Through a Wood Innovation Grant (WIG) from the USDA Forest Service, research was conducted to analyze the history of affordable multifamily housing in the US, and trace improvements along the way. The research summarized in this paper considered the issues facing the creation of affordable housing of acceptable quality at an acceptable price; the social, economic, and racial conditions facing the industry; and the problems created by the acute affordable housing shortage. This paper also presents 340+ Dixwell, a planned mass timber, passive house, affordable housing project in New Haven, Connecticut.