THE STORY

What is the philosophy behind what we do?

Third Rock Development Company builds sustainable communities and provides excellent returns to investors based on rooting development in stable and growing environments. While many other developers use “cookie-cutter” approaches to constructing housing, commercial, recreational, and public spaces, Third Rock engages communities through up-front planning, research, and forecasting, as well as initial investments in major upgrades of community projects that respond to the needs of residents. By demonstrating our commitment to serving the whole community by investing in hospitals, universities, parks, and other community assets, we lay the groundwork for ongoing and sustainable development. Our vision sees sustainability as the key to facilitating lasting positive impacts for our host communities, unlocking realistic returns for our financial investors, as well as steadily accruing real estate value for our customers.

Third Rock was incorporated in the Fall of 2009, but the concept behind it had been germinating for over a decade. Born from the world of scientific research, philanthropic investments in social innovation, and knowledge of finance and capital development, Third Rock has gradually grown into a network of experts in community development, finance, architecture, urban planning, economic development and policy with a shared commitment to urban development that values environmental standards, community involvement, and the need to achieve financial sustainability. Developing communities based on the integration of these principles, Third Rock has made a commitment to creating an alternative process for developing communities with distinctive and strong identities based on historical rootedness, culture, environmental resources, and new technologies.  As our world becomes increasingly integrated, virtual and similar, it is these kinds of communities that provide excitement, connectedness, social fluidity and a great quality of life for all of its residents, whether they be permanent residents, vacationers, or investors. 

In our vision, the creation of these 21st Century Utopias depends on the melding of excellence in research and science, with sensitivity to community aspirations, and financial rigor. As importantly, our projects are financially viable social experiments in creating a desirable future. 

How do we achieve this? The key to unlocking the potential of underserved communities is building good relationships. Thus, our first step in any project is to understand the local communities, leaders, and environment and help articulate the aspirations of these stakeholders through a focus on the “3 E’s”: Economic Development, the Environment, and Social Equity. To articulate these plans with our local partners, Third Rock raises independent funds to engage the resources of the best university planning programs in the world to help us develop visions of the future able to energize all stakeholders and create a critical mass for investing in the future of the broader urban community. Once this larger vision is created, Third Rock identifies a pilot project that is one of the major developments of the site’s 3E vision, but also provides the demonstration project for bringing in additional private investment consistent with the site’s 3E vision. By articulating a vision of a sustainable community, residents become the primary backers of our projects, and the most invested in our success. 

How do we finance our projects? The challenge of implementing our visions is no small one, and we take an aggressive stance towards fundraising. Our philosophy is that every stakeholder should invest according to their ability. This means labor and land contributions from local partners, financial contributions from our investors, and intellectual contributions from our university partners. Our up-front planning process is funded through philanthropic investments and private donors, while our private sector development is supported through investors in emerging markets.