IncDev Stories

First-time developer Will Hanrahan is transforming a vacant former industrial property in Lexington, Kentucky, into The Railyard, a $7.5 million mixed-use infill project with 32 homes and neighborhood commercial space. An IncDev workshop helped Will find the community, confidence, and network he needed to navigate everything from brownfield remediation and financing to design and construction. Now, he hopes The Railyard can become a proof of concept that inspires more people to take on small-scale infill projects of their own.

Architect and former Norman, Oklahoma, City Council member Matt Peacock has spent his career thinking about how thoughtful development and better policy can strengthen communities. His work—from infill architecture to changing parking minimum requirements into recommendations—reflects a belief in investing back into your own “farm.” As an IncDev faculty member, he encourages aspiring developers to learn from others, understand the risks, and start small. As Matt puts it, “The worst thing a first-time developer can do is go out there and try to build a 40-unit complex. Just go build an ADU in your backyard.”

Former math teacher Seth Harkins found his way into development through his work with Memphis’s Alcy Ball Development Group, where buying and improving property became another tool for investing in the neighborhood. An IncDev Boot Camp helped Seth learn to evaluate projects, understand their financial risks, and embrace the idea that “you can own something today that’s not in its final form.” Today, Alcy Ball is rehabbing and building homes, creating gathering spaces, and earning deep neighborhood support—all while showing that development is a skill that can be learned.

Ave Mondie and Aric Hotchkiss, who together lead Hopscotch Construction in Memphis, TN, approach development with a shared interest in bringing neglected properties back to life—and finding ways to make that work both healthier and more replicable.

JT Malasri's first development project transformed two vacant lots into four new homes, demonstrating how small-scale infill can strengthen existing neighborhoods. His story explores how an Incremental Development Alliance Boot Camp gave him the confidence and practical tools to turn that vision into reality.

Originally constructed as a house in 1858, this Memphis building later became the home of Griggs Business and Practical Arts College, one of the first historically Black colleges in Memphis. IncDev alumni Stephanie Wade-Armado has a vision to restore the two-story building and transform the half-acre property into a mixed-use destination with apartments on the upper floor and light retail below.

IncDev alumni Bryce Morrow's development journey shows how small, incremental projects can grow into lasting community investments. Beginning with a pioneering ADU conversion in Portland, he steadily expanded into larger adaptive reuse projects—including Oregon City Brewing and the Canby Beer Library—while embracing hands-on project management, creative financing, and a commitment to preserving existing buildings and strengthening neighborhoods one project at a time.

Andre Jones has spent decades investing in the Memphis neighborhood where he lives and works. A builder by trade, he grew up around construction; his father was a brick mason, and he and his brother eventually became general contractors building homes in the suburbs. But over time, Jones became increasingly interested in a different kind of development: smaller footprint, higher quality housing that could strengthen existing neighborhoods rather than expand outward.