The Housing Solution Hidden in Plain Sight
Courtesy of Kipling Development
Already Built, Already Affordable
When's the last time you knocked on a stranger's door to ask for something? For most people, the answer is probably never—or at least not since Halloween as a kid. But Cecily King is building Kipling Development this way, sourcing deals by networking in underserved communities and connecting with retiring landlords.
Kipling bridges the gap between subsidized low-income housing and luxury market-rate developments. The firm specializes in acquiring and remodeling naturally occurring affordable housing, which are properties that serve middle-income earners, such as teachers, healthcare workers, and young professionals. In other words, the demographic that’s often priced out of both ends of the housing spectrum.
In this episode, Cecily outlines how her approach defies traditional development wisdom. She focuses on thoughtful remodeling over new construction, relationship-building over institutional marketing, and community stewardship over maximizing profit. From her background as a structural engineer to her current role acquiring properties like Trumbull Terrace, a 28-unit development in Detroit, Cecily demonstrates how targeted preservation can address America's missing middle-income housing crisis.
What emerges from Cecily's experience is a fundamental challenge facing the industry. Most rental housing in America is owned by individual families and small partnerships, not corporations. Yet the capital needed to maintain these properties often flows only to institutional players. Her success in navigating this disconnect reveals both the barriers and breakthroughs that define community-level housing preservation.
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Watch on YouTube
“There’s a lot of America that falls in the middle. You don’t make enough money to afford luxury, you make too much money to be supported, and yet, that’s where a lot of our housing sits. The majority of rental housing in United States is actually owned by ‘mom and pops’. They’re not owned by corporations. They’re owned by people like my grandmother who own property and price the rent based on what they think the community can afford or what they need to charge in order to pay their mortgage and property taxes.”
Courtesy of Kipling Development
Credit: Kipling Development
About Cecily King
Cecily is the founder of Kipling Development, a real estate development and consulting firm committed to inclusive and transformative development projects that create housing equity and access in major US urban centers. Since 2015, the majority of her work has been centered in Detroit, MI.
Throughout her real estate career, Cecily has held roles in the public, private, and non-profit sectors that have given her a diverse perspective of the deal table. Leadership roles have included serving as a Development Director for the City of Detroit’s Housing & Revitalization Department and the executive director for a Detroit community development corporation. Her professional focus is leveraging real estate as a tool in the social and economic repair and growth of communities of color. She specializes in public private partnerships, real estate finance, community redevelopment strategies, and real estate entrepreneurship.
Cecily King is an Associate Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia GSAPP where she teaches courses on real estate development, community and economic development, and urban revitalization strategy.
Cecily holds an MS in Real Estate Development from Columbia University, an MEng in Structural Engineering from Lehigh University, and a BSE in Civil & Environmental Engineering from Princeton University. She serves on several boards and advisory councils including the Real Estate Executive Council (REEC), Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center Ambassadors Circle, the Columbia GSAPP Alumni Board, and is a member of ULI.
Courtesy of Kipling Development
Episode Outline
(02:34) Cecily’s evolution from structural engineer to decision-maker in real estate
(06:01) Examples of how infrastructure creates lasting housing inequality across American cities
(10:00) Serving the "missing middle" that's priced out of both affordable and luxury housing
(18:37) Acquiring Trumbull Terrace, a half-finished renovation in Detroit's core
(24:10) Why acquisition beats new construction for managing risk and tariff volatility
(32:33) Relationship-building strategies to source deals off-market
(37:15) Stacking public financing from HUD programs and local tax incentives
(41:47) Raising private capital and scaling from friends-and-family to institutional investors
About your host:
Atif Qadir is a licensed architect and entrepreneur, interested in solving big problems through innovation and technology. He has founded two proptech companies and a real estate development firm, building products ranging from software to workforce housing.
His work has been covered by Technology Review, The Real Deal, Commercial Observer, and Propmodo. He’s also a frequent speaker on the future of buildings and cities on popular industry podcasts and at conferences, including this past year at the Commercial Observer National DEI Conference, Yale AREA Conference, Columbia Real Estate Symposium, Open Data Week NYC and Austin Design Week.
About Michael Graves
The world-famous design firm Michael Graves is also a founding sponsor of American Building. Its namesake, the iconoclastic designer Michael Graves, FAIA was a fierce advocate for people-centric design. His work defines a generation of American architecture and includes the Portland Building, the Humana Building and the Denver Public Library. The 1st season of American Building was filmed live at The Warehouse, his historic home in Princeton, New Jersey:
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
Did you love this episode? Let us know by rating and review our show on Apple Podcasts. It’s easy - simply click this link, click on Listen on Apple Podcasts, scroll to the bottom of the page, and select “Write a Review”. Let us know what you liked best about the episode, and what others can expect when they listen to our show.
While you’re at it, consider subscribing to American Building. When you subscribe, you can guarantee you never miss a conversation with one our renowned designers, architects, and developers. Subscribe now!