Ivory Innovations Center at University of Utah School of Business Awards Innovators Making Housing Affordability a Reality

Breakthroughs in automated micro-factories, unique private-sector funding for
permanently affordable homeownership and statewide legislation expanding housing
access for essential workers all given $100,000 to continue combating housing crisis

SALT LAKE CITY, May 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ivory Innovations, a nonprofit academic center based at the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business, today announced the winners of its seventh annual Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability (Ivory Prize) awards. Ivory Innovations works to source, support and scale the most compelling housing innovations through the Ivory Prize, which recognizes and funds novel solutions to the housing crisis in three areas: Construction and Design, Finance, and Policy and Regulatory Reform. In addition to national recognition and ongoing support from Ivory Innovations, each winner receives $100,000.

As a new survey reveals that two-thirds of adults feel they are priced out of the U.S. housing market, the winners of the 2025 Ivory Prize awards are addressing today's housing challenges with unique and innovative approaches. Grounded Solutions Network's Homes for the Future Fund leverages private-sector efficiencies to acquire and preserve affordable single-family rental homes for eventual sale to buyers from underserved communities. Florida's Live Local Act is the state's first major housing legislation in a decade, combining land use reforms, tax incentives and funding to expand workforce and affordable housing for essential workers. Reframe Systems is revolutionizing housing production with modular micro-factories that build homes faster, cheaper and more sustainably. These winners embody innovation, equity, transparency and efficiency, collectively driving solutions for housing affordability.

"We created Ivory Innovations to combat the widening housing affordability gap by recognizing and funding real-world solutions that are addressing this growing crisis," said Clark Ivory, CEO of Ivory Homes and founder of Ivory Innovations. "The 2025 Ivory Prize winners are bringing to market visionary approaches that push the boundaries of what's possible in making housing more affordable. Through collaborative policy reform, groundbreaking construction approaches and innovative financial solutions, these leaders are turning the tide on one of our country's most pressing challenges—housing affordability."

Ivory Innovations is both an academic center based at the University of Utah focused on research and innovation and an operating foundation that implements solutions in the field. The company bridges research and practice to support cross-sector solutions, provides recognition and funding for groundbreaking ideas, and contributes directly to the development of affordable housing in Utah. This year, the Ivory Innovations team evaluated over 280 nominations from across the U.S. With a record number of nominees, this year's cohort was the most competitive yet, reflecting growing momentum in housing affordability innovation. Finalists and winners are selected by Ivory Innovations' Advisory Board, which comprises housing industry veterans from across the country.

Additional details about the winners are included below and on ivoryinnovations.org/ivory-prize-2025-winners.

Meet This Year's Winners:

Construction and Design: Reframe Systems

Founded by former Amazon roboticists, Reframe Systems builds robotic micro-factories that produce high-quality factory-built housing faster, cheaper and more sustainably. Reframe Systems' micro-factories leverage a combination of automated fabrication machinery and process engineering to allow the company to deploy factories in local markets faster and with lower upfront costs than traditional modular builders. This approach makes factory-built housing accessible to more developers in more markets, with a product designed to target the nation's shortage of "missing middle" homes.    

"This recognition from Ivory Innovations affirms what we've believed from the beginning, that solving the housing crisis requires not just more construction, but better, smarter construction. By integrating AI, robotics and localized production, we're rethinking how homes are built. Reframe's approach not only makes building faster and more affordable, but also produces homes that perform to meet the needs of today's communities."
Vikas Enti, CEO and co-founder of Reframe Systems

Finance: Grounded Solutions Network: Homes for the Future

Grounded Solutions Network's Homes for the Future Fund leverages private capital and private-sector efficiencies to expand shared-equity housing stock in major markets nationwide. The multi-phased model begins by acquiring existing single-family homes and operating them as rental housing, utilizing property appreciation and rental income to eventually sell the homes at below-market prices to land trusts and other local shared-equity housing nonprofits. Once transferred into a local shared-equity organization, the homes are sold to homeowners at prices well below fair market value, with projected discounts ranging from 30 to 50 percent of market value over a 21-year period.

"Grounded Solutions Network is honored to receive the Ivory Prize in recognition of our Homes for the Future initiative. Homes for the Future's unique and powerful approach to addressing the nation's housing affordability crisis combines innovative finance with shared-equity housing to preserve affordability, build wealth for families and ensure community stability for generations. We are excited to continue the national expansion of Homes for the Future, and we are very proud to be included in this year's cohort of innovative housing leaders working toward real, lasting solutions."
Tony Pickett, CEO, Grounded Solutions Network

Policy and Regulatory Reform: State of Florida and Florida Housing Coalition: Live Local Act

The state of Florida's Live Local Act, passed in 2023 and implemented in collaboration with the Florida Housing Coalition, is one of the boldest state-level efforts in the country to tackle the housing crisis through zoning reform, tax incentives and targeted investment. The law supersedes restrictive local zoning to allow by-right multifamily development on commercially zoned land, provides tax exemptions to incentivize affordable and workforce housing, and allocates more than $700 million in housing funding. The Florida Housing Coalition has played a critical role in ensuring the law's successful rollout—developing implementation guidance, training thousands of stakeholders, and tracking progress across the state.

"It is an absolute thrill to be awarded the prestigious Ivory Prize for Florida's work on the Live Local Act. Live Local marked a new era for how the state of Florida addresses housing affordability and we are incredibly excited for the work yet to come."
Ashon Nesbitt, CEO, Florida Housing Coalition

This October, the Ivory Prize winners and Top 10 finalists will gather in Salt Lake City at the University of Utah for the 2025 Ivory Prize Summit.

About Ivory Innovations
Ivory Innovations is a nonprofit center based at the University of Utah's David Eccles School of Business that catalyzes high-impact innovations in housing affordability. As both an academic center and an operating foundation, Ivory Innovations bridges research and practice to support cross-sector solutions, provide recognition and funding for groundbreaking ideas, and contributes directly to the development of affordable housing in Utah.

SOURCE Ivory Innovations