- Project 2025 advocates maintaining single-family zoning and proposes changes to housing vouchers and federal transit subsidies, which could impact multifamily.
- The blueprint’s stance on zoning contrasts with efforts in some Republican-led states to boost housing production and density.
- Reduced housing vouchers could disrupt the affordable housing market, affecting developers and low-income renters.
Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation-authored blueprint for conservative governance, has been making headlines recently. With President Joe Biden suddenly abandoning the presidential race, the 900-page document could have serious implications for CRE professionals, as reported on Bisnow.
Blueprint Breakdown
The conservative Project 2025 blueprint strongly advocates maintaining single-family zoning in municipalities across the country and urges any future conservative administration to resist expanding multifamily zoning.
However, this proposal conflicts with efforts in several Republican-led states, like Utah, Montana, and Florida, that have enacted zoning reforms to boost housing production and density.
Project 2025 also suggests placing new limits on certain housing vouchers and eliminating federal transit subsidies, which could hinder housing accessibility—even in Republican-led states.
Impact on Affordable Housing
The Brookings Institution highlighted the disconnect between Project 2025 and the positions of many conservative thought leaders and policymakers who support zoning reforms for greater flexibility.
The AEI Housing Center also noted that cutting housing vouchers would lower the number of affordable housing developers.
Meanwhile, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities emphasized that cutting vouchers would be highly disruptive, as they currently assist around 5 million American households. Fewer vouchers could disrupt the entire affordable housing market, affecting both developers and low-income renters.
Why It Matters
Project 2025’s stance on zoning appears to be a step back from broader, bipartisan efforts to encourage development and density. Many question the blueprint’s focus on single-family zoning, given that neither political party has seriously proposed preempting state and local land use authority.
The blueprint’s specific set of proposals could also hinder multifamily development in general, stifling the financial support developers rely on while also potentially limiting the number of affordable housing units built overall.
