ecoTHRIVE Housing

What ecoTHRIVE Housing does

ecoTHRIVE Housing is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2020 (with community listening work dating to 2016-2018) and headquartered in the Burien/Seattle-King County area of Washington State. Its mission is to develop permanently affordable, climate-adaptive, community-owned villages for low-to-moderate income households. The organization's flagship project is Burien Village, a 1.8-acre pilot on land acquired in 2022-2023, comprising 27 ecoCottages (studios, 1BR, and 2BR units ranging from 320-650 sq ft) clustered around a shared Common House with kitchen, laundry, tool library, playground, food gardens, and pollinator habitat. The design integrates physical architecture, cooperative governance, and a permanent-affordability financial model — using community-vetted covenants and cooperative ownership structures that target households earning 40-60% AMI (with eligibility up to 80% AMI) and do not rely on ongoing subsidy.

The business model is multi-stream and nonprofit in structure. Revenue (in the contributed sense) comes from individual donations with suggested tiers of $20, $50, $100, and $150 for one-time or monthly giving; catalytic capital and program-related investments from impact investors; a $685,000 supportive loan at 1% interest from the Washington State Housing Finance Commission (November 2022); and future revenue from sales of eco-cottages as affordable condominiums and cooperatives, with proceeds recycled into a regenerative funding pool intended to seed additional villages. The organization is governed by a board led by Tom Goodwin (Board President), with co-founder Denise Henrikson as Managing Director, Mallory Lemmer as Managing Director of Operations, and co-founder Susan Russell. Project execution is supported by a consortium including Utopia Design & Development (Dara Ith, Project Manager/Development Lead), PLOT Design + Architecture (Ray Sayers), and community-process advisors such as ProSocial World.

As of the latest inputs, ecoTHRIVE Housing has 5 employees, has not yet broken ground on Burien Village, and is preparing a 2026 capital campaign. The Burien project received unanimous Burien Planning Commission (March 8, 2023) and City Council (March 28, 2023) approvals as one of five Affordable Housing Demonstration Projects, providing the zoning precedent for clustered cottage development in a traditionally single-family-zoned area. Distribution is non-commercial — prospective residents, donors, investors, and replication partners are reached via website interest forms, newsletters, community events, and earned media rather than traditional sales channels.

Name

ecoTHRIVE Housing

Legal name

ecoTHRIVE Housing

Website

https://ecothrivehousing.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ecoTHRIVE Housing is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit developing permanently affordable, climate-adaptive, community-owned villages. Its pilot Burien Village plans 27 small ecoCottages for households earning 40-80% AMI, supported by donations, catalytic capital, and government loans.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Affordable Housing Development

NAICS

New Housing For-Sale Builders (236117), Land Subdivision (2372)

SIC

Land Subdividers & Developers (No Cemeteries) (6552)

akta.pro primary industry

Residential Affordable Housing Development & Construction (IMAFABAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC), Affordable & Public Housing Asset Management (BPAJAMAI), Residential Green / High-Performance Home Construction (Net-Zero, Passive House) (IMAFABAH), Co-Living / Hybrid Extended-Stay Residences (THAGAEAK)

Keywords

• Affordable housing development
• Cooperative housing models
• Climate-adaptive villages
• Permanent affordability housing
• Community land trusts

Headquarters

HQ city

Burien

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Tax-deductible donations from individuals supporting the mission of creating permanently affordable, climate-adaptive housing. Monthly giving program provides sustaining support for organizational planning.
2. Program-Related Investments and Catalytic Capital: Mission-aligned investment opportunities including program-related investments and catalytic capital from impact investors seeking social and environmental returns.
3. Affordable Homeownership Sales: Sale of eco-cottages as affordable condominiums and cooperatives to qualifying households, creating revenue that returns to the funding pool for reinvestment in future villages.
4. Government Grants and Supportive Loans: Nonprofit receives government funding including the $685,000 supportive loan (1% interest) from Washington State Housing Finance Commission for pilot Resilient Village.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ecoTHRIVE Housing develops permanently affordable, climate-adaptive village communities that integrate small eco-cottages (320–650 sq ft studios, 1BR, and 2BR units) with shared Common House amenities, permaculture landscaping, and cooperative ownership structures. Their first project, Burien Village, is a 27-unit, 1.8-acre cluster development on land in Burien, Washington, designed for households earning up to 80% AMI and targeting 40–60% AMI for long-term affordability. The organization combines physical design, social/governance models, and regenerative finance to deliver homeownership that remains affordable in perpetuity without ongoing subsidy.

Product overview

ecoTHRIVE Housing is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization offering a single integrated housing model centered on Burien Village — a permanently affordable, climate-adaptive, resident-owned village development. The offering combines physical design (small ecoCottages with shared amenities), social governance structures, and financial ownership models to ensure long-term affordability and community resilience. The organization also provides community education programs, accepts donations and investments, and operates a community engagement Q&A/Interest form for prospective residents and partners. All components are designed together as an integrated system rather than as separate products or modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Burien Village A 1.8-acre permanently affordable, climate-adaptive village in Burien, Washington featuring 27 ecoCottages (studios, 1BR, 2BR) ranging from 320-650 sq ft, with shared amenities including a Common House, laundry, tool library, playground, food gardens, and pollinator habitat. Homes sold as affordable condominiums or cooperatives to households earning up to 80% AMI, targeting 40-60% AMI.
• Community Education and Training Programs Public education modules and training for future residents covering financial literacy, collaborative decision-making, communication, and conflict transformation to support shared stewardship and cooperative governance of the village.

Quantifiable outcome

• Homes remain affordable in perpetuity without ongoing subsidy
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and supporting.

• Square One VillagescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerecoTHRIVE's pilot project is based on SquareOne's model for village-scale affordable housing. Their model informed ecoTHRIVE's approach to small homes, cooperative ownership, and community governance.
• Northwest Cooperative Development CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner supporting cooperative development aspects of the village model, including governance structures and cooperative ownership frameworks.
• Burien Affordable Housing Demonstration ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity of Burien program that approved ecoTHRIVE's village proposal, providing the zoning pathway for clustered cottage development in traditionally single-family neighborhoods.
• Utopia Design & Development (UDD)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDara Ith's firm leading the development and construction of the Burien Village project, overseeing design, timeline, team coordination, and regulatory compliance.
• PLOT Design + ArchitecturecoreTechnology or IntegrationArchitecture firm founded by Ray Sayers, leading the design and technical process for the Burien Village project including single-family residential, townhouses, and multifamily components.
• ProSocial WorldstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded by advisor David Sloan Wilson, providing guidance on designing governance and social processes that support thriving community conditions based on evolutionary science and cooperation research.
• Environmental WorkssupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerArchitecture firm partner supporting sustainable and equitable building design for the project.
• Grounded SolutionssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization supporting community land trusts and affordable housing policy, providing expertise on permanence mechanisms.
• NWCLTC (Northwest Community Land Trust)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity land trust organization sharing expertise on permanent affordability models.
• Northwest Ecobuilding GuildsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerGuild supporting ecological building practices, relevant to climate-adaptive design approach.
• Housing ConsortiumsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerHousing development consortium providing industry expertise and potential partnership opportunities.
• Perkins&WillsupportingTechnology or IntegrationGlobal architecture firm providing design expertise for the project.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Dignity Village (Portland): Portland-based tiny-home village community for formerly unhoused residents with shared governance and small cottages. Highly comparable in physical scale (tiny homes, shared Common House, cooperative stewardship) and mission.
• Burlington Community Land Trust: Vermont-based community land trust that pioneered the resale-restriction and shared-equity model ecoTHRIVE adopts. Highly comparable as a permanently affordable homeownership operator with a CLT-backed ownership structure.
• Champlain Housing Trust: Burlington, VT-based nonprofit that is the largest community land trust in the U.S. and operates permanently affordable homeownership, rental, and cooperative housing — closely comparable to ecoTHRIVE's integrated model at greater scale.
• Northwest Community Land Trust: Regional community land trust serving the Pacific Northwest that holds land for permanently affordable housing and shares expertise with ecoTHRIVE. Same permanent-affordability model and geographic footprint.
• SquareOne Villages: Eugene, Oregon nonprofit whose tiny-home village model (St. Vincent de Paul's Egan Place, Cottage Grove Community) directly inspired ecoTHRIVE's approach. Both organizations build small clustered eco-cottages with cooperative ownership, and SquareOne is identified by ecoTHRIVE as its model origin.

Others

• Grounded Solutions Network: National membership organization supporting community land trusts and shared-equity homeownership programs. ecoTHRIVE is a partner; Grounded Solutions provides permanence-mechanism expertise and is comparable as the sector's standards body.

Regional players

• Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI): Seattle-based nonprofit that develops and operates affordable rental housing and operates several 'tiny house' shelter villages in King County. Comparable mission and geography; differs by primarily operating rental rather than homeownership.

Broad incumbents

• Habitat for Humanity (Seattle / King County affiliate): Large national affordable homeownership nonprofit with an active Seattle-King County chapter. Operates in the same geography and serves the same low-to-moderate income buyer segment but at much greater scale, using a different (not permanently affordable) ownership model.

Emerging players

• Opportunity Space (formerly Dignity for All): Nonprofit working on co-op and CLT models for permanently affordable homeownership; comparable approach to ecoTHRIVE's ownership structures but at an earlier stage and with different geography.
• Community Solutions (Portland, OR): Portland nonprofit developing permanently affordable, climate-resilient cohousing and cottage cluster projects. Closely comparable concept (small eco-cottages, cooperative ownership, climate-adaptive design) in a neighboring Pacific Northwest market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ecothrivehousing
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ecothrive-housing

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 ecoTHRIVE Housing