Exploring the Future of Multifamily Housing: "Essential Housing 2035" Event

October 16, 2024
 

The pace of change in the multifamily housing industry rapidly accelerated in the past decade, and there are no signs of it slowing down anytime soon.

Predictions about the changes most likely to shape the multifamily landscape over the next 10 years took center stage during “Essential Housing 2035,” a live virtual event presented by Grubb Properties on October 10, 2024. A replay of the “Essential Housing 2035” webinar can be viewed here.

We assembled a panel of leading voices in their respective fields to share their forecasts for what’s in store for multifamily housing over the next 10 years, including:

• the growing imperative for clean energy,
• the ongoing march toward relaxed parking regulations and the perennial utility of traditional forms of transportation, and
• cutting-edge advancements in building planning, design and construction.

"At Grubb Properties, our quest to address the nation’s housing crisis by providing well-located, well-priced and well-designed apartments for residents in the critically underserved middle-income group of renters demands that we remain visionary,” said Todd Williams, Chief Investment Officer of Grubb Properties, who moderated the event. “Throughout our journey to 2035, we will continue to collect and share the ideas from leading experts across a wide range of domains.”

Key Insights from the Panel
 

Aliya Bagewadi, a climatetech leader and U.S. Director of Strategic Partnerships at Allume Energy, detailed how innovative solar technologies for multifamily buildings and expanded government incentives for clean energy are beginning to converge, paving the way for wider-spread adoption of solar energy that benefits both building owners and residents.

Henry Grabar, renowned journalist, researcher, and author of the award-winning Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World, predicted that cities’ march toward relaxed parking minimums will continue over the next decade. He also noted that despite the promise of emerging forms of transportation (autonomous vehicles and others), the bus, the bicycle, and the elevator provide the most fundamental utility in solving the nation’s housing crisis.

Matthew Gray, Founder of BuiltWorlds and Co-Chairman of Graycor Inc., a leading Chicago-based construction and related services firm, provided insights into the cutting-edge zoning, planning, design, development, construction, and operations technologies he believes will emerge and endure beyond the “hype cycle” into 2035 from a universe of more than 30,000 such providers his company has evaluated.

Watch a recording of the webinar here.