Decades of failed policies and extractive investments have left Black neighborhoods in Philadelphia with undervalued housing, underfunded services and a lack of access to financing. A group of seasoned Black developers, along with investment professionals and public policy experts, have teamed up around a more inclusive vision and a new investment vehicle. The thesis of The Collective: investment strategies that deliver real community benefit will also outperform financially.
So what?
The Collective and 17 Asset Management are aiming to raise a $100 million Philadelphia Real Estate Impact and Equity Fund. The fund’s target size is meant to be large enough to attract institutional capital that has too often overlooked individual Black developers. The Collective is putting capital “in the hands of the people who know those neighborhoods and have a vested interest in recreating them and rebuilding them for the residents who are there,” said policy expert Sandra Dungee Glenn, a co-founder.
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