Kian’s Summer at Villa

By: Kian Crawford, Villa Development Intern

Education and Background at the University of Utah

My name is Kian Crawford and I am a student at the University of Utah pursuing a degree in Finance. During the 2023-2024 academic year, I had the privilege of interning at Ivory Innovations where I gained valuable insights into the housing industry and became passionate about finding solutions to affordability and accessibility in this space. It has been quite the experience, and I'm grateful for all the skills, friends, and progress I made along the way.

Villa Homes’ Approach To Housing

Villa Homes’ affordable and prefabricated infill Development

This past summer, I interned with Villa Homes, the most recent recipient of the Ivory Innovations “Ivory Prize” in the Construction and Design category. Villa aims to be the easiest, fastest, and most cost-efficient way to approach homebuilding. With a focus on infill locations using prefabricated construction, Villa is shaping the future of homebuilding and will continue to play a crucial role in addressing America's housing availability challenges.

Kian’s Time at Villa Homes in Utah

Building professional Skills & Applying Market Research to Expand Housing Developments

While my emphasis as a student is in real estate and finance, I am fortunate that this internship gave me exposure to a wide array of tasks that have furthered both my professional and technical skills. In my role, I worked on a market research project to track housing and economic metrics across America’s top 100 metropolitan areas. Using this data, I proposed markets for Villa to consider for expansion. I also worked closely with the Head of Development and Director of Acquisitions to delve into the nuances of real estate through weekly meetings. I found great value in creating investment memos, comp sheets, and conducting general research to aid in Villa’s Development process.

Opportunity for Growth with Ivory Innovations

I could not be happier with the internship journey Ivory Innovations has provided me thus far. Being a small part of an organization that will undoubtedly shape the future of housing (Villa) was extremely rewarding and made possible through my student associate role at Ivory Innovations. I could not be more grateful for the experience I have had at both of these organizations, and I am excited to take the skills I've learned here into my future endeavors!