From “Affordable Housing” to Making Housing Affordably: A Systemic Approach to Solving America’s Housing Crisis

Mission: B.U.I.L.D. stands for Bringing Unprecedented Innovation to Land Development

When we hear the phrase “affordable housing,” most of us picture one thing: subsidized apartments reserved for low-income households. This form of housing is vital...but it’s not enough.

Across America, communities are struggling not just because they lack affordable housing, but because they lack a system that consistently produces housing affordably. This is where Mission BUILD was born.

The Problem with Labels

“Affordable housing” carries heavy baggage. Neighbors often fight it. Developers often avoid it. Policymakers often relegate it to a narrow box of subsidy programs. But making housing affordably is a very different concept.

It’s about producing housing at price points people can actually pay, for teachers, nurses, first-time buyers, retirees, and working families. It’s about removing cost drivers that push projects out of reach: high land prices, infrastructure gaps, red tape, and capital mismatches.

In short, it’s about making the entire system function like a well-run airport: every flight (project) aligns with the manifest (buyers and renters), the luggage (capital stack) is on board, and the crew (developers and builders) are ready to fly.

The Origin of Mission BUILD

In early 2024, one community had what should have been a slam-dunk project:

• Land was assembled.

• Local and state dollars were committed.

• A housing strategy confirmed clear market potential with healthy rents.

And yet five developers walked away.

Why?

1. They didn’t fully believe the market potential.

2. They weren’t convinced the local government, the lead investor, would follow through.

3. Most critically, none had the depth of experience to deliver the type of housing most needed — the “missing middle” homes that fall between subsidized apartments and high-end builds.

   
   

Opportunity made them curious, but fear made them cautious. Nobody wanted to admit they weren’t sure how to pull it off. That’s when we launched Mission BUILD as a for-profit intermediary and market intervention.

What Mission BUILD Does

Mission BUILD exists to step into the gap when communities have investable housing opportunities but developers hesitate.

We:

• Structure capital and align public and private investment.

• De-risk projects by ensuring government commitments, land control, and incentives are locked in.

• Provide quality control through construction management and development expertise.

• Bridge trust between the community (as lead investor) and developers (as co-investors).

We don’t replace developers, we enable them. When a project stalls, Mission BUILD acts as a stabilizer, ensuring the deal gets across the finish line without compromising quality or the community’s goals.

The Airport Analogy: Making It Simple

Think about how an airport works.

• The manifest is the list of passengers. In housing, that’s buyers and renters.
  

• The luggage is the capital stack. All the financing that must arrive at the same time.
  

• The airline crew are the developers and builders. Trained professionals who deliver the service. (Note: housing nonprofits that focus on various subpopulations, such as low- and very-low income persons, elderly, disabled, etc., are like boutique airlines.)
  

• The airport authority is the community. The lead investor providing land, infrastructure, and trust.
  

• And the software that makes it all run? That’s Club 720, our marketplace platform where buyers, lenders, realtors, and coaches connect in real time.

When all these align, the flight takes off. When they don’t, flights get delayed or canceled. That’s been the reality in too many housing markets for too long. Mission BUILD ensures alignment.

Club 720: The Software Behind the System

Behind the scenes, Mission BUILD runs on Club 720, our housing marketplace platform.

Club 720 is like the airline’s booking system, customer app, and loyalty program combined:

• Buyers and renters set their housing goals (buy, rent, renovate).

• They get matched with lenders, realtors, and down payment programs.

• Communities see the aggregate demand - the manifest - in real time.

By empowering buyers and renters to present themselves before housing is built, Club 720 creates the demand-side certainty developers need to take risks on new housing types. It’s the missing link between community planning and market execution.

Complex vs. Complicated

Is this complex? Yes.Is it complicated? No.

The pieces are already here: communities with resources, developers with experience, and buyers with demand. What’s been missing is alignment, trust, and a system that produces housing affordably.

Mission BUILD exists to integrate those pieces, de-risk the process, and deliver results.

The Results We’re After

When housing is produced affordably, everybody wins:

• Communities leverage their land and incentives for maximum impact.

• Developers take on less risk, with stronger capital stacks and market certainty.

• Residents access housing that matches their incomes without waiting for subsidy-heavy, years-in-the-making projects.

This isn’t about replacing “affordable housing.” It’s about scaling a system that makes all housing affordably.

A Call to Leaders and Developers

If you’re a community leader: the question isn’t whether you can attract housing. The question is whether you can align your manifest, your capital stack, and your developer partners.

Mission BUILD can help you do that.

If you’re a developer: the question isn’t whether you can build. The question is whether you can build affordably with the right partners, incentives, and systems in place.

Mission BUILD can give you that runway.

Closing Thought

Words matter. Affordable housing is one piece of the puzzle. But if we’re serious about solving the housing crisis, we need to build systems that make all housing affordably.

Mission BUILD exists to make that shift real. One project, one deal, one market at a time.