The Single-Family for Rent Boom: Kimley-Horn’s Role and Wakulla County’s Growth Challenges

Back in 2021, Kimley-Horn, a nationwide engineering firm, dropped a YouTube video titled “Single-Family for Rent 101” (which we will embed in this post), breaking down the rising single-family for rent (SFR) market—a housing model packing 9-14 units per acre, slotting into the “missing middle” between traditional homes and apartments. The video, recorded four years ago, highlights SFR’s appeal to young professionals, families, and empty-nesters wanting space and amenities without the burden of homeownership. Kimley-Horn isn’t waving pom-poms for SFR to take over; they’re pitching themselves as the go-to experts for developers and municipalities tackling its complexities. Think tricky entitlements, dense site planning, and infrastructure costs. It’s not advocacy for SFR itself but a savvy sales pitch for their services, saying, “This is a hot trend, and we’ll help you navigate it.” Their expertise spans nationwide, with 4,500+ staff and experience in millions of housing units, but their focus is on making SFR projects profitable, not pushing a housing revolution.

Fast forward to 2026, and here in Wakulla County, Kimley-Horn’s influence is front and center. They conducted an impact fee study that the county has refused to use. Since 2020, Wakulla has been booming, with new construction increasingly shifting toward rentals, including SFR-style developments. This tracks with Kimley-Horn’s video, which noted the post-COVID demand for space-heavy rentals. But here’s the catch: hiring a firm like Kimley-Horn, which operates on a national scale, feels like a gamble for a place like Wakulla. The impact fee study showed they are crunching numbers based on stats, not our county’s unique character or demographics.While Kimley-Horn’s video screams, “Trust us to handle the complexities,” their role in Wakulla raises questions about whether an outsider’s data-driven lens can truly reflect our community’s needs.