Duluth housing demand expected to continue outpacing development in coming decade

DULUTH, Minn. (Northern News Now) - Duluth’s housing difficulties have become a near constant in the city, and a new study shows they won’t be going away anytime soon.

The study conducted by Maxfield Research and Consulting for the City of Duluth expects demand to continue dramatically outpacing development for housing of all types over the next decade.

It predicts Duluth will need roughly 8,700 new units by 2035 to keep up with demand.

Duluth’s senior housing developer Tom Church says rate of development would need to significantly increase to meet that number.

“That’s very daunting, but that’s why we need to take a look at where we have real opportunities to make an impact,” said Church.

He says one priority will be to take advantage of the few large sites Duluth has that are undeveloped, like the old Lester Park Golf Course and the old Central High School site.

Church adds Duluth’s population is projected to grow over the next 10 years, making the strategy increasingly essential.

“We’re seeing more significant population growth than we’ve seen in decades,” said Church.

In addition to overall population growth, Duluth’s adults-age-75-and-older age group is expected to significantly grow in the next decade, making senior housing a big area of need.

President of Maxfield Research and Consulting Mary Bujold says the city has made good strides in developing new high density housing and affordable housing since their last study in 2019.

“I think it’s very positive that Duluth is so concerned with its housing and concerned about developing strategies to try and meet the needs of its workforce and its other residents,” said Bujold.

Even so, Bujold says the persisting need in Duluth shows that traditional strategies, like relying on the low income tax credit to fund affordable housing, aren’t going to solve the problem.

“I think we really need to start looking at product innovation, look at different financing and funding tools other than just the one main government program,” said Bujold.

Church agrees, saying if the city stays committed and gets creative, over 8,000 new units will be a big but not impossible goal.

“We’ve obviously got our work cut out for us,” said Church.

The entire housing study can be read here.

Duluth housing demand expected to continue outpacing development in coming decade

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