Sounds like a fair compromise to me – if they can get around the construction-defect litigation that seems to come with every new complex. Two-story is preferred vs. three-story:

Owning a home has long been a core part of the American Dream. Today, however, there simply aren’t enough affordable options, and that ideal is increasingly out of reach. There’s a sensible way to address this shortfall, but it requires moving beyond the antiquated vision of a big house with a fenced yard in the suburbs.

The new American Dream should be a townhouse — a two- or three-story home that shares walls with a neighbor. Townhouses are the Goldilocks option between single-family homes in the suburbs and high-rise condos in cities.

Though townhouses have long been perceived as starter homes for young couples who hope to later move to a larger place, developers say that stereotype is changing. Today, townhouses are popular options for many kinds of households — couples with one child, single parents, people who live alone, couples in their 30s and 40s with no kids, and empty nesters in their 50s looking to downsize. People are drawn to the low-maintenance lifestyle and the sense of community. Many people don’t want to isolate themselves in suburban homes where they have minimal contact with neighbors and are fully dependent on a car.

“We absolutely love our next door neighbors,” said Katherine McKay, 40, who lives in a townhouse in Silver Spring, Md., with her wife. They met their neighbors — a retired couple — when they were all outside one evening on their back decks. They immediately bonded over the fact that they all enjoy having just enough space for a “postage stamp” garden. “Our townhome is 1,700 square feet. I don’t want more to clean.”