Less than 15% of teachers say their salary is enough to cover basic expenses and housing eats up 30% of their budget. Enter Driven Development, who is building and renovating hundreds of apartments and offering them at an up to 30% discount for teachers.
Driven Development is a new Kansas City-based nonprofit that provides high quality housing to “people who help people”—those working in education, healthcare, emergency response, government, and nonprofits. Driven understands that people working in essential professions are motivated by mission more than money, and Driven honors that sacrifice by offering single family and apartment living at rates that are typically 15% to 25% less than comparable housing.
To date, Driven Development has 15 educators living in their housing, which includes seven units currently rented to Teachers Like Me program participants. Two educator-led families are part of our Path to Homeownership program—living in brand-new single-family houses, paying below market rent, receiving help with down payment savings, and connecting with financial education resources as they prepare to buy the very homes they’re in. Check out the photo above from the homeownership readiness kick-off meeting.
Because Driven targets their housing to specific professions, they don’t advertise the housing on typical rental sites. Instead, they work with groups like PrincipalsConnect, Teach for America, Kansas City Public Schools, and the Kansas City Public School Education Foundation to get the word out about their high-quality, reasonably priced housing. After connecting with several educators at the KCPS Education Foundation’s Head Shot Happy Hour in January, we’ve moved in one Success Academy employee, and another teacher from the school is scheduled to move in this summer. Driven has apartments and single-family homes listed on their properties page. Questions can be directed to Driven Development Director Emily Robinson (pictured below): Emily.robinson@drivendev.org
