing. Doug and Jeff discuss how each segment serves distinct renter groups, how pricing and supply pressures shape the market, and why workforce housing remains a critical but often overlooked part of the rental ecosystem.

Canadian High Schools Bring Back the Trades

This article highlights how Canadian high schools are expanding skilled trades programs in partnership with local institutions like the Windsor Essex Catholic District School Board and St. Clair College. Students can begin training early, gaining hands on experience and industry credentials that position them to become fully qualified electricians or plumbers by age twenty. The piece underscores how early exposure to trades education can strengthen the workforce pipeline and offer students strong, practical career pathways.

HousingThink Extra – Episode 2

This HT Extra takes a closer look at the rental housing marketplace, examining how demand, supply constraints, pricing pressures, and shifting renter demographics shape today’s rental landscape. It offers a concise breakdown of the forces influencing rents and highlights the importance of expanding attainable housing options for working households.

Ending the Stigma of Trade School

This article calls for ending the long standing stigma around vocational and trade schools. It emphasizes that parents often unintentionally reinforce outdated beliefs about four year degrees being the only respectable path, even though skilled trades offer strong career opportunities, financial stability, and essential contributions to the economy. The piece encourages families to recognize the value of trade education and support students who choose hands on, career focused training.

HousingThink Podcast – Episode 3

This episode explores the hierarchy of factory built technology, from fully factory built homes to individual factory built components. The discussion also looks at recent news highlighting the decline of the HUD Code manufactured housing industry, examining how market pressures, regulatory challenges, and shifting consumer preferences have contributed to the downturn.

HousingThink Extra – Episode 3

This HT Extra provides a quick overview of the wide range of factory built construction technologies shaping today’s housing industry. It highlights how modern manufacturing methods, from modular systems to panelized components, can improve efficiency, reduce waste, and expand the toolkit available for delivering high quality housing.

Where are the Republican YIMBYs?

This post raises a long standing question about why so few Republicans publicly embrace YIMBY principles, despite the party’s traditional support for market driven solutions and regulatory reform. The referenced discussion with Nolan Gray of the Mercatus Center explores how pro growth housing policies could align with conservative priorities, and why that alignment has not yet translated into a larger Republican YIMBY presence.

HousingThink Podcast – Episode 4

Thom Amdur, Executive Director and President of the National Housing and Rehabilitation Association, joins Jeff Carroll and Doug Koch to explore how off site construction and greater construction flexibility can reshape the future of affordable multifamily housing. The conversation highlights emerging building strategies, evolving industry standards, and the opportunities developers have to deliver high quality housing more efficiently.

Let’s Say ‘Yes In My Backyard’ To Fix Housing Woes

This article argues that rising housing costs, homelessness, and environmental pressures demand a shift away from exclusionary NIMBY attitudes. Instead, it calls for a YIMBY approach that embraces dense, responsible development. By supporting more housing in more places, communities can expand supply, reduce displacement, and create healthier, more sustainable urban environments.

HousingThink Podcast – Episode 5

This episode introduces listeners to the core idea of workforce housing, a market segment made up of people who earn too much to qualify for traditional affordable housing yet not enough to comfortably rent newer market rate apartments. The show puts a face on this often overlooked group, highlighting the essential workers who keep communities running while struggling to find stable, attainable homes.

September 29, 2026

We Need More Housing, Not More Rent Control

This article argues that rent control does not address the root causes of rising housing costs. When legislation restricts housing supply, prices climb regardless of caps. The piece emphasizes that simply “letting the market handle it” is not enough, because many government interventions already limit the ability of builders to deliver affordable homes. Zoning rules and other land use regulations are identified as major drivers of high housing prices. The article concludes that meaningful affordability requires land use liberalization and the repeal of restrictive measures that prevent new housing from being built.

HousingThink Extra – Episode 5

This HT Extra introduces listeners to members of the nation’s workforce, the people whose daily labor keeps the economy moving. The episode highlights the essential roles these workers play and sets the stage for deeper conversations about the housing challenges they face across different industries and regions.

Why Is The Thermal Envelope So Important?

This article explains why the thermal envelope is one of the most important elements in home construction. While homeowners often focus on style, layout, and finishes, the thermal envelope determines how efficiently a house uses energy and water. A strong envelope helps the home function as a complete system, reducing waste, lowering utility costs, improving comfort, and minimizing reliance on toxic or inefficient materials. It is both an environmental priority and a long term financial advantage for homeowners.

Prohibiting Underground Parking Creates Obstacles for Affordable Housing

This article outlines how proposed rules from the District’s Department of Energy and Environment would restrict underground parking for purely residential buildings unless developers secure a code modification. Mixed use projects, however, would retain the ability to build underground parking by right. These changes add another barrier to delivering affordable housing, increasing costs and limiting design flexibility for projects that rely on efficient parking solutions to remain financially feasible.

HousingThink Podcast – Episode 6

This episode explores how veterans fit into the workforce housing market and why so many workforce housing renters end up in lower quality homes. The discussion highlights the unique financial and logistical challenges veterans face when searching for stable, affordable housing, as well as the broader market pressures that push many renters into older, less desirable units. It underscores the need for more purpose built workforce housing that supports veterans and other essential workers.

How Developers are Helping Teachers Find Affordable Housing

Teacher salaries have fallen behind housing costs in many metro areas. Adjusted for inflation, teacher pay has dropped four point five percent since the 2009–10 school year, while national home prices have climbed more than forty three percent. This widening gap has pushed many educators out of the communities they serve or out of the profession entirely. The article highlights how developers and school districts are partnering to create dedicated housing solutions for teachers, offering stable, affordable homes that help retain talent and strengthen local schools.

HousingThink Podcast – Episode 7

This episode focuses on the housing challenges teachers face when trying to live near the schools where they work. Rising rents, limited supply, and long commutes make it difficult for educators to find stable, affordable homes within their districts. The conversation also explores strategies for partnering with local municipalities to create new housing options tailored to this essential workforce, highlighting how collaboration and thoughtful planning can support teachers and strengthen communities.

Why Affordable Housing Is So Hard to Find in America’s Big Cities

This article explains how increased land use and zoning regulation has driven housing prices higher across most states. Vanessa Brown Calder’s research for the Cato Institute shows that states with the largest growth in rules and restrictions also experience the steepest increases in real home prices. The piece notes that federal housing funds often flow to states with more restrictive zoning, unintentionally discouraging local reforms that would expand supply. The result is a system where regulation raises costs, limits new development, and makes affordable housing harder to find in major cities.

HousingThink Podcast – Episode 8

This episode looks at the housing challenges firefighters face, including long commutes, limited availability near stations, and rising rents that outpace wages. The conversation also revisits the debate around rent control, emphasizing why price caps often fail to improve long term affordability. Instead of expanding supply, rent control can reduce it, pushing essential workers like firefighters farther from the communities they serve.

The YIMBY Act Passes House by Voice Vote

This update highlights the bipartisan momentum behind the YIMBY Act, legislation aimed at encouraging cities to modernize outdated zoning codes that restrict housing supply. By tying Community Development Block Grant Consolidated Plans to pro‑housing reforms, the bill pushes local governments to adopt practices that support more flexible land use and reduce barriers to new development. With versions introduced in both the House and Senate, the YIMBY Act reflects growing national recognition that regulatory modernization is essential for expanding housing opportunities and strengthening local planning efforts.

HousingThink Podcast – Episode 9

This episode examines why police officers often end up living in older housing and, in many cases, face long daily commutes. Limited affordability, rising rents, and the mismatch between wages and modern apartment prices push many essential workers farther from their jobs. The conversation also highlights the growing momentum of the YIMBY movement, which advocates for more housing supply and more flexible development policies to help reduce these pressures.

Breakthrough: Using Structural Insulated Panels in Workforce Housing

So today was a really big day for my workforce housing design team.

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Keep Up With the Trends Shaping Workforce Housing Today

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Breakthrough: Using Structural Insulated Panels in Workforce Housing

So today was a really big day for my workforce housing design team.

Check Out More Affordable Housing News

Johnston Farms Apartment Homes: Unanimous Bond Inducement Approval

Buchanan’s Crossing Phase 3

Keep Up With the Trends Shaping Workforce Housing Today

Ready to Build Community?