Given its proximity to existing residential uses, the land being developed has largely been viewed over the years as a logical place to address Community housing needs. In 2017, the annual Citizens Survey ranked housing as the second most critical issue to residents (second only to safe drinking water), and feedback gathered for the Comprehensive Plan further established housing as a main goal for the City. Two community workshops, a series of online surveys, various pop-up events throughout the City, and multiple Commission and Council meetings resulted in the final draft of the new 2040 Comprehensive Plan. The new plan, which will guide the Community's development for the next ten years, calls for a diverse and well-maintained housing stock to support people of all socioeconomic, age, ethnic, race, and religious backgrounds. To this end, the Midtown Village area was identified by the Community as one of three areas in the City appropriate for a "Mixed Use Neighborhood." This new land use classification is meant to accommodate medium to high-density housing ranging from 8 to 40 units per acre with stacked housing and townhomes predominantly being used.
While the new comprehensive plan was the primary reason that a mix of townhomes and multi-family housing is currently being built, a second (but equally important) factor driving these land uses is the economics of redevelopment in the metro. Land this close to Minneapolis and St. Paul, especially within a quality City like New Brighton, is expensive. The parcels within Midtown Village had a total market value of approximately $3.8 million according to Ramsey County prior to this redevelopment taking place. Development of single-family homes was economically unfeasible as demonstrated by the response to Requests for Proposals (RFPs) received by the City at the beginning of this process. Of the development proposals received by the City, two developers proposed all single-family homes, and that was only an option if the land was free and the City was able to provide additional avenues of financial assistance.