Zeal for Living

What Zeal for Living does

Zeal for Living is a private, founder-controlled real estate development company that develops, owns, and operates wellness-focused build-to-rent residential communities. The company was founded by Jim Dobbie, a commercial real estate executive with over 20 years of experience and $2.45 billion across 50+ prior development transactions. Its core product is Wellness Living Communities — single-family homes and townhomes organized around a codified "Four Pillars of Wellness" framework (Connect, Move, Nourish, Dwell) and Blue Zone-inspired community design principles. The flagship asset is Hickory Hill at Sherman, a 237-home community on 25 acres within the larger 183-acre Hickory Hill master-planned community in Sherman, Texas, 65 miles north of Dallas, which began leasing in August 2024.

The company's technology layer centers on a proprietary Resident App used for community engagement, wellness programming, fitness challenges, interest-based groups, on-demand classes, and a gamified wellness points system (over 500,000 points earned by residents since launch). Smart home features include appliances with predictive maintenance alerts, circadian-friendly lighting, high-quality air filtration, and temperature controls. Homes are complemented by community amenities such as clubhouses, fitness centers, pools, community gardens, dog parks, and playgrounds. The Cadia sub-brand (with Cadia Sherman and Cadia Myrtle Landing properties) extends the wellness concept under a distinct consumer-facing identity.

Zeal operates a direct-to-consumer rental model, leasing units through on-site leasing centers and its website, with revenue generated from monthly rental payments on owned real estate. Construction of the flagship was funded internally without a construction lender, and the company is privately held with no disclosed institutional investor backing. Target customer segments include Digital Nomads, Empty Nesters, and general rental seekers who value wellness amenities and community connection. The company is led by a small executive team — CEO Jim Dobbie, Chief Wellness Experience Officer Monica Hollins, Director of Business Operations Kathryn Chavez, and Wellness Director Kendra Collings — supported by a Texas Director of Development and a distributed leadership footprint across Boulder, Albuquerque, Austin, and Denver.

Name

Zeal for Living

Legal name

Zeal for Living

Website

https://zealforliving.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Zeal for Living is a private build-to-rent real estate developer that owns and operates wellness-focused rental communities built around four pillars (Connect, Move, Nourish, Dwell), targeting Digital Nomads, Empty Nesters, and general renters, with a flagship 237-home community leasing in Sherman, Texas.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wellness Real Estate / Build-to-Rent Communities

NAICS

Other Residential Care Facilities (623990), Other Residential Care Facilities (62399)

SIC

Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings (7340)

akta.pro primary industry

Independent Living Real Estate Owners/Operators (REITs & Management Companies) (HLADAAAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Co-Living Property Management (BPAJAFAJ), Active Adult (55+) Independent Living Communities (HLADAAAD)

Keywords

• Wellness real estate
• Build-to-rent communities
• Wellness living rentals
• Rental housing development
• Community wellness design

Headquarters

HQ city

Boulder

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Rental Housing Revenue: Company develops, owns, and operates wellness-focused rental communities comprising single-family homes and townhomes with attached garages. Revenue is generated through monthly rental payments from residents. Market-rate rental pricing for their flagship 237-unit community in Sherman, Texas.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Zeal for Living develops, owns, and operates wellness-focused build-to-rent residential communities comprising single-family homes and townhomes. Communities are designed around four wellness pillars (Connect, Move, Nourish, Dwell) with Blue Zone principles, smart home features (high-quality air filtration, circadian-aligned lighting, predictive maintenance appliances), community amenities (clubhouse, fitness center, pool, gardens), and a proprietary Resident App that drives engagement through wellness programming and gamified points.

Product overview

Zeal for Living operates as a wellness real estate developer offering rental housing communities built around four wellness pillars: Connect (community bonds), Move (active lifestyles), Nourish (holistic wellness), and Dwell (healthy homes). The core product is Wellness Living Communities—rental homes featuring smart appliances with predictive maintenance alerts, air filtration, circadian-friendly lighting, and abundant natural light. The portfolio includes the Cadia sub-brand (Cadia Sherman, Cadia Myrtle Landing) and flagship Hickory Hill at Sherman property. A proprietary Resident App platform provides wellness programming, fitness challenges, community events, and wellness points tracking. Target demographics include Digital Nomads, Empty Nesters, and renters seeking freedom of rental housing with wellness focus.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hickory Hill at Sherman Flagship 237-home Wellness Living Community in Sherman, Texas comprising single-family homes and townhomes with attached garages on 25 acres within the Hickory Hill master-planned community. Includes a clubhouse, 24/7 fitness center, outdoor green spaces, community garden, playgrounds, dog parks, wellness services building, and homes with smart appliances, air filtration, circadian lighting, and blackout shades. Targets renters seeking wellness amenities and community living.
• Cadia Wellness Communities Sub-brand of ZEAL Wellness Communities, including Cadia Sherman and Cadia Myrtle Landing, built around the Serena community concept focused on holistic well-being. Each Cadia community delivers the four wellness pillars (Connect, Move, Nourish, Dwell) and access to the resident wellness ecosystem.
• Resident Wellness App Proprietary mobile platform bundled with Zeal communities that drives resident engagement and wellness through a wellness points gamification system, fitness challenges, community events, interest-based groups, on-demand fitness classes, meditation sessions, nutrition tips, and sleep-tracking tools. Since launch, residents have earned 500,000+ wellness points.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 500,000 wellness points earned by residents in first community since app launch
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Acadian GroupcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 February 2023Selected as general contractor for the 237-home flagship Wellness Living Community in Sherman, Texas. Acadian Group is a full-service construction company based in Frisco, TX with over twenty years of experience in multifamily, mixed-use, and commercial real estate. They helped engineer homes to deliver on Zeal's brand promise by honoring the Pillars of Wellness.
• Foreland DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2022Land seller and subdivision developer controlling Hickory Hill, the 183-acre master-planned community where Zeal's flagship property is located. Foreland Development sold 25 acres to Zeal for Living for the development of their first Texas wellness community.
• Global Wellness InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerZeal for Living supports the Global Wellness Institute. Their wellness framework draws from GWI's definitions and research on wellness living and healthy built environments. GWI defines wellness as the active pursuit of activities, choices, and lifestyles leading to holistic health.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Invitation Homes: One of the largest U.S. single-family rental REITs, owning and operating more than 80,000 homes for lease. Comparable to Zeal in build-to-rent and rental housing operations, though it does not focus on wellness amenities or a vertically integrated wellness brand.
• Tricon Residential: Single-family rental housing provider (acquired by Blackstone) operating thousands of rental homes. Comparable through its build-to-rent focus and direct leasing model, though Zeal's wellness differentiation and smaller, founder-led structure set it apart.
• Toll Brothers (Apartment Living): Luxury homebuilder with an expanding multifamily and build-to-rent apartment living division. Comparable in developing premium rental communities and targeting upscale renters, though at much larger scale and broader amenity mix.
• Del Webb (PulteGroup): National developer of active adult communities targeted at the 55+ empty-nester segment — one of Zeal's primary personas. Comparable in community-based residential development and lifestyle amenities, though Del Webb focuses on for-sale homes rather than rentals.
• American Homes 4 Rent: Public SFR REIT developing, owning, and leasing single-family rental homes across the U.S. Similar in build-to-rent model and direct-to-consumer leasing to Zeal, but at much larger scale and without a wellness positioning.
• Lennar (Millrose Properties / BTR arm): One of the largest U.S. homebuilders with a build-to-rent single-family rental platform. Operates at significant scale in Texas and competes for the same build-to-rent renter, though without Zeal's wellness/Blue Zone positioning.

Others

• Blue Zones LLC: Wellness community design and certification organization whose principles Zeal explicitly cites. Comparable as a wellness-real-estate thought leader and ecosystem partner, but operates as a consultancy/brand rather than a real estate owner-operator.

Direct peers

• Watermark Retirement Communities: Operator of senior living communities emphasizing wellness, longevity, and lifestyle programming. Highly comparable to Zeal's wellness-pillar approach and active adult/empty-nester target segment, though focused on traditional senior living with care services rather than market-rate rentals.

Regional players

• Holland Partner Group: Multifamily developer and operator active on the U.S. West Coast with amenity-rich residential communities. Comparable as a developer-operator of lifestyle-oriented rental housing, though not positioned around a wellness-centric brand.
• Atria Senior Living: Large operator of independent living, assisted living, and memory care communities with a wellness-focused lifestyle programming model. Comparable to Zeal's whole-person wellness pillar concept and senior-resident target segment, though it operates traditional senior housing with care services rather than market-rate rentals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Zeal.for.Living

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Zeal for Living