Ivory Innovations has announced four winners across three categories in its annual Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability.
The Ivory Prize recognizes innovative, feasible, and scalable addressing the nation’s affordability crisis. The 2026 winners are delivering real-world, implementable, replicable solutions in pre-apprenticeship classrooms, city zoning codes, tax abatements, and revolving loan funds.
The winners and runners-up for the 2026 Ivory Prize were selected from a field of more than 200 nominations and 25 finalists. Selection of winners are made by Ivory Innovation’s Advisory Board, which includes experts and leaders nationally from across the housing industry.
The 2026 Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability honorees include:
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Construction and Design Winner: TradesFutures
The workforce nonprofit supports the country’s largest network of construction pre-apprenticeship programs through a standardized curriculum aligned with apprenticeship readiness. TradesFutures has a focus on recruiting women, veterans, and individuals from underserved communities. By helping expand the skilled labor pipeline, TradesFutures is addressing one of the most persistent drivers of rising construction costs.
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Policy Co-Winner: City of Chattanooga: Affordable Housing PILOT
This per-unit tax abatement program incentivizes mixed-income affordable housing production without direct public subsidy. The city of Chattanooga redesigned its Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) program to tie the value of a property tax abatement to the actual cost of providing affordable units. A publicly available online calculator makes the exchange of tax abatements for affordable units transparent for every applicant.
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Policy Co-Winner: City of New Rochelle: Zoning and Permitting Innovations
The city’s comprehensive zoning, permitting, and public-private development framework has accelerated mixed-income housing production. New Rochelle’s Downtown Overlay Zone, form-based codes, and streamlined 90-day approval process for compliant projects have catalyzed the creation of approximately 4,500 new homes since 2020.
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Finance Winner: City of Boston: Acquisition Fund
A public-private revolving loan fund provides rapid, low-cost acquisition financing to help mission-driven developers preserve naturally occurring affordable housing and prevent displacement. Administered by the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation (MHIC) and backed by a coalition of public agencies, hospitals, and philanthropies, the Boston Acquisition Fund offers below-market-rate loans with streamlined underwriting, enabling nonprofit developers and community land trusts to compete with speculative investors. The fund is targeting the acquisition of 500 homes and the protection of more than 1,500 residents from displacement in its first five years.
The 2026 Ivory Prize runners-up are Type Five and BoulderMOD in Construction and Design; Illinois Housing Development Authority: Access Plus and Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta: TogetherATL and GoATL Funds in Finance; and State of Colorado: Innovative Housing Incentive Program and City of Philadelphia and Housing Initiative at Penn: PHL Housing+ in Policy.
For additional information about the winners, visit ivoryinnovations.org/ivory-prize-2026-winners.
