Dan Ventures started with a simple habit: go see the place first. The best opportunities we've found didn't come from listings. They came from walking a neighborhood before it had a name, standing on a site before anyone drew a plan, and sitting down with the people who have kept a small town running for decades. We'd rather be early and patient than loud and on time.
Three projects, one approach
Project Counterpoint buys and improves residential and mixed-use buildings in growing mid-size cities across seven states, from Arizona to Virginia. We look for buildings with room to improve and owners who aren't listing, then hold for the long run with hands-on management.
Project Treeline works in mountain towns across ten states. The goal is lodging that fits the town, homes for the lift crews, instructors, nurses and teachers who keep it running, and reasons for visitors to come outside peak season.
Common Frame builds attainable and workforce housing in Vermont and Florida. Two very different climates share the same problem: people who work in a place can't afford to live there. We choose the building method that fits each site, whether modular, container, robotic or 3D-printed, and plan every community around services for the people who live there.
The ideas we keep coming back to
New ways to build are changing what's possible. 3D printing, factory-built modules and building information modeling shorten schedules and cut waste. Digital twins let us test a layout before breaking ground, and virtual tours let a town walk through a building that doesn't exist yet.
Some of the best work happens in buildings that already stand. Retrofitting for energy efficiency and planning for a building's whole life often beats starting from scratch. Inside the homes, smart thermostats and efficient design lower bills, and shared gardens and workspaces help neighbors become a community.
Mountain towns need their own playbook: container pods on awkward lots, old motels turned into staff housing, towns and owners turning short-term rentals into season-long leases, and resorts and employers helping build homes for their teams.
Bring us the idea
We opened the Idea Lab so anyone can submit an idea, a startup or a project for advice, consulting or investment and get an instant score with next steps. If you have land, a building, a housing need or a partnership in mind, we'd like to hear about it.
This is the first long post on Groundwork. Every week from here we'll share another one on a building method, a market or an idea we're working through.