Multi-Family Homes as a Solution to Westchester’s Housing Challenges

Nearly a million residents in Westchester County take a heavy toll on the housing industry. The demand is skyrocketing but limited availability, land shortage, and rising costs are making it difficult to face this growing demand.

As of today, multi-family homes offer a practical solution that checks all the right boxes including affordability, efficient land use, and community-focused living. Looking deep into the concept, it passes as the most viable answer.

So let’s jump ahead and explore how multi-family homes can solve a housing crisis in Westchester.

Housing challenges spring up in Westchester County as the shortage of affordable units has become apparent. This also puts increased cost burdens on residents. The analysis by Westchester County Continuum of Care Partnership showed concerning data. It states that to meet current demand in 2024, the county requires 16,000 to 30,000 economic housing units. [WACO Homeless Coalition]

Speaking of economic solutions, it’s a pressing issue for the most part. Throughout Westchester, families spend 30% or more solely on housing. This makes timing crucial for those planning to sell their current home while purchasing a new one. However, the overall percentage may vary depending on different areas of the county. [Westchester Index]

Renters in that discussion are the most affected ones. Half of the rental units are inhabited by people whose housing outmatch the affordability threshold.

The population of the county further intensifies these challenges. As of 2020, Westchester had a diverse population of 1,004,457 occupants. Among them, minority groups had a fair share. Such multifariousness accentuates the need for inclusive housing resolutions.

Not to mention, local zoning laws, NIMBYism (Not In My Backyard) which is also known as community resistance obstruct the new home development of multi-family housing projects. This is also a driving factor in extending the existing difficulties.

The solution to housing problems in Westchester due to ever-growing costs and limited availability is endorsing the development of multi-family homes. This ensures enough homes within the financial plan of families or individuals.

So, What are Multi-Family Homes?

You see it’s a place where multiple families can live happily ever after! Well, that’s too bland of a definition. In textbook or modern architectural terms, it's the residential buildings aimed to house multiple families in a single structure. Take duplexes, triplexes, townhouses, and apartment complexes as examples. Each unit in these structures typically incorporates its own living space, kitchen, and bathrooms. So families live on their own, separated by a common wall.

But, How Do These Homes Solve Housing Difficulties in Westchester?

Simply put, multi-family homes come with a set of perks that no other option can promise right now.

Affordability: Cost-effective housing is the key benefit of multi-family housing options. These bring down lower per-unit costs due to shared construction and land expense. So these homes are naturally accessible to a wider range of residents. Again it creates opportunities for both buyers seeking affordable options and sellers looking to maximize their property's market appeal in Westchester County.

Efficiency in Land Usage: Westchester’s land is limited and expensive. So, multi-family housing development projects exploit such a compact available area by yielding a maximum number of households. Such adjacent placement of homes creates an optimum density that doesn’t require extensive land development. 

Economic Growth: More development projects translate to more open jobs. Thanks to the development of multi-family housing in Westchester County. It also impacts the local economy positively. 4WARD PLANNING Inc. finds that such developments lead to economic revitalization in communities.

Revival of A Community: A diverse population is the key to bringing life to a community. Different cultures are unified in a single place. As a result, the vibrancy of the neighborhood is enhanced significantly. Also, due to an increased population density public services and infrastructure improve substantially.

A better perspective to understand the impact of multi-family homes in solving housing challenges would be to compare them with single-family homes.

A heap of challenges catches any development operation off guard when taking on multi-family housing projects in Westchester. Several factors play impeding factors in such a given situation.

Zoning and Regulatory Hurdles: Municipalities often employ prohibitive zoning laws for multi-family housing construction. Take Briarcliff Manor as an example. They impose restrictions that reduce the scope of affordable housing provisions. This includes age limits and resident preferences.

Community Defiance (NIMBYism): Local enemies emerge every time after a proposal is made for housing projects. Well ‘Enemies’ is a harsh term, opposition is more befitting in this instance.

As it happens, they put forward concerns over infrastructure strain, intensified traffic, environmental disturbance and so much more. Such events slow down or halt multi-family house initiatives in some cases.

Infrastructure Challenges: As I mentioned earlier about NIMBYism, the capacity of existing neighborhoods brings up resistance like this. The roads, parking, sewer, water, and school systems are mostly used as a weapon against newer multi-family development projects in Westchester. Some of them however are truly valid, yet they are used for preventing relevant smart development.

Out of everything that is said as of now, there are a noteworthy number of projects that are successfully executed in Westchester County. Innovative design and sustainable project outlines are the keys to such endeavors.

When 4Ward Planning Inc. analyzed several projects with at least 100 units, they saw almost no effect on the local student numbers in the schools. It's less than 1 in every 100 students who are from these multi-family communities. For example, the Avalon at Somers development has zero to no effect on local schools. Rather, enrollment decreased in reality. [Multi-family impact]

The financial aspect of these projects is most alluring. The same study figured out that development projects generate positive financial benefits for school districts. And that's after the cost of education for enrolled students from these establishments.

Estimated annual monetary benefit worth ranges from $333,000 to 1.2 million with a median benefit of $465,544. That said, the Ardsley Union Free School District has seen the highest one-year financial favor of $1.2 million even after adapting new students from the Rivertowns Square development.

Standing at the dawn of 2025, Westchester’s housing market looks promising. Year over year home values are increasing 5.9% reaching an average of $798,691 as per Zillow. Through the Housing Implementation Fund, this county will enjoy $25 million to tackle the increasing demand for cost-effective housing. Initiatives like these ensure easy accessibility and affordability in the region.

Inadequate ease of access to housing is the core factor that drives the accommodation predicament in the area. Multi-family on the other hand solves almost everything as of now. However, embarking on such a project is a bumpy ride through and through.