A long, meandering, but fun, conversation I did on family apartments and making cities better for families open.spotify.com/episode/1qEX...

A beautiful, simple, rowhome project I toured in Portland, Maine this year. 1100sf, 3BR+Den/2BA Small, efficient floorplans = affordable

I agree w Emily there needs to be more housing for incremental life stages. I have 0 disagreements w her policy recommendations My emphasis for "family" housing (as a developer) is on building Baby Maybe units rather than Studios, bc I think they are under supplied relative to demand I'll explain🔽

I agree w Emily there needs to be more housing for incremental life stages. I have 0 disagreements w her policy recommendations My emphasis for "family" housing (as a developer) is on building Baby Maybe units rather than Studios, bc I think they are under supplied relative to demand I'll explain🔽

I normally don’t like painting brick … but these rowhomes in DC are charming

Young people are increasingly living in larger apartment buildings For those who care about families and people having babies … since young people ARE living in those units, the key is to make it as easy as possible for younger couples to have their first child “Baby Maybe Housing”

The 3-story rowhome is a Bedrock of America

This is anti-natalist … and will only make apartments more complicated to lay out cod families People who want to have kids prefer apartments that have extra rooms

There's nothing inherently "better" about a smaller house ... and since a Mcmansion is almost certainly going to be larger (for what you can afford) the attributes of the Mcmansion *will* be better than a rowhome

We need to build brownstones again. Masonry. Soundproof. Alley loaded. 1600sf, 3BR+Office/2.5BA

A great end to the work week … riding my bike to my piano lesson

More research that supports that American families are willing to rent apartments … if they have extra bedrooms. Even in smaller unit sizes www.globest.com/2025/10/17/r...

Affordable housing in SF … for $670K/unit Insane

My son had to do a house floorplan project for school … and he picked doing a “Roman style” house with an atrium complete with an arcade room and a bowling alley

Bring back family friendly *photography* for housing

It’s not that hard for young, ambitious, 22-28 year olds to live in *any* American City The problem, with affordability, comes when those same people are 30-36 and want to get married and have kids.

How does a “Baby Maybe” apartment work in real life? Like this …

“Let’s get you home” THIS is the moment The City loses families … when parents think they cannot *raise* their kids downtown (if moving is inevitable) then they think it’s better to bite the bullet and move NOW to the place they will be long term

This is why we need to build “Baby Maybe” apartments … to make it easier for couples to have their first child earlier

The most effective way for parents to be “convinced” to send their children to the local public school … is that when they ask around at the playground “So where do YOU send your kids” is to hear parents of older kids say “We send ours to the local elementary school” Moral shaming does not work

This is what I want for the City, and why I want to build "starter homes" for young urban families ...

A "Baby Maybe" apartment: 775sf 1BR+Den/2BA

A lot of the credit goes to Santi Ruiz for being really well prepared and asking great questions … but this is probably the best market wide and historical conversation I’ve had on apartments. And how it affects “apartments for families” open.spotify.com/episode/63C6...

In my opinion ... the MOST compelling and actionable part the 6,000 person floorplan survey we did was in these 2 charts Americans *prefer* 1BR units that have an extra room rather than a walk-in closet & en-suite bath That includes those who want kids, and those who don't

If a "Baby Maybe" apartment (a unit with a Den/Office/Nursery) can nudge a couple to feel comfortable to "pull the goalie," even if they don't HAVE the baby while living in that unit ... it will have succeeded as a family friendly apartment

An interview I gave to Statecraft (IFP) on *why* we don't build apartments for families and how we can start: "Baby Maybe" apartments For those who love The City, one of he biggest challenges is how to keep the young people who move IN to City when they have kids www.statecraft.pub/p/why-we-don...

Here's a gift link to the @inquirer.com article on how building Baby Maybe apartments can BOTH make financial sense for developers ... and how it can be good for the City share.inquirer.com/OhE3rL

If a "Baby Maybe" apartment (a unit with a Den/Office/Nursery) can nudge a couple to feel comfortable to "pull the goalie" even if they don't HAVE the baby while living in that unit ... it will undoubtedly have succeeded as a family friendly apartment

The @inquirer.com covered the study Lyman Stone & I did ... showing that families put HIGHEST value on an *extra* room in apartments. Even a Den “Family friendly” can be confusing. How many kids? What age? We advance the argument that “Baby Maybe” apartments are good AND pencil t.co/P4SZnB3csx

I wrote a real estate investor focused essay in Thesis Driven on the in-depth applications of the Institute for Family Studies paper I did with Lyman Stone How family friendly" apartment projects can actually make sense financially ... and a few examples www.thesisdriven.com/letters/can-...

With all the Office to Residential conversions in NYC *and* the Bedroom requirements … the floorplans have hilarious names “Studio + 2 Home Office/2BA” $8200/month

Earlier this year ... I toured an apartment project under construction that has been designed for families in Redmond, Washington AMLI Redmond Way 126 Units, average size >1100 SF. 1BR+Den, 2BR+Den and 3BR units. Amenities:

"Families don't want to live in apartments! They want a house & yard! Apartments are anti-family!" The negative framing to apartments has it backwards Young, ambitious people are moving to the City and apartments. Changes to floorplans are so that they CAN have kids at same time - if they want to

It was a pleasure to be on @jayparsons.bsky.social's podcast to talk about our paper on building family friendly apartments! Watch me explain (with my hands) how conjoint analysis of floorplan studies work. www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y7d...

Another key part of this chart, is that 2BR/1BA units have ~basically stopped being built Average unit size shrinking + bathroom count increasing = Common space shrinking *even more*

Another "rule" in apartment development is that every kitchen must have an island, even though a table is often much nicer. And certainly more useful Developers are afraid to not follow the current thing Except ones who have STYLE. Here's a gorgeous project a friend is building in New Mexico

This 🔽 🔽 is my investment thesis: that there are many many people like this. I’m going to build housing for the young people who moved into the City, love their neighborhoods, and want to stay as they have kids.

Very proud release project I've been working on for 18months: the *first* rigorous study on floorplans & families. ~10K person survey & 40pg paper: Do floorplans matter to families, or people who want a baby? Turns out, YES! And having an *extra* bedroom matters MOST t.co/HTkXORETf1

This comparison shows the price of putting an internal garage on a rowhouse Both of these rowhomes are ~16' wide Left: 2BR+Den/3BA Right: 4BR/3.5BA So the cost is losing TWO bedroom.

This is a unit from a project I built … and (God willing) we will be able to build thousands more Apartments can be for families, too!

This 3BR/2BA apartment is less than 1170sf, and yet is *great* for a young family The size means that it's could actually make sense for a developer to build and still get close to market rate rents, and yet it's still large enough for parents and 2 or even 3 small kids.

This is becoming one of my favorite base level “family” floorplan designs 1300sf, 3BR/2BA In particular, I really like the small area (by door). It’s rare for apartments this size to have a place for a dining table AND a kitchen island.

A gorgeous rowhome in Washington DC

A floorplan with CRAZZZYYYY door layout

If we made apartments truly soundproof ... urban housing would feel a LOT more family-friendly

There is no more important issue facing our country than building starter homes for young families … and it’s what I’m working on

Building one-bedroom apartments … but not three-bedroom units is a *literal* chicken and egg problem Falling fertility is both a cause and effect

America’s cities are becoming empires of one-bedrooms This chart shows how apartment developers have changed the unit types built in Austin over past 25 years From 2000-2005, >50% units built were 2BRs From 2021-2025, <25% were 2BRs

We need to bring back Starter Homes ... whether that's a rowhouse, apartment, duplex or single family The defining feature is they are smaller *so that* they are also more affordable for new families. It needs to be large enough so that it accommodates a families current needs and NEXT life stage

Marketing photos for new homes used to be so much better. Rather than a glamor shot of a huge empty kitchen with a massive island … just showing people *living* in the house The product fades away. Gorgeous.