The Lost Art of Small-Scale Development

My journey from NYC to Vermont—and why we need more small-scale developers.

Hey —

Welcome to Brick + Mortar, a newsletter on small-scale real estate development and construction. 

A bit about me:

In 2020, I traded the hustle of NYC for my hometown in Vermont and launched Village Ventures, a small-scale real estate development firm.

What started as a simple touch-up to a duplex grew into more complex projects—a triplex, then another, and another. Fast forward to 2023: I developed a 9-unit mixed-use building in Fairlee, VT, and general contracted the project myself.

Now, we've got a number of projects lined up including 19 units of affordable housing, a 15-home pocket neighborhood, and 20k square feet of village center mixed-use. The name of our game is infill projects within our small region's village centers and downtowns.

Most recently, I co-founded Réal Hazen Construction, a full-service general contractor specializing in energy-efficient residential builds in our nook of Vermont and New Hampshire. We, alongside our crew of 10+ carpenters, are passionate about delivering high-quality, green homes that stand the test of time.

The kicker? I’ve got no formal training in real estate or construction. Just a passion for building well-designed, sustainable spaces—and a desire to create a portfolio of properties that make a difference locally.

When I dove in, I found a lack of educational resources on developing smaller projects. You have books on real estate investing, 10,000 SF commercial buildings, and high performance home building. But little focused on the end-to-end development of small-scale projects.

Furthermore, we have a shortage of small-scale developers. Look around your community—how many vacant or rundown buildings do you see?

The solution isn’t complicated. Talent and capital are abundant. Transparency and accessibility are not.

Small-scale development has become a lost art due to a shortage of training, networking, and mentorship opportunities.

So, I decided to share my journey building my small-scale development and construction business. And, in doing so, help folks wanting to tackle their own small-scale projects and/or just connect with another developer.

Every so often, I send an email on the acquisition, financing, design, construction, or operations of small-scale real estate.

Let me know what you’re working on or cooking up. If you reply to the welcome email you receive after subscribing, I’ll respond!

Until next time.

— Jonah 🧱

P.S. Want to connect? Find me on LinkedIn.