Construction & Design Finalists
Gensler: Conversions+
San Francisco, CA
“We are honored to be named a Top 10 Finalist for the 2025 Ivory Prize, as it is both a testament to the impact of office-to-residential conversions in creating new housing, and our commitment to working with cities around the world to solve their most pressing challenges. Under the spotlight of the Ivory Prize, we hope to continue this important work in unlocking affordable housing, reducing vacancy rates, and revitalizing our cities.
Steven Paynter | Global Practice Area Leader in Building Transformation & Adaptive Reuse
Conversions+ is a software-driven solution that rapidly evaluates the feasibility of office-to-residential conversions, helping developers revitalize underused spaces with a faster, more sustainable, and more cost-effective alternative to new construction. Image Credit: The Residences at Rivermark, courtesy of Ryan Gobuty Photography
Incremental Development Alliance
Fayetteville, AR
“The Ivory Prize would propel IncDev's successful approach of training over 8,000 small developers since 2015, helping us reach more communities and expand our curriculum, including enhancements such as Spanish-language materials or municipal leadership programs. This support would allow us to grow our model where local developers—many from historically underserved communities—create housing solutions that build neighborhood wealth, turning our decade of tested, incremental approaches into broader systemic change.”
Allison Thurmond Quinlan | Board Member & Senior Faculty
The Incremental Development Alliance trains small-scale developers and community partners to create naturally occurring affordable housing through workshops and mentorship, fostering neighborhood revitalization and local wealth-building.
Lower Sioux Indian Community: Hempcrete Program
Milton, MN
"The Lower Sioux Industrial Hemp Construction Department is extremely proud to be an Ivory Prize finalist! This acknowledgement is a great honor and maintains the positive impact we are making on our entire community for generations to come!"
Danny Desjarlais | Industrialized Hemp Construction Project Manager
The Lower Sioux Indian Community leads the country’s only vertically integrated hempcrete operation, building affordable, healthy, and sustainable homes.
Reframe Systems
Andover, MA
"Reframe Systems is on a mission to fundamentally reshape housing delivery. Our technology-enabled platform makes construction faster, more efficient, and more resilient, producing high-quality homes that are within reach for all. Being recognized by Ivory Innovations reinforces the urgency and value of our mission, and we’re grateful to be part of a community committed to bold, systems-level change."
Jessica Boatright | Head of Business Development & Strategy
Reframe Systems deploys microfactories to produce net-zero modular housing, offering energy-efficient homes with faster timelines and lower costs.
Finance Finalists
FutureProof
San Diego, CA
"Being named a finalist for the Ivory Prize is an incredible honor for FutureProof. It validates our mission to transform property insurance through innovative, data-driven solutions that enhance resilience and affordability. This recognition inspires us to continue advancing our technology to help make communities more physically and financially resilient."
Alisa Valderrama | Co-Founder & Co-CEO
FutureProof leverages AI-driven technology to assess climate risks, enabling homeowners to reduce insurance costs by enhancing their property’s resilience to disasters.
Grounded Solutions Network: Homes for the Future
Washington, DC
"Grounded Solutions is honored to be named an Ivory Prize finalist for our work advancing permanently affordable housing through the Homes for the Future initiative. Ivory Innovations' support comes at a pivotal moment as we prepare to scale our impact and bring sustainable housing solutions to more communities."
Devin Culberson | Vice President of Innovative Finance
The Homes for the Future fund is a shared equity initiative designed to help families of color purchase homes and build generational wealth by acquiring single-family rental properties, maintaining them as affordable rentals, and transitioning them to homeownership through community-based partnerships.
Housing Accelerator Fund: Industrialized Construction Catalyst Fund
San Francisco, CA
“Being named a finalist for the Ivory Prize is a powerful validation of our work to accelerate affordable housing through innovative financing. It shines a spotlight on the Industrialized Construction Catalyst Fund and our broader strategy to reduce costs and speed delivery for the communities that need housing most. This recognition will help pave the way for increased adoption of industrialized construction approaches.”
Jan Lindenthal-Cox | Chief Investment Officer
The Industrialized Construction Catalyst Fund supports affordable housing production by offering developers low-cost, flexible pre-construction financing to accelerate modular construction.
Policy & Regulatory Reform Finalists
City of Muskegon: Tax Increment Financing for Vacant Lot Development
Muskegon, MI
“The City of Muskegon is thrilled to be considered for a nationally recognized housing award like the 2025 Ivory Prize. If selected, our team can utilize the grant funds to implement the next phase of our infill housing strategy. These action items include the establishment of a nonprofit community land trust in our city, and the design and provision of “permit ready plans” for incremental developers. Even more importantly, we are excited for the exposure that this award will give our programming, as we feel it is replicable in communities across the country and can make a real impact in getting people sustainably housed.”
Jake Eckholm | Director of Development Services
The City of Muskegon leverages tax increment financing to transform vacant lots into affordable single-family homes, recovering costs through future property tax gains.
Los Angeles County Housing for Health and UCLA California Policy Lab: AI Homelessness Prevention Program
Los Angeles, CA
“We’re thrilled to be named a top 10 finalist for the Ivory Prize. This recognition affirms the power of combining predictive data analytics with individualized support to prevent homelessness among vulnerable residents of Los Angeles County. We are especially grateful to our staff, who proactively connect with at-risk individuals and help them create plans to ensure long-term housing stability. We hope this spotlight will encourage more communities to try new strategies to solve our nation’s housing crisis."
Dana Vanderford | Associate Director of Homelessness Prevention for LA County Department of Health Services
L.A. County’s Housing for Health and UCLA’s California Policy Lab use predictive modeling to proactively identify and support households at high risk of homelessness and deliver targeted interventions before eviction occurs.
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State of Florida and Florida Housing Coalition: Live Local Act
Tallahassee, FL
"Being named a Finalist for the Ivory Prize is an incredible honor and important recognition for the new era of state housing policy ushered in by Florida's Live Local Act. It is also a tremendous acknowledgment of the roles that technical support and policy research play in the passage and implementation of state housing policies. We are thrilled to be considered as a Finalist as we continue to work to ensure that every Floridian has access to an affordable home of their choosing"
Kody Glazer | Chief Legal and Policy Officer for the Florida Housing Coalition
Florida’s Live Local Act, implemented with technical assistance from the Florida Housing Coalition, expands affordability throughout the state by combining zoning reforms, financing tools, preemption strategies, and permit streamlining.