About Haven
ha·ven :: a place of safety or refuge.
Based in Durham, North Carolina, Haven was founded in 2016 as a social enterprise dedicated to increasing the quantity and quality of housing options for under-served communities. Haven’s founders have backgrounds in architecture, construction, real estate, and business management. The firm continues to be dedicated to the same core mission with an integral commitment to positive social, economic, and environmental impact.
Haven is an award winning certified BCorp based in Durham, NC. We focus on implementing a holistic approach to affordable housing, economic prosperity and community development. Haven’s work is predominantly located in under-served, vulnerable and/or disadvantaged communities Our services include real estate development + consulting, architecture + land planning, and construction management + implementation. Our team has worked on a wide variety of high impact, community-centric projects, such as; mixed-use multifamily developments, historic preservation/restoration, adaptive reuse, urban infill, public-private partnerships, traditional affordable housing, and much more.
Purpose Statement
Haven exists to increase the quantity and quality of housing options for under-served communities.
Impact Focus Area
Creating buildings that will last for generations has a big impact on individuals, communities, and the environment. Haven believes that, together with our clients, we can create places where all stakeholders can thrive. Within our firm and in every project, our operations have been designed to achieve a positive impact on individual welfare and community resilience.
Individual Welfare
Quality Housing Options
Haven is committed to creating a wide variety of housing types to serve a wide variety of households, providing quality housing options to people who often have unique needs.
Prioritizing Human Health
Haven is committed to designing our projects to prioritize human health through strategies such as maximizing natural light, connections to nature, universal design for aging in place, nontoxic materials, and indoor air quality.
Foster Financial Flourishing
Haven is committed to enhance the financial wellbeing of our stakeholders by being a lowbarrier employer, investing in professional development, paying a living wage minimum with a maximum pay cap to limit pay stratification, and prioritizing local and historically underutilized business participation on every project.
Community Resilience
Increasing Housing Quantity
Haven is committed to increasing the amount of housing in our community with a focused effort to prevent and/or reverse displacement in at-risk neighborhoods.
Healthy Buildings + Environment
Haven is committed to a high standard of environmental stewardship utilizing sustainable building practices to create high performance projects. We believe it’s essential to consider whole systems, including things such as energy consumption/production, water use, material lifecycle, carbon footprint, indoor air quality, and site impact.
Foster Social Flourishing
Haven is committed to promoting strong and healthy communities with richness of culture by creating housing with complimentary uses which promote economic development and civic engagement.
News
Awards
Firm CulturE
Haven is committed to creating an accessible, welcoming, inclusive, and respectful environment that supports the success of staff with diverse backgrounds and experiences. We believe that our work is more successful and impactful when our workforce is representative of the communities that our work serves. We strive to create a workplace where our team is empowered and flourishing, doing their best work and multiplying their impact. We believe that our firm can be a powerful platform for positive impact only when we recognize and respect the innate value of every person.
Fair Pay Policies
Haven is committed to paying a “Living Wage” minimum and has adopted a Maximum Compensation policy to limit pay stratification between the firm’s lowest and highest earners in order to maximize positive social impact, team cohesiveness, and earnest connections to the communities we serve. Haven utilizes a quantitative calculation to determine base pay for individuals at all levels of employment in order to achieve as objective compensation as possible.
Work/Life Balance + Flexibility
Haven recognizes different employees may have unique needs and preferences regarding work schedules and we offer flexible or alternative work schedules to our staff based on a mutual agreement between the employee, their coworkers, and supervisors. Haven prioritizes work/life balance for all staff and we create an environment which constantly considers a reasonable balance between capacity and workload.
Professional Development
Haven is committed to the long term personal and professional success of each employee and prioritizes internal mobility of our current staff into greater leadership roles. Towards this end, Haven provides periodic reviews and personalized growth plans as well as dedicated funds towards continuing education opportunities and professional certifications/licenses.
Community Involvement
Haven is committed to supporting our local community and encourages all staff to participate in volunteer activities which promote the success of all citizens, especially those who are vulnerable and under-served. At least bi-annually, the management team coordinates a firm-wide paid volunteering event in our community. Additionally, Haven is dedicated to create a low barrier bidding environment for contractors and subcontractors, to prioritize local and historically underutilized businesses (HUBs).
Firm Values
Expert Guides
We value people who hold a long-term vision, seeking to grow as experts so they can share their wisdom for the sake of others as helpful guides. We value people who are insatiably curious and constantly learning, who strive to gain knowledge and seek excellence in every aspect of their lives, but especially in the work they do. People who are able to distill their expert knowledge and communicate complex concepts simply so that others can understand.
Tenacious Contributor
We value people with inherent drive, who embrace their work and can function autonomously while diligently seeking out guidance and assistance when needed. People who are accountable and take ownership of their role and the work at hand. Their work becomes unique because it is flavored by who they are as a person.They are loyal to their commitments, they do what they say they will do and stand by the quality of their work and by the character by which it was done.
Proactive Problem Solvers
We value people who have a propensity for action. They are proactive problem solvers, naturally ambitious and hardworking, able to direct their energy wisely. They enthusiastically endeavor into the future, with the ability to prioritize important items with a sense of urgency. They identify core issues and meet challenges with courage and creativity. They are earnest and humble in failure, willing to shoulder the responsibility and taking the opportunity to grow.
Relational Collaborators
We value people who have an innate ability to relate to and collaborate with others, especially people who disagree or who are different. People who can work towards the highest good without forcing their own way, who are not combative in relationships but rather respectful and diplomatic. They see value in others and have a sincere interest in other’s success. They seek to work relationally and not transactionally, building partnerships to accomplish goals. People who can navigate relationships to be productive, effective, and creating win-win scenarios.