The Nash Group LLC

10/15/2026

What does it really take to build on the East Side?

At the 2026 Heartland Developer Summit, we pulled back the curtain on The Mabion. These are a few moments from our panel, "Developing Integrated Supportive Housing: Lessons from The Mabion."

"If you don't shift the atmosphere and bring a reality into the area, then you're going to have the same junk all the time." Raymond Mabion

"When you own land, you can build things on it." Ray Mabion II

"How many people did they actually end homelessness for?" Heather Bradley-Geary

And here is the part nobody puts in the brochure: relationships. I had two Melissas. Councilmember Melissa Robinson was our champion, and Councilmember Melissa Patterson Hazley. As Ray put it, show up for the community and "you get yeses on your end when you need it."

To be in this game you need knowledge, land or money. I lacked two of the three. I read, I learned, and it got me to the table.

You can do it.

Thank you, Mr. Mabion, Ray and Heather. Thank you to Marvin Lyman and Geoff Jolley, The Vecino Group, Alpha Development, Health Forward Foundation and LISC Greater Kansas City.

10/14/2026

One week ago, we cut the ribbon on The Mabion. Today, we told its story.

At the 2026 Heartland Developer Summit at the Kauffman Foundation, I joined Raymond Mabion and Ray Mabion II of J Gordon Community Development Corp, with Heather Bradley-Geary of the Corporation for Supportive Housing, for "Developing Integrated Supportive Housing: Lessons from The Mabion."

The Mabion family are pillars of this city. They put their land into this deal and helped create one of the most magnificent developments on the East Side.

That is where real development starts. Not with a building, but with people who believe their community deserves the best.

We talked about what it really takes: the capital stack, the partners, and the supportive services that turn housing into a foundation for a life.

Mr. Mabion and Ray, thank you for your trust, your vision and your commitment. Heather, thank you for bringing this story to the room.

Special thanks to Councilmember Melissa Robinson and Councilmember Melissa Patterson Hazley for their leadership in the 3rd District.

Thank you to Marvin Lyman and Geoff Jolley for putting on such a great program, to Jennifer Tidwell, to our partners at The Vecino Group, and to Alpha Development, one of Kansas City's premier real estate consulting firms.

Thank you to Health Forward Foundation for funding the Summit, to LISC Greater Kansas City for presenting it, and to Equitable Development Partners, the Heartland Black Chamber of Commerce, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City, Pathway Financial Education, and ULI Kansas City for collaborating on it.

05/03/2026

Strategy. Impact. Results.

The Nash Group is now accepting new consulting engagements.

We help developers, cities, and nonprofits turn ambitious housing and real estate ideas into projects that actually get built, and communities that actually get stronger.

Our consulting services:

- Affordable Housing Development
- Infrastructure Consulting
- Urban Planning Consulting
- Real Estate Advisory
- Market Analysis & Feasibility
- Community Engagement
- Deal Structuring
- Expert & Advisory Services

Track record: 254+ affordable units, $100M+ in development costs, three active markets, and decades of public-sector and academic leadership behind every recommendation.

If you're planning a project, evaluating a site, structuring a deal, or trying to bring a stalled vision back to life, we should talk.

Partner with us at nashdg.com

04/24/2026

A reflection from our Co-Founder, Dr. Troy Nash:

"I keep a picture on my desk of the little boy I used to be. Hand-me-down sweater. Section 8 apartment. No blueprint for the life I'm living now.

I look at him some mornings and I tell him the truth. You will be misunderstood. You will be underestimated. You will be counted out more times than you can count. But you will also be protected. You will be guided. And every hard chapter you are about to live will become the exact foundation for the work you are meant to do.

To the parent reading this who is wondering whether your child can make it out: yes. To the young person reading this who has been told your zip code is your ceiling: no.

Zip codes do not determine destinies. Decisions do. Discipline does. Faith does. And one adult in your corner who refuses to let you fall through the cracks can change the entire trajectory of your life.

I am still that kid. Just with more gray in his beard and more scars on his back. Keep going. You are closer than you think."

— Dr. Troy Nash, CEO and Co-Founder, The Nash Group

04/14/2026

What We Wish We Knew Before Getting Into Affordable Housing Development

Nine degrees. 35+ years. Kansas City City Council. 254+ units across three markets.

And we still got caught off guard more times than we care to admit.

Affordable housing development is not a real estate business. It is a relationship and finance business that happens to produce buildings. Here is what we mean:

1. Relationships are your first source of capital. Before you secure a single dollar, you need lenders, syndicators, city housing officials, and CDFI program officers who trust you. Those relationships take years to build and seconds to lose.

2. Nobody teaches you how to layer financing. LIHTC, HOME funds, CDBG, TIF, gap financing, deferred developer fees, soft debt from local trust funds. A single deal might require five or six sources just to close. Assembling that capital stack is where most developers either level up or wash out.

3. Your pro forma is a guess until it isn't. Rent projections, absorption timelines, operating costs. They all look great in a spreadsheet. Reality is a different story. Stress test every assumption because the market will test them for you.

4. Political capital is as valuable as financial capital. A letter of support from the right neighborhood leader or a relationship with the right council member can unlock funding that no spreadsheet can access.

5. The developers who survive are the ones who move slowly. Patient money wins in this space. Every time.

This is why we created Affordable Housing Development 101. Not a lecture. A real foundation for the people who want to do this work and do it right.

June 6, 2026 | Live on Zoom | $249
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/affordable-housing-development-101-live-virtual-course-by-dr-troy-nash-tickets-1987177569604

Dr. Troy Nash & Arielle Nash
Co-Founders, The Nash Group LLC

Learn the basics of affordable housing development live online with Dr. Troy Nash—easy, fun, and super practical!

04/04/2026

The FY2027 HUD Budget Is an Assault on the American Dream. Full Stop.
Today the Trump Administration released its Fiscal Year 2027 budget proposal and what it proposes for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is nothing short of a declaration of war against the most vulnerable Americans among us.
$10.7 BILLION in HUD cuts.
$3.3 BILLION Community Development Block Grant program ELIMINATED.
$1.25 BILLION HOME Investment Partnerships Program ELIMINATED.
2.3 MILLION families, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities CUT OFF from rental assistance.
67% cut to homelessness programs.
A two year cap on rental assistance for able bodied adults.
This is not fiscal responsibility. This is fiscal cruelty dressed up in a spreadsheet.
I have spent 35 years building affordable housing. Over 254 units. More than $100 million in development value. I know what it takes to house people and I know exactly what happens when the federal government walks away from its responsibility to do so.
CDBG has been the backbone of neighborhood revitalization for nearly 50 years. HOME is one of the primary federal tools we use to actually build affordable housing. Section 8 vouchers keep families housed. And this administration wants to gut all of it.
Block granting rental assistance to states is not "flexibility." It is abandonment. It means transferring the burden to states that in many cases have neither the capacity, the infrastructure, nor the political will to administer these programs.
To my colleagues in housing and community development: this is the moment. We cannot afford to be passive. Contact your members of Congress. Show up at every hearing, every town hall, every appropriations markup.
Housing is not a privilege. It is a human right.
I wrote a full article breaking down every devastating cut in this budget. Read it here: https://www.linkedin.com/.../fy2027-hud-budget-assault.../