Lyneir Richardson

Boston neighborhoods such as Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan have had majority Black and brown residential populations since the mid- to late 20th century. However, over the past several years, these locales have been evolving.

In certain pockets, gentrification has begun. The results of this shift include rising property values, new development projects, the opening of new retail stores and restaurants and a growing number of non-Black people are moving into the areas.

In other sections of the same neighborhoods, long-time, middle-income Black residents are choosing to move out. Nearby public housing needing repairs and upgrades, higher rates of violent crime and retail corridors that don’t offer essential products and services are the primary reasons for this exodus.

In such complex and uneven landscapes, ownership matters. It can give long-time Black residents an equity stake in the vibrancy, safety and prosperity of their neighborhoods. The Boston Ujima Project, Boston Community Solar Initiative, Dorchester Food Co-op, and others are leading laudable efforts to help more residents become business owners and investors in local initiatives.

Also crucial is inclusive local ownership of commercial real estate, which offers an additional lane to economic empowerment.

Buy Back the Block

Less than 3 percent of Boston’s Black population owns commercial real estate. To address this scarcity, the Boston Real Estate Inclusion Fund – formed by prominent Black developers based in Boston – recently launched a campaign inviting diverse accredited investors to capitalize on institutional-quality commercial assets.

An additional support to help more Black residents of Boston neighborhoods to become commercial real estate investors and owners is a project that I launched in 2023 along with colleagues at the Brookings Institution called the Buy Back the Block Lab. This initiative partnered industry experts with community leaders in Baltimore, Cleveland, and Detroit to bring their collective vision for locally-owned commercial real estate to urban neighborhoods across the U.S.

The Lab’s new guide, A Playbook to Buy Back the Block, shares detailed guidance on how diverse residents of low and moderate-income communities can invest in and own some of the commercial property in their neighborhoods. Our strategy represents an exciting opportunity that has been proven to deliver an achievable on-ramp to CRE ownership, community cohesion and quality-of-life improvements for the citizenry.

The Playbook offers clear, concise and practical instruction for local entrepreneurs, community leaders and development professionals on identifying commercial real estate opportunities, forming an investment thesis, getting properties under contract, completing due diligence, securing financing, and ultimately closing a deal.

By equipping stakeholders with the tools and knowledge to successfully navigate the complexities of commercial real estate transactions, our guide can help long-time residents of neighborhoods like Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan drive economic development, area rehabilitation, and wealth-building from within. Significantly, even small non-accredited investors can now be invited to sit at the table in well-structured deals.

It’s Worked Elsewhere

Examples of the hyperlocal benefits that the Playbook can bring to fruition can be found in what Chicago TREND has achieved in its current inclusively owned shopping center ventures in Chicago and Baltimore.

These CRE endeavors, in which we purchased inner city strip malls that serve their communities with essential goods and services, now have attracted over 380 local community investors who co-own the properties. Their investments, which average around $2,270 per investor and total over $800,000, are building community cohesion, local pride, and increased store traffic/commerce.

In addition, Chicago TREND’s long-term investment in rehabilitating and maintaining these shopping centers will help create over 400 construction and local permanent jobs. Black professionals have been hired as architects, property managers, leasing agents and legal counsel. Black-owned businesses have opened as tenants.

It should be noted that “intentionally inclusive” does not mean “exclusive” as many of the investors, professionals, workers and tenants connected to these projects are not Black. Stronger neighborhoods and more vibrant commercial corridors benefit all races.

Inclusive ownership of commercial property offers a pathway to economic empowerment and can preserve the cultural fabric and social cohesion of urban locales. By ensuring that Black residents have an ownership stake in the commercial real estate within their communities, we can build a participatory landscape that honors and preserves the histories, identities and unique cultures in Boston’s heritage Black neighborhoods.

Lyneir Richardson is CEO of The Chicago TREND Corporation, a commercial real estate firm that owns 6 shopping centers with over 380 small investors. He is also assistant professor of professional practice at Rutgers Business School, a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a wealth innovation fellow of the Aspen Institute.