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indieDwell will invest over $2 million to establish first California operation

BRAWLEY,Calif.  , June 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- President of indieDwell, Derek Henderson , today announced that indieDwell, an industry leader in the steel modular housing manufacturing sector, will invest over $2 million to establish its first California manufacturing facility in the City of Brawley . The new 105,000 square foot manufacturing facility and related administrative offices will be constructed by KPRS Construction, project managed by Decro Corporation, and financed by Border Community Capital, Northern Trust Bank, and TransPecos Banks. The town of Brawley successfully competed with other cities and states for the project, which will create approximately 200 jobs when fully operational.

"The affordable housing deficit in California and across our country has deepened amid the pandemic and indieDwell's innovative modular units are an important part of the solution," said Laura Benson Vandeweghe , Chief Innovation Officer of Decro Corporation, a longtime affordable housing advocate and nonprofit developer. "We are proud to welcome this mission-driven company to Brawley and the state of California and look forward to collaborating with indieDwell and the many local partners involved in this project to build strong, resilient, and sustainable communities."

Founded in 2018, indieDwell is a Public Benefit Corporation and a Certified B Corporation with a mission to manufacture healthy, durable, energy efficient, sustainable modular housing to help solve the affordable housing crisis. The company currently has a manufacturing facility in Pueblo, Colorado , and one under construction in Newport News Virginia . indieDwell is committed to paying a living wage with full benefits coupled with profit sharing and ownership for all employees.  "Northern Trust is pleased to participate in our second investment with IndieDwell," said Kim Evans , Head of Corporate Sustainability, Inclusion and Social Impact. "We are impressed by their unique model of creating quality affordable housing paired with job creation and are excited to be part of their expansion to California and the Southwest United States ."

"Quality affordable housing is so important to the well-being of individuals and communities, and so we are thrilled to have an innovative company like indieDwell create good jobs and strengthen our affordable housing network in California and the neighboring states," said James Schmid , Principal of Border Community Capital and CEO of their affiliated entity, Chelsea Investment Corporation which provided a new market tax credit allocation to the project. "We thank indieDwell for its investment and for creating 200 new jobs in Brawley ."

"We selected Brawley for our expansion after considering a number of different locations," said Pete Gombert , Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of indieDwell. "Our Brawley facility is strategically located in the Southwest region with easy access to four major metropolitan areas and over 40 million people within 500 miles. Most importantly, the Imperial Valley offers a strong workforce and phenomenal partnership opportunities. Workforce development is one of indieDwell's guiding principles, and our sincere desire is to work with our community partners to create new jobs and construction trade training."

"With the incredible shortage of affordable housing in California , we are more than pleased to partner with innovative companies like indieDwell to address this issue," said Ted Handel , the CEO of Decro Corporation. "When fully operational, the indieDwell manufacturing facility is expected to produce at least 300-500 new housing and rental units per year, a significant step forward in opening new quality, energy efficient, affordable housing opportunities."

"This project could not come at a better time as we work toward long-term recovery from COVID-19," said Tyler Salcido , City Manager of Brawley . "Diversification of our economy has always been a goal, but it is even more critical now.  This is a win for Brawley and the entire region, and I am grateful for the work done by Brawley native Laura Benson Vandeweghe and Ted Handel of Decro to bring indieDwell to our area."

Contact: Chloe Gatta , [email protected]  

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