From the get-go, one of the benefits of the East Side Avenues initiative was to empower the citizens by harnessing the East Side’s human capital (learn more). One of the heavily stressed components was to establish a community-based real estate development training program, designed to provide knowledge and skills to building owners and community members, so that they will be better prepared to embark upon development project, and complete them. The program is in place to provide resources that will allow East Side residents, property owners, activists, and others, to “build a community of citizen developers on the East Side.”
The program is designed to enable community members to develop their own properties, fostering entrepreneurial spirit and creativity, and to better ensure that lands and buildings along the East Side corridors are improved in a manner driven by the East Side community.
If the East Side is to be considered a “new frontier” for developers, then community members must be offered a stake in their future. This particular 23-week program is geared towards the commercial development opportunities at hand.
The virtual sessions will discuss topics such as pre-development, construction management, property management, and financing the project from private and public sources. Once the State and County Departments of Health has deemed it safe to attend classes in person, a brick and mortar classroom will be provided.
Here’s the drill:
- Classes are held on Wednesday evenings from 6:00 – 8:00 PM from March 3, 2021 – August 4, 2021.
- Students are also required to attend the UrbanPlan class on Saturday, April 17, 2021 and the Construction Site Tour on Saturday, July 10, 2021. The UrbanPlan class is a realistic, engaging exercise in which students learn about the fundamental forces that affect real estate development. Through role play, students will become familiar with private and public sector roles, complex trade-offs, and fundamental economics in play when proposing realistic land use solutions to vexing growth challenges. Site Tour will provide students the opportunity to visit a local real estate development project that is under construction.
- There will be four (4) additional Saturday sessions (9:00 – 11:00 AM) — attendance is strongly encouraged but not required.
While this program – now in its second year – is non-credit bearing, with session participants earning Certificates of Completion, there will be a number of advantages for “graduates,” including the opportunity to apply for capital funding from Empire State Development (ESD). This potential funding would allow successful program participants opportunities to better access the means to support, renovate, and reuse their properties.
Interested parties can click here to learn about some of the initial success stories of this program.
Applications for the Community-Based Real Estate Development Training Program are due January 6, 2021 by 5 p.m. and are available on the East Side Avenues website at www.eastsideavenues.org/CBREDT. There is no cost to participate in the program other than a one-time nonrefundable $100 registration fee, upon acceptance. Students will be selected from the pool of applicants.
The Community-Based Real Estate Development Training Program was developed through collaboration of the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning, University at Buffalo Regional Institute (UBRI), Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) WNY, and Empire State Development (ESD).
Funding for the program was awarded by Empire State Development (ESD) as part of its $65 million East Side Corridor Economic Development Fund (ESCEDF) – an element of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s Buffalo Billion II initiative.
Participants will be selected from a pool of applicants through a selection process which includes a written application and an in-person interview. Applicants will be reviewed based on their residency, ownership of commercial property (and its location), development experience, vision for commercial property development, entrepreneurship, and impact of the project. Questions regarding this training program should be directed to the Program Director at chiwuike@buffalo.edu.