Double stairways and building code requirements don't seem terribly onerous to me. However, the parking minimums and traffic flow requirements do. In Dallas, each 500 square feet of a unit is required to have a parking space... A parking space takes up 300 square feet on average. This means your apartments are at LEAST 3/5 parking.
This means you get complexes like this one where it's more parking lot than housing and that land is VERY expensive.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bridgeport+Apartments/@32....