A national builder bets on 'missing middle' homes priced below Sandy's median.
2 days ago: Building Salt Lake reports Sandy Station groundbreakingNew here? Follow stories to track developments over time. Create a free account to get updates when stories you care about change.
Overview
Updated 7 hours agoA national homebuilder just started work on 63 four-bedroom townhomes in Sandy, Utah, priced around $550,000. That is roughly $150,000 below the area's median home price, in a county where 88% of residential land is zoned for detached single-family houses.
The project, called Sandy Station, is a market-rate test of 'missing middle' housing: denser than a single-family lot, smaller than an apartment building. If it sells, other builders may follow. If it stalls, it shows the limits of building density one project at a time.
Why it matters
Sandy's median home price hit $699,619, and 88% of Salt Lake County's residential land is single-family-only. This project tests a cheaper, denser alternative.
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People Involved
Organizations Involved
The largest U.S. homebuilder by volume since 2002; closed 84,863 homes in fiscal 2025.
Approved Sandy Station's site plan and subdivision review by unanimous vote in November 2025.
Runs the Medically Vulnerable People transitional housing facility next door to the new townhomes.
Timeline
August 2023 September 2026
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Building Salt Lake reports Sandy Station groundbreaking
Latest ReportBuilding Salt Lake reports the groundbreaking, detailing four-bedroom homes starting around $550,000.
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Groundbreaking at Sandy Station
GroundbreakingD.R. Horton and Sandy officials break ground on the 63-townhome project.
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Sandy approves Sandy Station site plan
ApprovalSandy Planning Commission unanimously approves Sandy Station's site plan and subdivision review.
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Shelter buys former EconoLodge on Harrison Street
AcquisitionShelter the Homeless buys the former EconoLodge on Harrison Street for a medically vulnerable shelter.
Historical Context
3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.
Levittown (1947-1951)
William Levitt built 17,000 nearly identical houses on Long Island farmland with assembly-line methods. A four-room Cape Cod sold for about $8,000, and veterans could buy with no down payment.
The first homes sold within hours; Levittown became the symbol of postwar suburbia.
Mass-produced single-family homes became the American default, and zoning codes across the country were written to keep them that way.
D.R. Horton is the same playbook at national scale. Sandy Station turns that machinery toward attached townhomes, but it still has to win approval in a zoning system built for detached houses.
Minneapolis 2040 Plan (2018)
Minneapolis became the first major U.S. city to allow up to three housing units on any residential lot, ending single-family-only zoning. The change was part of the city's comprehensive plan.
New duplexes and triplexes appeared slowly, and litigation delayed some implementation.
The reform inspired similar statewide changes in Oregon and California, making Minneapolis a reference point for zoning reform.
Minneapolis changed the rule. Sandy Station works within it, testing whether for-sale missing-middle housing can pencil out without a zoning change.
Oregon House Bill 2001 (2019)
Oregon became the first state to ban single-family-only zoning, allowing duplexes in most city residential zones and fourplexes in the largest cities.
Cities had to rewrite codes; construction of new middle housing was gradual.
The law remains in place and became a template for other states considering state-level zoning overrides.
Utah is debating whether to follow this path. Sandy Station is what builders can deliver before that debate is resolved.
