Phoenix residents are concerned that a new middle housing bill could allow developers to overrun historic districts with new multiplex developments.

The bill is intended to introduce more housing options for single residents and increase affordability by raising the supply of housing options.

Some citizens, such as realtor Laura Boyajian, seem to think that the bill will actually have the opposite effect on affordability.

“The word affordability in this bill is a guise…there’s nothing in this bill that accounts for anything to make it affordable,” Boyajian said.

Boyajian said she doesn’t see how these developers will be able to buy a single family home in a historic district, demolish it, build something new on the lot and still be able to keep rents affordable after all the capital they’ve spent building it.

Boyajian said that she and many other residents of historic neighborhoods in Phoenix are also concerned that the construction of these new developments could decrease the property value in their respective neighborhoods, and that the bill “doesn’t account for the fact that these historic homes cannot be rebuilt ever.”

The bill, HB2721, went into effect on January 1, 2026 and streamlines zoning changes in cities to build more ‘middle housing’ developments within one mile of the city’s central business district.

Rep. Michael Carbone, who sponsored the bill, said that in these historic districts where property taxes are higher, the city is able to make four times the amount in taxes by having a fourplex in a lot instead of a one family home.

“It's a cash cow for the cities,” Carbone said.

Carbone said that when it comes to the protection of historic districts and preventing developers from demolishing historic homes, that it is an issue that needs to be addressed by the city of Phoenix and HOAs, not the state.

Committee member of the advocacy group Save Historic AZ, Aaron Searless, said that the bill is “free admission for developers to come in, rip down homes and build whatever they want.”

Searless said that he feels that the affordability of middle housing is not really what is being targeted by this bill and he gives an example of a luxury condo development that was just built on First ave. where units start at $800,000.

Searless said that these historic neighborhoods such as Willo are not built for these new developments because they are made up of “folks that have lived here for decades,” he said.

Searless also said that these new developments will not fit in with the style of these neighborhoods, especially considering that most of the historic homes are made of brick and new developments will likely just use the cheapest material they can to turn a profit.