Missing Middle is the 21st Century equivalent of Trickle-Down Economics

Chris Crew was born in Morganton, NC and moved to Raleigh in 1964. He’s been a resident of Historic Oakwood since 1975.

Educated at NCSU and UNC-Chapel Hill and is retired from Public Safety. Preservationist, Cook, Trombonist, Brewer, Choirboy, Grandfather.

Chris spoke to City Council June 9, 2026:

Missing Middle is the 21st Century equivalent of Trickle-Down Economics. Magical thinking.

A 1550-square foot, two-bed, one-and-a-half bath home built in 1950 by its owners on East Lane Street sold one year ago for a little over $350,000. The current zoning is R-10-HS, indicating that there is some historic value placed on the property.

The average price of a home in Raleigh is $459,000. Today, thanks to developer-friendly zoning concessions, Realtor.com values the property at $1.79 MILLION.

Now, it’s unclear what will replace this charming mid-century home, but it’s unlikely to be anything close to affordable ($220-350,000 in Raleigh) and highly likely to be a quickly and lightly-built “luxury” unit of some sort. Can’t tell, because plans aren’t required.

Next week, two hearings will help secure the future, or hasten the demise of historic resources in Raleigh.

Z-5-26 and Z-39-25 have already taken an inordinate amount of our time as the city seeks to “entice development” onto parcels representing the 5% of properties protected by historic or neighborhood character overlays.

Is this development going to be neighborhood-compatible?

Is it going to preserve the historic character of the districts?

Is it going to increase the availability of affordable housing?

Our housing crisis is not going to be solved by the wonton demolition of naturally existing affordable housing to turn it over to luxury housing.

Our public transportation goals are not going to be supported by creation of more luxury housing with large off-street parking pads and two or three car garages occupying the first floor.

Our housing crisis can be mitigated by preserving the stock of densely-packed, economically sized, historically relevant structures that exist in Raleigh’s older and established neighborhoods.

Roughly 25% of the parcels in Raleigh are already zoned for three- or four-story mixed use.

Our city is dotted with moribund shopping plazas along existing and planned public transportation routes. Our efforts to update the Comprehensive Plan should be directed toward improving these properties in support of our housing and transportation goals instead of continuing down the path that will erase the charm, the culture and the history that makes Raleigh such an attractive place.

Place character over profit, preserve that which makes Raleigh unique, follow the plan and do your part to redirect the development efforts into areas that will allow continued growth.

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