Katrina Romatowski is, in her own words, a curious human being, and she has spent 30 years in real estate unable to stop building. Everything she does lives on one continuum: if it involves the dirt under your feet or the roof over your head, she is in it. That continuum is three ventures. 
Katrina Eileen Real Estate, her brokerage. reSpace, her co-homeownership company. And Level Up, a nonprofit she co-founded in 2019 with Frank Shankwitz, a founder of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, that pairs housing with mentorship for men coming out of re-entry and recovery.

reSpace was born from an uncomfortable question. Katrina built two infill homes in a backyard, put one on the market, and watched it sell in days for $950,000. Who can afford that? Around the same time she saw fractional ownership being used to hand wealthy families a slice of multimillion-dollar second homes. Her reaction: who cares about rich people getting a second home, how about the everyday person being able to afford one? reSpace meets people where they already are and turns it into real ownership: every bedroom a private primary suite, the kitchen and living and outdoor spaces shared, and for a fraction of the cost of the whole house you own a piece of it. The first home, a yellow Victorian mansion in Leschi with five suites, is live now.

This is the third episode in a row about doors. Jesse took his off the hinges, Roger held his open, and when Rachael asked Katrina who she builds doors for, Katrina said a door is not what she sees. She sees a big brick wall, and nobody even tells you there is a world on the other side of it. Her answer: stop looking for the door. Either build what you want right where you are, or get some dynamite and blow up the wall. Where she comes from there was no permission to do much of anything, so she never waited for it.

Her north star: a rising tide raises all ships. What she can give the room is connection, she remembers everyone and refuses to gatekeep. What she needs is capital: reSpace is gaining traction and investment is the one thing holding it back, Level Up needs mentors and volunteers and capital to add homes, and Katrina Eileen Real Estate, the brokerage that funds the mission, is ready for anyone buying or selling.

Connect with Katrina
reSpace (co-homeownership: invest, co-own, or live in one): respace.co
Katrina Eileen Real Estate (buy or sell a home): katrinaeileen.com
Level Up Seattle (volunteer, mentor, or donate): www.leveluphome.org
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/katrinaeileen