Why Greater Boston Needs Townhouses, Triple-Deckers, and Small Condos Again

At HarveyReed, we build and refurbish “missing middle” housing—what Greater Boston needs most and produces least. Too much of our pipeline targets the extremes. We see either deeply subsidized units through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit or high-cost luxury towers. While both help address our shortage, the market rate attainable, neighborhood-scale options are largely missing from today’s market.

Nearly 19 percent of Boston homes are income-restricted—the highest share among large U.S. cities. That’s significant. Yet the median sale price for a single-family home in Greater Boston is over $1 million, and condos went for a median of $725,000 this summer. These prices often deter many first-time buyers from the Hub. HarveyReed focuses on projects of 20 units or fewer—condominiums, small multifamily units, and townhomes—to fill the gap left unaddressed by large developers.

The Boston metro once had a built-in solution: the townhouse, the rowhouse, and the triple-decker. These homes were designed at a neighborhood scale and offered affordability by design, giving families a way to build equity. Many immigrants and working-class households got their start through a triple-decker. They lived in one unit and rented the others. Today, zoning codes and financing rules make it incredibly difficult to build these housing types. Smaller-scale developers who once specialized in two- to twelve-unit projects face permitting hurdles, disproportionate fees, and limited access to capital. As a result, the very housing types that made the metro neighborhoods vibrant and accessible are no longer being produced in meaningful numbers.

The imbalance is clear. Only a quarter of Massachusetts homes are in “middle” structures—attached single-family, duplexes, or small multifamily. Most new construction has focused on large apartment buildings or detached single-family homes. Duplexes, stacked flats, and small condos were once the primary choice for first-time buyers. They are now underrepresented in the pipeline. This leaves families with fewer choices.

Restoring the missing middle doesn’t mean rejecting affordable housing or large-scale developments. We still need LIHTC-financed projects and larger complexes to meet demand. However, to achieve a balanced and resilient housing ecosystem, we must also support neighborhood-scale, market-based development. That means allowing missing middle housing by right. It also means scaling impact fees to project size and expanding financing tools for small developers. With this in mind, firms like Harvey Reed can increase the pipeline of townhouses, triple-deckers, and neighborhood-scale multifamily developments.

The benefits extend beyond affordability. Missing middle housing strengthens local businesses and creates walkable communities. It adds gentle density that supports transit. It’s not about replacing what makes Boston special—it’s about restoring it.

If Greater Boston wants to remain a place where working families can buy—not just dream of owning—homes, we must diversify production. By investing in the missing middle, we can ensure the next generation of families can put down roots. They can do so as generations before them did, in the very housing forms that built this region.

Manikka Bowman, Founder