When most people think of real estate development, they picture big.
Big buildings. Big investors. Big cranes. Big risk.
But some of the most powerful, community-centered work in real estate doesn’t happen on that scale. It happens on a small lot, with a local builder, a pencil sketch, a tight budget, and a whole lot of vision.
That’s the space I’m stepping into, and I believe it’s the future.
What Is Incremental Development?
Incremental development is about building at the neighborhood scale, not the skyscraper scale.
It’s duplexes, fourplexes, ADUs. It’s renovating the upstairs unit in a corner store. It’s turning a vacant lot into a walk-up triplex. It’s small apartment buildings that don’t need a parking garage or a multimillion-dollar bond.
It’s also:
Slower
More intentional
Easier to blend into existing communities
Often led by people who live nearby or grew up down the street
This kind of development used to be normal. It’s how many of our historic neighborhoods were built. But over the last 50+ years, zoning laws, financial systems, and development culture have made it harder and harder to build small.
Why It Matters
Big development has its place. But big developers often don’t touch neighborhoods unless the profit margins are high enough. That leaves a gap, and that gap creates disinvestment, vacancy, and lost potential.
That’s where small-scale, incremental developers come in.
We can:
Activate neglected lots
Fill housing gaps that big developers overlook
Work faster and more flexibly
Prioritize quality of life over unit count
Build with the community, not in spite of it
And most importantly: we can reflect the values and needs of the neighborhoods we’re part of.
But Let’s Be Real….It’s Hard
This path isn’t easy.
If you’re not already wealthy or well-connected, becoming a small developer takes hustle, creativity, and a deep understanding of risk. You’re often fighting the same battles big developers fight, just without the deep pockets.
The system isn’t really designed for us:
Construction costs are high
Zoning can block the kind of buildings we want to build
Financing is harder to access when your deal is “too small” for banks
And technical expertise is locked behind gatekeepers
But I believe that’s exactly why this work is worth doing, and worth fighting for.
This Is Where I’m Planting My Flag
I didn’t come into this world with a real estate pedigree or a family legacy in construction.
I came in with questions, curiosity, and a desire to build something that made sense for our communities, Black communities, working-class communities, communities that have been left out of the big plans and passed over by the big money.
I want to build housing that’s rooted in dignity, good design, and long-term impact.
And I want to bring others along, because we need more small developers. People who can walk into a neighborhood, see its strengths, and build in a way that adds, not erases.
Let’s Build the Future….Lot by Lot
Incremental development isn’t about fast wins or flashy headlines.
It’s about staying power.
It’s about trusting process over pressure.
It’s about reclaiming the power to shape where we live, one property, one block, one neighborhood at a time.
I’m still learning. Still connecting dots. Still figuring out where I fit in.
But I’m in this for the long haul.
If you’re in this space, or thinking about entering it, I’d love to connect. Drop a comment, reply to this post, or send me a message. Let’s build this movement from the ground up.
-Desmond
The Emerging Developer