JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) In a partnership with the City of Jefferson City, the Capital City Housing Task Force is looking for public comment on the state of housing in the city Tuesday evening. The Capital City Housing Task Force worked with the consulting group Housing I nnovations Group LLC to create the Jefferson City Housing Supply Strategy, a housing study that outlines steps the city and its partners can follow to improve housing stock. Part A -- City of Jefferson Draft Housing Supply Strategy_2026_05_28_for Distribution to CCHTF (1)Download The study has found the housing shortage is mainly due to a lack of variety in housing supply and affordable housing options. The value of a typical Jefferson City home increased from about $158,000 in 2019 to approximately $270,000 in 2026, an increase of roughly 73%. The group also reports low vacancy rates for both rental and owner-occupied housing. Of the homes that are available, many are not affordable or well-suited for low-income or single-person workforce households. "There just isn't enough housing," Capital City Housing Task Force Chair Susan Cook said. "People are just struggling to be able to find housing that they can afford and just to be able to find housing in general." Housing growth is part of the city's larger "Race to 50" initiative. In 2023, Mayor Ron Fitzwater created the plan and set a goal to increase Jefferson City's population to 50,000 residents. Planning for the project was also directly tied to the 2019 tornado that destroyed around 152 housing units in the city, with 95% of those being rentals. The city has been working on adding to the housing stock, including affordable housing developments in Stronghold Landing and off Rock Ridge Road. "We saw 30 units a year being permitted and all of a sudden, now we're up to like 120, 150 in 2015, so it's real progress," Jeff Lubell, Founder of Housing Innovations Group LLC said. "On the other hand, it's still about half the household growth rate that we see nationally." The housing supply strategy is broken up into three development phases, which would take place over several years. Lubell told ABC 17 News the group will be accepting public comment on the plan for the next few months, and then it will be presented to the City Council for approval. "The whole purpose of this strategy was, 'Can we develop a road map that the city can then implement?' And so we've developed the draft, and we're getting input on the draft, we're going to revise it based on that input, and then hopefully the city will put it into action and see some progress in the next year or two," Lubell said. Part B -- City of Jefferson Draft Housing Supply Strategy_2026_05_28_for distribution to CCHTF (1)Download Phase 1 will start with development in downtown Jefferson City. This includes adding new housing and renovating older locations. "There's a lot of potential, a lot of demand, a lot of interest in living downtown, a lot of people coming into the city," Lubell said. Lubell added the plans for the convention center and river market would grow interest in the downtown, and the area has many opportunities for federal grants. "Federal incentives like new market tax credits and opportunity zones, you have called a basis boost for low-income housing tax credits and you have a lot of historic tax credits," Lubell said. "All of these are subsidies that you can use to create more housing." Phases 2 and 3 would focus on the outer areas of Jefferson City and will develop based on momentum from Phase 1, and need more infrastructure to support them. "Phase 2 is more about scaling some of the more promising ideas that were piloted in phase one, then Phase 3 is kind of longer term, bigger issues around infrastructure, around the borders of the city," Lubell said. The Housing Supply Strategy also looks to more unconventional and economic housing solutions. "This plan recommends a range of strategies, including developing more housing in a range of price points, including using factory-built housing and other lower cost housing types, but also thinking about 'can we, maybe expand the boundaries of the city to bring more parcels into the city and subject them to the city's development incentive?'" Lubell said. Residents who missed Tuesday's meeting are invited to read the recommendations and give input to the City of Jefferson City Planning Division at [email protected]. The post Jefferson City group hosts public hearing on housing needs appeared first on ABC17NEWS. ...read more read less