Public-private partnerships and aggressive policy changes are needed to build sufficient housing for a growing population in the Cascadia region, says a new report.
Ahead of this week’s seventh annual Cascadia Innovation Corridor conference in Portland, the organization has released a report saying at least three million new homes are needed in the region over the next 20 years to keep up with population growth projections.
The Cascadia region, comprised of B.C., Washington state and Oregon, is currently home to about nine million people, an increase of more than 1.6 million since 2005. An additional three to four million residents are expected by 2050.
“We need to build 130,000 units annually across Cascadia to meet demand, but we are currently only building 85,000 every year, and even this is not a guarantee,” said the group’s November 2024 report.
“Status quo production—with annual fluctuations in housing starts and completions due to market conditions and other factors—will produce roughly two million housing units over the next 20 years, but our region needs three million to house everyone, creating a deficit of about one million homes by 2044.”
To address the shortfall, the organization – a partnership between public and private stakeholders in the region – said greater collaboration between government and the private sector is urgently needed in four key areas.
First, developable land can be unlocked through zoning reform, such as rezoning commercial corridors for mixed-use development, emphasizing transit-oriented development and building on under-utilized government properties.
Second, low-cost capital can be deployed, such as by leveraging local governments’ bonding capacity and providing time-limited tax exemptions to workforce housing projects. This can help alleviate financing constraints, reduce development costs, fill funding gaps and help simplify developers’ capital stacks.
A capital stack is a hierarchical structure that organizes the funding for any given real estate project or investment.
Third, permitting processes can be reformed to remove barriers to development. This can include timely, standardized permitting across land use and building permits, prioritization of affordable and workforce housing and the use of pre-approved plans for multifamily development.
Fourth, innovative construction methods can be expanded to improve process efficiency and bring down development costs. Strategies can include implementing technology solutions across the development lifecycle and adopting modular and off-site construction methods.
“Cascadia’s housing crisis cannot be solved with piecemeal efforts or incremental changes,” the report said. “We need a comprehensive, all-in approach that tackles every aspect of the problem simultaneously—anything less will fall short.”
According to its website, the Cascadia Innovation Corridor aims to become the world’s first sustainable “mega-region” by focusing its efforts on affordable housing, transportation congestion and global climate goals. As part of its mission, the group conducts research, publishes reports and hosts virtual forums and annual conferences.
