We use cookies. TestFit celebrates 10 years and launches free platform access for cities ready to build more housing. BISWIRE/April 9, 2026 - TestFit, the real estate development decisioning platform used to evaluate more than 3,200 deals per week, today marks its 10th anniversary with an offer of free one-year platform access for cities working to address housing supply through smarter zoning. For a limited time, qualifying cities can apply at no cost. Built Different From Day One TestFit was founded in 2016 by Clifton Harness, who trained as an architect and worked for a developer before building the technology to solve the problem he lived firsthand: feasibility was slow, disconnected from financial reality, and almost entirely manual. The platform he and co-founder Ryan Griege built runs on a single principle - Generate | Edit | Decide. Where earlier generative design tools required specialists to script custom workflows in programs like Dynamo or Grasshopper, TestFit delivers a zoning-compliant, financially grounded site layout in seconds. Every output is the result of a purpose-built solver working through real constraints - actual zoning rules, real parking ratios, code-compliant circulation - not a pattern suggested by a model. The result is geometry that is auditable and defensible at the moment a capital decision has to be made. Users then iterate in real time: adjust unit mix, move buildings, change parking assumptions, and watch the pro forma update alongside the geometry. That loop runs 30x faster than prior automation approaches, not because of optimization, but because TestFit's building engine was designed from the ground up for real-time feasibility, not adapted from a CAD or BIM foundation built for later-stage design. "We wanted to give teams a credible starting plan before they've even opened the zoning ordinance, then stay out of their way while they made it better," said Harness, CEO of TestFit. Why that speed changes everything: when a tool takes long enough that teams have to context-switch, they run fewer tests, save "what if" questions for later, and stop experimenting. When the loop is fast, something flips. Feasibility becomes a live, creative, and decision-making surface - teams test ideas as they come up, compare tradeoffs while everyone is still aligned, and keep momentum through the messy middle of early planning. They don't just go faster. They go wider, exploring options they simply wouldn't have had time to consider before. Over a decade, more than half of the top 10 U.S. multifamily developers have adopted the platform. Customers report saving more than $4,000 per feasibility study and redirecting an average of 17 hours per project to higher-value work. Cities Are Already Using It Forward-thinking planning offices discovered TestFit on their own. Jarrett Lash, the sole Township Planner for Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania, uses it to test density scenarios, model stormwater impacts, and demonstrate zoning tradeoffs live in public meetings with elected officials. "Policy should reflect the reality of getting things built," said Lash. "TestFit helps us meet in the middle between what we want for our communities and what pencils for developments." Putting the Right Tool in the Hands of Planners Upzoning, rezoning, and corridor planning decisions are too often made without a clear picture of what a policy change actually produces on the ground. TestFit lets planners visualize what zoning allows - not just on a single parcel, but across an entire corridor - modeling specific unit types, flexible parking ratios, and the financial relationship between the two. Adjust a parking minimum, see how the unit count responds. Shift density allowances, watch the pro forma follow. Planners can test dozens of configurations before a single text amendment is drafted, and arrive at the table with analysis that shows exactly what the proposed policy builds and whether it pencils. "The housing conversation in most cities is stuck because nobody has a real answer to the simplest question: what can actually be built here, and will it work financially?" said Laura Paciano, Chief Growth Officer at TestFit. "Making TestFit free for cities means no planning office has to choose between getting the right answer and staying in budget."

As TestFit scales rapidly, Laura Paciano appointed Chief Growth Officer. TestFit DALLAS, TX - February 6, 2026 - TestFit, the leading real estate development feasibility platform, today announced the appointment of Laura Paciano as Chief Growth Officer (CGO). Paciano will lead a newly unified growth organization, bringing together TestFit's product, sales, marketing, and customer support teams. This integrated approach supports the accelerated adoption across real estate development, architecture, and construction industries. The appointment coincides with TestFit's 10th anniversary, marking a decade of building software that helps teams make faster, more confident development decisions. From its early beginnings, TestFit has remained focused on solving real problems in early-stage feasibility. Paciano has been a key leader at TestFit, known for her ability to connect strategy to execution. She has an impressive history at early-stage startups, leading them through hyper-growth to eventual IPOs. "During a business trip in Chicago, Laura challenged my thinking and helped me see that we weren't trying to disrupt BIM - we were creating a new category altogether," said Clifton Harness, Co-Founder and CEO of TestFit. "Since then, I've watched her bring clarity and focus to an early founder vision, turning it into a category-defining company." Over her 20-year career in product-led software companies, Paciano has led cross-functional teams through complex growth challenges. Her approach emphasizes strong product fundamentals, clear positioning, and close collaboration - principles she will continue to apply in her expanded role at TestFit. In 2024, Paciano was recognized by The Software Report as one of The Top 50 Women Leaders in Software, highlighting her leadership and influence within the technology industry. "TestFit is at a pivotal moment, with growing demand for tools that help teams balance cost, constructability, and design to help achieve investment goals," said Paciano. "I'm grateful for the trust the founders and leadership team have placed in me, and I'm excited to help scale the company in a way that stays true to our product, our customers, and our culture." As Chief Growth Officer, Paciano will focus on strengthening go-to-market execution while deepening customer relationships and supporting continued product innovation as TestFit expands globally. TestFit Now in 175+ Universities, Preparing the Next Generation of Designers and Developers TestFit Powers the Future of Retail Expansion for DICK'S Sporting Goods and The Home Depot TestFit Named to Will Reed's Top 100 Class of 2024 Reduce risk. Increase potential. Explore TestFit's Real Estate Feasibility Platform today.