Green Canopy NODE CEO Bec Chapin was featured in ConstructUtopia, discussing a day in the life as an entrepreneur, infill housing, sustainable building, and challenges for women in construction.
SEATTLE, Washington (May 6, 2021) - Green Canopy and Habitat for Humanity Seattle – King County (Habitat) are pleased to announce a partnership to design a 17-unit affordable multifamily housing development in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. The 4-star Built Green project, located near Cal Anderson Park, features one- and two-bedroom units to be sold to households making at or below 80 percent area median income. The collaboration will bridge affordability and sustainability and fill a gap in the housing market for low-income individuals, couples, and smaller families.
Combining a land trust model with permanent affordability requirements, Habitat lowers barriers to homeownership. Habitat’s homeownership model creates opportunities for those who may not otherwise have access to owning a home and enables them to build equity and obtain security and stability. In Seattle, population growth, low inventory and market price appreciations have prevented first-time homebuyers from being able to afford to live within the urban center and create wealth through equity in ownership.
“We have identified a significant gap in the housing market for those who can’t afford to build equity in the city that they live and work in,” said Patrick Sullivan, Director of Real Estate Development at Habitat. “Typically, affordable housing options are located outside of city centers and further from jobs and other amenities. We are excited to offer these homes to hard-working and deserving people who would otherwise be priced out of the area.”
Through this partnership, Green Canopy and Habitat for Humanity serve as a model for aligning for-profit and nonprofit organizations to develop market-rate land, while accelerating access to affordable, sustainable homes.
“We believe the partnership between Habitat and Green Canopy will set a new standard for homebuilding,” said Brett D’Antonio, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King County. “Through private non-profit partnerships we are able to deliver more affordable housing units than we could alone.”
Known for its innovative, highly energy efficient urban infill homes in Seattle and Portland, Green Canopy specializes in unparalleled cost control and project management without compromising on sustainability.
“It is oftentimes a trade-off between sustainable or affordable when it comes to housing,” said Sam Lai, Green Canopy’s cofounder. “We are passionate about unlocking the potential impact of combining our expertise in green building and cost control with Habitat’s expertise in offering homes at a price point that increases accessibility.”
Green Canopy’s stringent green building standards result in homes that are not only better for the environment, but also better for residents’ health. Homeowner’s indoor air quality is improved by using all-electric appliances, low volatile organic compounds (VOCs) products and materials, and through systems like the Energy Recovery Ventilators (ERVs), which bring fresh, filtered air into the homes. Furthermore, the end product simply costs less to operate on a monthly basis than a comparable code-built home.
“Providing all-electric, sustainable, and healthy homes at affordable price points provides a better alternative to the current paradigm of housing,” said Susan Fairchild, Director of Impact at Green Canopy. “Through partnership and collaboration, we believe we can democratize sustainable homes so in time, people at every income level can live in more sustainable and healthy homes.”
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About Green Canopy: Green Canopy is an award-winning urban infill developer and homebuilder specializing in high performing, deep green, all-electric healthy homes. Their mission is to build relationships, businesses, and homes that help regenerate communities and environments. The team at Green Canopy offers development and general contracting services to third party investors, developers, and investment property owners.
About Habitat for Humanity Seattle – King County: Habitat SKC is dedicated to eliminating substandard housing locally and worldwide through constructing, renovating and preserving homes, advocating for fair and just housing policies, and providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions. Habitat is founded on the conviction that every man, woman, and child should have a simple, durable place to live in dignity and safety, and that decent shelter in decent communities should be a matter of conscience and action for all.
For more information, please contact:
Susan Fairchild, Green Canopy Director of Impact and Investor Relations
susan@greencanopynode.com
Sam Lai, Green Canopy Cofounder
developmentservices@greencanopynode.com
By Aaron Fairchild
In the heart of Ballard, arguably one of the region’s most opportunity rich communities, seven newly constructed, affordable homes will soon be available to rent for families earning 60% and 80% of the area median income. In partnership with many others, Green Canopy will complete these Net Zero Ready, all-electric, healthy, Built Green certified and affordable homes this summer.
At the front end of the COVID-19 pandemic the crossed the equinox and entered into spring and I wrote,
“As the earth crosses the threshold of equinox into spring, humanity finds itself awakening to the reality that society too is crossing a threshold.”
Shortly thereafter, in the fullness of springtime in bloom, much of America, and many parts around the world, experienced a secondary awakening, crossing yet another threshold. Mr. Floyd’s brutal passing was the moment the world recognizes as a threshold’s leading edge into new societal territory. The future our hearts know is possible, feels possible. The better version of our society and interactions feels possible. I am grateful for those in the streets protesting in favor of ushering in that better version of ourselves. They march for change and transformation, for justice, for equity, for the young, the old, for Black lives, for the left behind, marginalized and excluded; they march for humanity’s better version to bloom.
The work needed to realize this time’s greater purpose takes courage.
Indeed, we are all linked by our common humanity and feel that we must do something. In 2017 Green Canopy officially changed its mission to, We build homes, relationships, and businesses that help regenerate communities and environments. The journey since then has been filled with learning how to navigate rapidly changing markets, learning what regenerating communities requires, and learning how to cost effectively build the best-in-class housing that regenerative communities deserve. It has also been filled with attentive listening into new relationships and deepening existing ones. Through it all I have come to understand that for Green Canopy to realize its full potential, those relationships are the most critical component to our regenerative approach.
In this moment, can we let go of fear, listen and collectively focus on what action is needed to create more equitable, healthier, and resilient communities and relationships?
Taking the difficult yet necessary steps to explore the white supremist American culture begins with the listening and vulnerability required to let empathy flow in. From there a personal journey can begin. One that is full of exploration and learning the history that undergirds the present, and how we contribute to injustice and inequity. With lessons learned and relationships built throughout Green Canopy’s history, our team continues to learn and improve its ability to respond with compassion. May we prove ourselves worthy of this work, and may you hold Green Canopy accountable to the work our future requires. Below is but one example of this work.
Can we consider new and more equitable ways to provide for society’s basic needs such as, health, food, housing, education, security, and employment?
In the heart of Ballard, arguably one of the region’s most opportunity rich communities, seven newly constructed, affordable homes will soon be available to rent for families earning 60% and 80% of the area median income. In partnership with many others, Green Canopy will complete these Net Zero Ready, all-electric, healthy, Built Green certified and affordable homes this summer.
These homes were designed far beyond what the basic code requires to accommodate families; five of the units have three bedrooms, and two units have two bedrooms with garages. We are humbled to work with so many aligned partners on this project. The relationships required to produce deep green and affordable homes, utilizing a reverse displacement strategy into an existing community of opportunity, are many and worthy of note. Without the contribution of all of these people and organizations, this project would not have been possible.
With deep gratitude for the work require for change, we would like to thank:
The Washington State Housing Finance Commission. This group of people deserves special recognition for seeing the vision and quickly organizing to ensure that these deep green units in the heart of Ballard can be offered to families at the 60% and 80% AMI levels. Thank you…you all are amazing!
Russ Katz with Windermere Real Estate who initiated this project at the beginning – 7 new Net Zero Energy Ready homes were built in our community because of the opportunity you helped bring together.
Julian Weber and the talented team at JWA, we appreciate the way you demonstrate your values through the innovation of your designs and your own Net Zero Energy office building!
Malsam-Tsang Structural Engineering for your long-term partnership and consistent, thoughtful approach to structural design.
The investors in Green Canopy’s Cedar Fund for championing a project at the intersection of your values.
Urban Black and Kateesha Atterberry for your friendship, guidance and desire to collaborate on making these best-in-class homes available to families in need.
"The current fight over how we should pay for affordable housing, and who will fund it, is beating on the wrong drum."
Social and environmental impact investing and businesses continue to capture the interest and imagination of the Pacific Northwest, part of a broader global trend. Local early adopters affiliated with Element 8, Impact HUB Seattle, Seattle Impact, Mission Investors Exchange and other institutions and individuals have forged impact investment paths that many others now find themselves traveling. It’s exciting to see the local impact investing ecosystem and communities flourish. However, a market imbalance persists with more impact investor dollars available than the limited number of qualified investment opportunities can absorb. Fortunately we’re seeing signs that the supply of impact investment opportunities is starting to catch up with demand from impact investors.
Green Canopy is an example of an impact-investor funded company that has been fueled by local early adopters. The company operates in a commodity industry: designing and building single family homes. However, we have been fortunate to attract thoughtful, impact-motivated equity and debt investors, due in large part to our mission, vision and values focused on achieving long term positive environmental and social change while simultaneously pursuing solid financial results.
Since 2011 Green Canopy has acquired nearly 90 projects; steadily building a community of homeowners, real estate agents, employees, shareholders and fund members that share our passion to inspire resource efficiency in residential markets. Importantly, we pursue our mission while being uncompromising in achieving key sustainability metrics, paying our employees a fair wage, selling our homes at fair market prices and generating long term shareholder value. Green Canopy has an opportunity to demonstrate it is not only possible, but highly rewarding for all involved to create and operate under a business model predicated on shared, blended value creation.
Similar opportunities are emerging across a wide spectrum of investment strategies that seek to satisfy growing consumer and investment demand for highly impactful market-driven solutions. As Seattle continues to attract tens of thousands of employees each year to fill quality jobs at companies like Amazon, Nordstom and Microsoft, our entire region feels the benefits. And yet, we are all faced with the unintended consequences of the additional infrastructure needed to support increased demand for critical services, including affordable workforce housing. The current fight between the City and the Coalition for Sustainable Jobs and Housing over how we should pay for affordable housing, and who will fund it, is beating on the wrong drum. Neither side seems to be asking the right questions or putting forth a broadly acceptable or effective solution for quickly increasing the supply of affordable workforce housing.
One example of an alternative solution is Bellwether Housing’s recently launched Seattle Futures Fund. Bellwether has successfully developed and managed affordable workforce housing in Central Seattle for 35 years. However, as affordable housing has become an increasingly rare commodity in the communities Bellwether serves, the organization has had to innovate how its projects are financed; necessity = the mother of innovation. Through the Seattle Futures Fund, Bellwether believes it will more rapidly scale the number of units available to house social workers, teachers, baristas, police officers, firefighters, government workers, data center workers and others that serve our communities. A potentially wonderful, local example that attracts private capital as part of the solution to develop housing that is affordable and accessible to our urban working families.
As a community, we must collaboratively develop innovative, smart, market-driven solutions to problems that impact a wide range of constituents. Hopefully, a greater supply of viable impact investment opportunities for investors to assess, like Bellwether’s Seattle Futures Fund, will be forthcoming in the near-term. In the meantime, we would encourage investors and entrepreneurs alike to continue viewing our social and environmental problems through the lens of impact opportunity.
Contributed by Kyle Mylius, Board of Directors for Green Canopy, Inc. & Aaron Fairchild, CEO of Green Canopy, Inc.