Duluth launches Big Five plan to guide housing, taxes, downtown growth
Duluth’s new Big Five plan ties housing, downtown and tax relief to budgets, after more than 800 homes were finished and 300 more started.
Duluth on July 1 put a formal name and management structure around the five priorities Roger J. Reinert has made central to City Hall. The Big Five Action Plan is meant to assign internal leaders, set performance measures, identify obstacles and timelines, and show residents what is moving and what is still pending.
The framework grew out of issues Reinert raised during his 2023 campaign and a January leadership retreat with his top staff. The plan now covers housing at all income levels, a stronger commercial tax base, streets and utilities, downtown revitalization and property-tax affordability.
On housing, more than 800 units have recently been completed and more than 300 more are in development. Maxfield Research and Consulting found Duluth will need nearly 9,000 housing units of all types by 2035, nearly triple the need projected in its 2019 study. Rental vacancy was under 2 percent, below the 5 percent level city officials consider healthy, and MPR News data show Duluth has been issuing about 230 building permits a year.
Duluth’s 2026 housing and community development plan expects about $3 million in federal HUD money through CDBG, HOME and ESG. That funding will flow through the city’s Community Development Program and local applicants.
Downtown moved on a separate track. The Duluth City Council adopted a Downtown Development Strategy on June 30 in a 9-0 vote, along with zoning changes to the Unified Development Chapter. The strategy is a two- to five-year roadmap intended to help steer public and private investment and to facilitate as many as 1,500 additional residential units downtown over time. The downtown goal is creating a vibrant, safe and economically active center for residents, workers and visitors.
Duluth’s 2026 budget was approved with a 3.5 percent property-tax levy increase after a $7.3 million deficit, while St. Louis County adopted a 2026 budget of $564,629,439 with a $202,669,428 levy, up 12.4 percent from 2025.
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