Forum to explore the ‘missing middle’ in housing

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Upstate Forever is hosting a housing forum from 8:30 a.m. to noon Friday at the Kroc Center to explore how well Greenville County is positioned to meet the middle market housing demand. Karen Parolek, CFO of Opticos Design, an architecture and urban design firm in California, will serve as the keynote speaker for the event.

Parolek’s presentation will explore a concept known as “missing middle” housing.

“Walk down the street of nearly any historic neighborhood, and you will find a diversity of home types ranging from single-family detached to duplexes to triplexes. Conventional subdivisions of the last 50 years are much more homogenous, with single-family homes as the only choice in most cases. That means consumers — residents — have fewer options,” said Parolek, in a news release. “What many communities fail to realize is that it is often their own zoning codes and development regulations that create and perpetuate the biggest hurdles to overcoming this supply versus demand challenge.”

In addition to Parolek, the forum also will feature John Hunt from MarketNsight, a firm that monitors housing trends in the Southeast, and will include a panel of local developers and elected leaders to explore the challenges and opportunities for creating more walkable, affordable living options in Greenville County.

Attendance is free but registration is requested.