Tradition, Innovation, and Community
On September 18, 2025, real estate leaders from across Madison, WI, gathered for the Commercial Real Estate Summit. JLA’s Vice President of Business Development – Wisconsin, Carole Schaeffer, joined the conversation as part of a panel on the ‘State of Multifamily’. Drawing on panel insights and feedback from our design team, she summarized the key design trends shaping the future of multifamily housing in Wisconsin.
Emerging Design Trends
The trends reflect a balance of traditional, innovative, and responding to the evolving lifestyles of residents. We’ve seen an increased demand for architecture inspired by traditional design, rooted in historic local traditions that highlight local art, music, or the uniqueness of the neighborhood.
At the same time, amenity innovation continues to redefine resident expectations. Wellness-focused and lifestyle amenities such as yoga rooms, saunas, meditation rooms, expansive gyms, or partnerships with local gyms. Curated versus cookie-cutter amenity stacks, co-working spaces, rooftop lounges, movie rooms, and pet-focused amenities.
These amenity spaces complement a few other trends: flexibility of space, units and shared areas designed to adapt to evolving uses, such as convertible work-from-home spaces. Developers are also responding to market realities with smaller but smarter units, using high-quality finishes and robust amenity offerings to offset compact footprints. Meanwhile, outdoor integration is a must-have, with courtyards, balconies, terraces, and rooftop programming creating seamless indoor-outdoor living experiences.
Parallel to this is the growing popularity of single-family rental communities and townhome/stacked flats, providing renters with the space and privacy of a home while staying connected to urban or near-urban neighborhoods.
Sustainability and ESG (environmental, social and governance) are now baseline expectations, driving demand for energy efficiency, green materials, electrification, and durable, low-maintenance design. Additionally, adoption of technology and AI-driven systems for energy management, predictive maintenance, and tenant experience—smart home features, secure package delivery, EV charging stations.
Finally, pragmatic design, we’re seeing clients balancing aesthetic appeal with cost efficiencies, often simplifying details while maintaining character. They are also seeking out creative partnerships to offset costs, via public incentives or mixed-income models.
Core Principles for Lasting Success
Success relies on environments that are inviting, unique, and sustainable. Economic pressures—rising construction costs, financing challenges, and operating expenses—are shaping design choices and influencing material selection, unit mix, and amenity scope. Our design team shared these core principles and trends that are driving their designs:
- Placemaking – Design that creates a sense of community, that feels safe, welcoming, and fosters connection. Then, balancing that with generous private open space.
- Shared Spaces – Interior and exterior gathering spaces that are accessible and connected to the neighborhood and other cultural anchors.
- Local Roots – Design that is rooted in the local or neighborhood identity and culture, that is distinctive and memorable.
Key Takeaways
Design and development in Wisconsin and beyond is shifting toward designs that find balance. Because of this, successful projects will trend toward the following:
- Reflect local character
- Provide meaningful shared experiences
- Adapt to changing lifestyles
- Remain cost-effective and resilient
- Leverage technology and AI for smarter, more sustainable buildings
- Create lasting value for communities and residents
Ultimately, multifamily design is about creating sustainable benefits for the community and its residents—where tradition, innovation, and community come together. Have a multifamily project you’re looking at? Our design team is ready to help bring it to life! Contact Us
About Carole
Carole is well known for her contributions to the Wisconsin real estate development community. Throughout her career, she has sought to build collaboration between the industry, municipalities, and neighborhoods. As the executive director of Smart Growth Madison for 11 years, she acted as an intermediary between the local real estate development industry, the City of Madison, and Dane County on pivotal issues such as land use planning, zoning code policy, tax incremental financing (TIF), and other policies impacting development. Currently, she serves on the NAIOP board based in Milwaukee, supporting their efforts to provide advocacy and education to the real estate development industry. Carole joined JLA in 2024, to lead our business development efforts in Wisconsin.