YardHomesMN’s Exportable Model for Sustainable, Affordable Housing is Gaining Ground
Specific Benefit Corporation (SBC), YardHomesMN, delivers quality affordable housing in an replicable model, and sets their sights on deeper community impact through workforce development training and jobs.
“Setting YardHomesMN up as an SBC will eventually allow us to impact our community and industry by providing access to workforce development training and jobs.”
YardHomesMN is a social enterprise because its leadership believes in controlling their own destiny. With decades of experience in affordable housing, founders Nichol Dehmer and Jamie Stolpestad visioned a specific route for their business with no intent for government funding and every intent to build a self-sustaining model. “Upon forming our SBC (Specific Benefit Corporation) we knew we wanted to do good beyond the actual product we planned to deliver,” says Nichol. “Setting YardHomesMN up as an SBC will eventually allow us to impact our community and industry by providing access to workforce development training and jobs.”
Since their launch in January 2020, they’ve been partnering with the right organizations for the long term and creating business building practices. As with many businesses, Covid caused them to hit pause.“Slowing down in 2020 gave us more time to be thoughtful about the business. We did our research and landed on an amazing partner, Northstar Manufacturing out of Redwood Falls, MN,” Nichol shared.
They immediately got to work and churned out quality design concepts with completed pricing, enabling them to enter into the market prepped and confident in 2021.
Their mission: to create more homes for more people in more places, is happening. By the end of 2021, they will have 12 units of affordable housing in the ground and have 38 units in the pipeline for March 2022. These units called ADU’s (accessory dwelling units) are small secondary structures on a land parcel permitted for housing occupancy. The units to-date have been in the MSP area, and they’ve gained what Nichol calls street cred in the industry by being transparent about the total project cost including time, effort,
and profit. She says, “Now that our ADU’s exist and have proven sustainable, we can start taking our business national.”
YardHomesMN has shared a lot of what they’re doing with the national housing market at affordable housing summits. “All you need is YardHomesMN and two non-profits,” she proposes. “One that has land,
which could also be a socially responsible person that has land, and one that has vouchers. The model is exportable, so it’s really about making the math work. We’d love to see it franchised across the country.”
The business model is robust and both Nichol and Jamie come to the mission with various “whys” that beneficially intersect. “Jamie’s why is rooted in innovation in housing. He doesn’t want to do the status quo. He seeks to create a different typology and deliver exceptionally high quality,” notes Nichol. Of her passion she says it goes back to her childhood and the incredible gift she felt in feeling safe at home. “I want to create safe spaces for people. And home is where that begins.”
Affordable housing changes lives by providing safe spaces. Take one look at YardHomesMN’s work with veterans through the Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans, and folks can see the impact of this type of offering. Not only do these veterans get the sustainable shelter they need, their ADU’s are holistically designed to infuse light, incorporate other sensory elements for those suffering from PTSD, and provide access to things like support animals.
“We have grit and an incredibly strong work ethic at our core,” Nichol says. This translates into their follow- up after the ADU is dropped into a location, especially when they create cluster development communities.
Part of their program requires a social contract that creates community between all parties involved — landowner, homeowner, and neighbors. “In our role, we really are sitting in the middle of so many transactions,” Nichol says. “We tell our story and the story of our homeowners over and over to developers, manufacturers and contributors to the project so they understand the larger impact.”
“We work by building wealth in families by focusing on creating housing for one homeless person at a time. It truly feels like we are controlling our own destiny and making impact in a sustainable way for people and
their families and communities.”
WRITTEN BY Jennifer Gilhoi, Owner Sparktrack Consulting, for #WhySocial Campaign during Social Impact Week MN. Join the movement for businesses as a tool for social change!
