Course purchase includes a complimentary download of the new "12 Steps to Town Making" workbook — a $30 value.

The vacant storefront on Main Street… 

The abandoned house a few blocks over…

The aging shopping center you pass on your way to work…


Where others see decline and neglect, you see possibility. You’re not crazy; you’re a town maker.

Set Yourself Up for Small-Development Success
Build your credibility icon
Build Your Credibility
Assess yourself, find your place, and build relationships first
Build your team icon
Build Your Team
Tips for assembling your list of go-to real estate experts
Build your financing icon
Build Your Financing
Get your house in order and attract the funds for your first project
Build your momentum icon
Build Your Momentum
Find the ideal starter project to get your flywheel turning
Build your systems icon
Build Your Systems
Guidance on construction management, finding tenants, and managing leases
Build your legacy icon
Build Your Legacy
Pay it forward and create a more vibrant community
Course purchase includes a complimentary download of the new "12 Steps to Town Making" workbook — a $30 value.
“Neighborhood Evolution is a very timely and much needed resource for individuals wanting to make a difference in their community for small business and housing redevelopment. The training program is created by leaders who have had their boots on the ground and by creative trial and error have produced an essential guidebook for community leaders and incremental developers to charge forward with neighborhood revitalization and business growth.”
Gary Benedix
President, Fusion Alternative Funding LLC | South Bend, IN

Meet Your Instructors

We’re doers who teach and coach. We understand the frustration and the joy of small-scale development because we live it every day. The 12 steps you’ll learn in this course worked for us. They still do. That’s how we know they’ll work for you, too.

Monte Anderson

Revitalizing suburban commercial

Bernice Radle

Historic renovations

Jim Kumon

New construction housing and greenbuilding

Mike Keen

Neighborhood scale urban infill and renovations

Don’t Let Your First Project Be Your Last

Even in small-scale development, rookie mistakes come with a hefty price tag.


  • Ignorance of zoning laws: $11,000 of delays and extra costs
  • DIY’d the accounting: fined $660 for missing tax forms
  • Bought a cheap building but couldn’t afford structural repairs: out $50,000+ with no buyers in sight
  • Went to a home insurance agent instead of a real estate insurance broker: missed out on $27,000 in savings
  • House demolished due to unseen city orders: lost $9,000
  • Skipped building permits for renovation: an embarrassing visit from the inspector


Invest in a firm foundation and save yourself thousands.

Course purchase includes a complimentary download of the new "12 Steps to Town Making" workbook — a $30 value.

“Because of Neighborhood Evolution, DAHC has nearly completed pre-development for its project and—for the first time since it began in 1996—feels like it has the skills, resources, and confidence it needs to build the affordable housing Denton—and cities just like it across the United States—so desperately need.”
Jacob Moses
Executive Director, Denton Affordable Housing Corporation | Denton, TX

Frequently Asked Questions

This is a 3.25 hour course and offers 3.25 hours of AICP credits.

This class is a great foundation for understanding the proper steps to become a small—to medium-sized community-oriented developer, or town maker, as we like to call it. We hope the class can start you on this path or keep you going; but there is so much to learn in this field—far more than we can cover in a 4 hour course.

It always helps to have money, but even if you do not, this course will show you how to attract the right people with money who can help you.

Yes, this course will teach you how to create an eco-system of local entrepreneurial developers that actually care about the place they live, so you don't always have to give away large amounts of taxpayer grants to attract out-of-towners who are only there for the money.

Yes, definitely! This course's principle is how to improve your place by creating the right environment around you to accomplish goals that most only dream of.

“NEVO consultants are skilled practitioners with a wealth of real-world experience and are able to breakdown complex or seemingly overwhelming processes into small steps, using straight forward language, that anyone can follow. I cannot recommend them highly enough, South Bend’s aspirations as a “comeback” city are being realized thanks in large part to Neighborhood Evolution.”
Willow Wetherall
Executive Director, Downtown South Bend, Inc. | South Bend, IN
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