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PLACE® is a nonprofit organization that works with cities to create leading-edge communities that promote the arts, environmentalism and social justice. Through a community-driven, ethically-focused process, PLACE develops new models for urban neighborhoods that demonstrate the best practices in environmental design, live/work development for artists and creative businesses, affordable workforce housing, and supportive housing for the most economically distressed. Our vision is to change the way communities are made.
We strive to make each PLACE project reflect the highest community ideals, creating beautiful and inspiring places, lifting people out of poverty, empowering community participation, and providing equal opportunity, all while generating economic return, renewable energy and jobs. PLACE communities seek to dramatically improve the way we live, work, play, commute, create, and interrelate, as well as the way we impact our cities and our Earth.
PLACE was founded by Chris Velasco in 2005. PLACE and its respected national board of directors bring extensive experience in creating the public/private partnerships necessary to finance, develop and operate complex, economically-sustainable facilities. As an entrepreneurial nonprofit, PLACE uses proven market approaches and cutting edge funding methods to develop projects that are economically self-sustaining. PLACE's projects blend the arts, environmentalism, community-driven development, live and work space, smart growth, small business development and affordable housing -- all together in one, inspiring place.
The PLACE Team has recently worked on sustainable communities in Ajo, AZ and Philadelphia, PA. Our most recent completed project is the WAV in Ventura, CA [PDF].
What does PLACE build?
PLACE builds sustainable communities, fills them with art and culture, powers them with the sun, wind and earth, makes them affordable to everyone, and creates them together with the people. PLACE’s sustainable communities include:
• Alternative-energy communities powered by renewable energy
• Live/Work communities
• Ecovillages: Holistic communities powered by the sun, wind and earth
• Artists communities including live/work space for artists and creative businesses, green theaters and galleries
• Zero-carbon, zero waste communities
What is a sustainable community?
PLACE builds sustainable communities, or ecovillages, which include places to live, work, create, and interrelate. Each PLACE community is intended to generate more energy than it uses.
How is PLACE funded?
PLACE is a 501(c)3 publicly-supported charity, which means that donations made to the organization are tax deductible. In addition to private donations and grants from foundations and corporations, PLACE receives funding for its projects from local, state and federal governmental entities. The PLACE organization also collects fees from the development and operation of its projects, speaking engagements, and consulting efforts. You can donate to our efforts by clicking here.
PLACE's mission is to build sustainable communities, power them with the sun, wind and Earth, fill them with art and culture, create them together with the people, and make them affordable to everyone.
Our vision is to build communities that dramatically improve the quality of life for people and the vitality of the Earth.
Question to ponder: What if you went in your mind to your "happy place?" What if you were already there?
PLACE pledges to every community our commitment to following our nine principles of ethical development:
1. Keeping Our Word. You many rely on PLACE to honor our agreements.
2. Cultivating Authentic Community Participation. Developments affect community life in profound ways. Many barriers disrupt real citizen involvement. A process to encourage authentic community participation can improve developments and increase civic “ownership” of projects.
3. Ensuring Efficient Leveraging of Community Resources. Developments, especially those using public land or funds, or benefitting from significant direct or indirect public subsidy, must produce and demonstrate real and lasting public benefit commensurate with the level of public investment.
4. Creating Prevailing Wage/Living Wage Jobs. All aspects of development and operation seek to create living wage and prevailing wage jobs, promote social justice and adopt consensus-based standards that respect workers’ rights (see ILO Declaration).
5. To Guarantee a Reasonable Rate of Return. A mutually-agreed rate of return from the outset will provide protection and reduce risk for both communities and developers.
6. Developing and Operating to Environmentally Responsible Standards. LEED® and comparable rating systems will provide verifiable standards for environmentally-sound development.
7. Respecting the Community’s Cultural & Historical Resources. Understanding and responding appropriately to the cultural landscape of your community and its history will multiply the positive impacts of development.
8. Requiring Transparency. Development organizations will open business models and operating practices to the public and create tracking systems of activities for independent audit.
9. Approving a Vision-Driven Process and Purpose. Developments will open themselves to community purpose and vision. Adopting a public framework for developments will improve impacts and market support.
Community Empowerment: PLACE should empower people to participate in a development process that affects their community
Creativity & The Arts: Every community deserves to be filled with creativity, art and culture
Responsibility to the Earth: Every community should be built to the highest known standards of environmental responsibility
Human Flourishing: Every community should provide equitable opportunities for people of all kinds to thrive
Innovation. PLACE projects should demonstrate leading-edge technologies and practices
Chris Velasco, President
Chris Velasco is the President and Executive Director of PLACE. Chris has been actively engaged in the creation of innovative communities and sustainable facilities for sixteen years. He has worked in over two hundred communities, and has been a leader in the creation of over $350 million of new facilities. Chris worked to develop some of the nation’s early leasehold housing cooperatives for artists. His projects have won numerous awards from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the American Institute of Architects and more. Chris was recently invited to submit an opinion paper to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton on environmental policy for her Strategic Energy Fund. Chris is a frequent keynote speaker in the areas of sustainable arts, live/work communities, ethical development, community and economic revitalization and the environment.
Elizabeth Bowling
Elizabeth has advanced degrees in law and public policy, focusing on community economic development. She is published in the prestigious Minnesota Law Review on the topic of affordable housing as a tool for metropolitan development, integration, and social justice. In addition to her work as an attorney, Elizabeth has participated in the development of several arts-related facilities, design and implementation of social services programs, and the creation of two charter schools. She has served on the board of an artist cooperative, and currently chairs the board of Anodyne Artists Company, a supportive day studio for artists with disabilities.
Tim Duffy
Founder and head of Duffy Creative, Tim has twenty years experience in designing and building affordable commercial and housing spaces for large, national corporations and small businesses. Tim recently designed and built locations for the national expansion of Kuhlman Company. He is considered a national expert in the area of creative design. Tim also is the developer/owner of the world-class Fusion Life Spa in Deephaven, Minnesota.
Peter Sieve
From 2004 to 2007, Peter managed the Consulting & New Projects arm of Artspace Projects, Inc., working to develop affordable arts-related projects with dozens of communities across the nation, initiating feasibility studies and launching broad market studies. He studied fiction writing at St. Olaf College and is an active musician, touring the country extensively with his band, Rogue Valley. Peter is passionate about the betterment of communities through smart growth, green design, the arts and affordable housing.
Kerri Stahlecker Hermann
Kerri is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School. Her legal career includes twelve years of practice with the Office of the Minnesota Attorney General. At the Attorney General’s Office, Kerri represented government clients in various areas of law including transportation, contracts, welfare benefits, child welfare, affirmative action, and mental health. Kerri also taught an appellate advocacy class at the William Mitchell Law School, and provided continuing legal education to other lawyers. Additionally, she has been actively engaged in pro bono work throughout her career, including work for Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights. Kerri and her husband own a real estate development company that focuses on rehabilitating homes.
Chris Velasco, President/Secretary
PLACE
100 Portland Avenue South
Suite 100
Minneapolis, MN 55401
Garth Rockcastle, Vice President
Dean, University of Maryland School of Architecture
College Park, Maryland 20742
Jonathan Pearlstein, Treasurer
President, RE Consult Inc.
P.O. Box 448
North Bend, WA 98045
Romulo E. Samaniego
Real Estate Broker, Global Realty, LLC
217 Barker Street
Hartford, CT 06114
Kristin Hanson
Vice President, Ehlers Public Finance
3060 Centre Pointe Drive
Roseville, MN 55113-1105
Elizabeth Bowling
Owner, Elizabeth B. Bowling, pllc
300 Lumber Exchange
10 South 5th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55402
Dr. Charles Raison
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Clinical Director of the Mind-Body Program
Emory University School of Medicine
1380 Oxford Road, NE
Atlanta GA 30322
Loren Henning
Chief, Air Force and DoE Section
Environmental Protection Agency
Mail Code SFD81 75 Hawthorne Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
