The need for more housing in Knoxville is obvious to anyone who has tried to find a place to live in recent years. According to the City of Knoxville’s Housing Strategy document, the city will need 8,000 additional housing units by 2029 to meet demand and make up for years of underbuilding. Since 2020, Knoxville has spent $40 million to help create affordable units.
Whether that effort succeeds in the long term remains to be seen, but one local builder is proving that affordability can be achieved without subsidies.
“The missing middle ordinance is a masterpiece in terms of being able to create housing,” said Parker Bartholomew, a Knoxville home builder, who is wrapping up a townhome development in North Knoxville. “I initially did not approach this project with missing middle in mind.” Bartholomew originally planned to build three two-story shotgun-style homes, but ran into hurdles at the Planning Commission. During that time, the city adopted its Middle Housing Standards. “Very quickly we realized that we could engage both streets with townhomes, and quickly pivoted.”…