Techo provides $20mm in funding for a transformative Ann Arbor home community that sets a new standard for sustainable living.
By Paul Stockamore & JP Ackerman, Techo Co-founders
In an age of innovation, where norms are constantly redefined, homebuilding has remained relatively unchanged. Over the last 50 years, there have been few demonstrable examples of great leaps forward. We recently had the opportunity to finance the construction of one of these leaps with the 110-unit Veridian at County Farm community built by THRIVE Collaborative in Ann Arbor, MI. The design is an urban planning dream that brings together mixed incomes in a community that feels authentic and overdue: four home types ranging from stacked micro units to freestanding single family homes with prices ranging accessible for residents earning 39 – 118% of area median income. The development is built to achieve the standards of the Living Community Challenge, a framework to integrate regenerative design strategies and metrics at the neighborhood scale – a comprehensive prototype for the future and a step function above LEED Platinum.
THRIVE Collaborative is a mission-driven organization, composed of construction and environmental experts including Matt Grocoff, Joey Jonna, and Dave Eifird. The group came together to construct the 14-acre demonstration community in central Ann Arbor, adjacent to the 130-acre Country Farm Park.
THRIVE’s mission is to accelerate the shift toward beautiful, healthy, and environmentally responsive design and lead the transformation to a truly sustainable human-built environment that is socially just, nature-rich, and ecologically restorative. “We’re taking the former site of an old youth prison and transforming it into a model for the next century. We cannot afford the status quo. The ambitiousness of Veridian is matched only by the urgency of meeting global climate goals. If we are serious about the criticality of this moment, then we must work together for creative, fresh and flexible solutions.”
THRIVE aims to repeat the project in future locations while also demonstrating the complementary nature of social and environmental impact to the broader building community.
HIGH IMPACT THINKING
Techo’s core business thesis is focused on financing the persistent need for Attainable Housing across the United States. We seek out developers pushing innovative housing strategies rather than relying on government subsidies to serve residents earning less than 120% of the area median income. In addition, these projects often generate greater environmental sustainability, lower operating expenses, and create a sense of place. While many of Techo’s loans meet some of these attributes, rarely do we see a project such as Veridian that hits on all of them.
“We will not be defined by the unsparing consequences of the climate crisis, but by how we respond as the window of opportunity for action closes.”
— Matt Grocoff, THRIVE Collaborative
We were consistently impressed with the conviction and commitment the THRIVE team demonstrated to ensure the high impact outcome from the community, including at times making decisions that could eat into their profit margins.
A COMMUNITY UNLIKE ANY OTHER
As one of the world’s first net-zero energy neighborhoods, Veridian at County Farms will be all-electric, powered by solar with resilient energy storage and without gas lines or combustion appliances of any kind. To encourage human powered living, the neighborhood will have abundant bike storage, a bike maintenance shed, EV Bike Share, and EV Car Share programs.
“The standard development model is deeply flawed. Cities subsidize developers by allowing them to avoid the cost of their negative impacts. By designing in a nature-rich setting with bioswales and rain gardens for water and solar and batteries for energy, the result is beautiful and sustainable. Veridian demonstrates ways for our neighborhoods to return more ecosystem services than they extract and dramatically lower the cost of energy for everyone.”
— Matt Grocoff, THRIVE Collaborative
Veridian at County Farm will target mixed-incomes, creating inclusive and diverse interactions across a variety of incomes and backgrounds. Mixed-income developments allow for economic integration and increased community acceptance of affordably priced housing.
Within the neighborhood, situated amongst greenways and community gardens, a refurbished barn will serve as a community center, housing a “share-shed” as well as a grocery store that will provide 100% local produce, meats, and dairy exclusively from local farmers and producers year-round. Residents will also have direct access to the 130-acre Country Farm Park, containing miles of forested trails, community gardens, and play spaces.
“Veridian at County Farm creates the inspiring vision of a fossil fuel free future in which neighborhoods operate as elegantly as forested ecosystems.”
— Matt Grocoff, THRIVE Collaborative
Communities like Veridian are rare in that they require innovative developers who focus on a triple bottom line – 1) social and environmental impact, 2) transforming development norms for future projects, and 3) profitability. We believe the impact of these demonstration projects will be felt far beyond the residents of the community itself and will help shape the future of development and capital deployment.
SHARED RESPONSIBILITY
As a lender, we believe we carry a responsibility to ensure that high impact projects are capitalized and that forward-thinking developers are empowered to address the increasingly dire need for Attainable Housing. We believe all lenders should share in this perspective and encourage developers to help create a better future for households throughout America.
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About Techo:
Techo Funding, LLC (“Techo”) is a debt capital provider that enables the construction and redevelopment of Attainable Housing across the United States. Founded in 2021, Techo was launched as a direct response to the shortage of attainable housing supply tied to the lack of access to construction financing for many developers. This is particularly true for middle market builders, who are the most capable of increasing housing supply in the United States. As leaders in construction lending, Techo believes we have the opportunity and responsibility to help fix this problem for future generations. Techo’s flexible loan programs are structured to fit the exact project type and needs of developers—in all stages of a project’s life cycle. Since our inception, Techo has partnered with developers to fund thousands of new Attainable Housing units—ensuring equitable, long-term prosperity for individuals and families across the nation.
About THRIVE:
THRIVE Collaborative is an Ann Arbor and Detroit, Michigan-based building, real estate development, design, and consulting firm dedicated to creating the life enhancing communities needed for the 22nd Century. THRIVE’s mission is to accelerate the shift towards beautiful, healthy, and environmentally responsive design and lead the transformation to a truly sustainable human-built environment that is nature rich and ecologically restorative. We use intellectual rigor combined with expert collaborations to create transformative solutions. We take a holistic approach to addressing critical community needs and fostering connectivity by using the framework of the seven performance categories of the Living Building Challenge and the Living Community Challenge: Place, Water, Energy, Health & Happiness, Materials, Equity and Beauty. THRIVE’s work has been featured in seven books on urban planning, net zero energy and sustainable design and building.