Suburbs See Apartment-Building Boom

Governing: This summer, no fewer than 14 construction cranes dotted the skyline in Bellevue, Wash. That’s a lot of high-tower construction, especially in a suburb. In fact, it’s more cranes than were in place in most major cities. But it reflected a growing trend. Suburbs are seeing a boom in apartment construction in response to market demands and demographic change.

Not everyone wants to live in a single-family home. Households are getting smaller, with single-member households growing fastest of all. At the same time, not everyone can afford to live in a center city, where costs have risen sharply over the past decade.

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