Twenty-seven groups from across California convened in Fresno last week to advance locally-owned & controlled real estate, created by developers of color rooted in local communities across the state.
The convening was part of California Community-Owned Real Estate program (CalCORE), a five-year state-wide initiative led by Community Vision and Genesis LA. CalCORE’s mission is to address barriers to capital and capacity building that many community-based developers and developers of color face.
The program brings together cohorts of small and emergent developers with a focus on Black, Indigenous, People of Color-led real estate organizations – particularly Community Development Corporations and Community Land Trusts.
Community Vision and Genesis LA launched the first cohort in April 2021 with 14 community-based developers. Last week’s convening marked the launch of CalCORE’s second cohort with an additional 14 organizations. This second cohort focuses on acquiring and operating commercial real estate, including retail, nonprofit, light industrial and mixed-use spaces.
CalCORE consists of five key elements including: network building, cohort training, one-on-one advising and project support, developing a real estate service provider network, access to pre-development and project capital.
CalCORE’s strategy was developed, in part, by more than 20 interviews with community-based real estate entities led by people of color and specifically addresses the capacity and capital barriers that were common among the developers’ experiences.
CalCORE is funded by Northern California Grantmakers, The California Endowment, The James Irvine Foundation, and JPMorgan Chase.
CalCORE Cohort 2 Participant Organizations
Allensworth CDC, Allensworth
Allensworth CDC partners and collaborates with a range of agencies, organizations, and community members to cultivate a thriving future for residents and neighbors of Allensworth. Allensworth was settled in 1908 by Colonel Allensworth, whose vision was Black self-governance and self-determination.
Black Cultural Zone Community Development Corporation, Oakland
The Black Cultural Zone Community Development Corporation innovates, incubates, informs and elevates community driven projects that allow the community to thrive. They work on behalf of and with the Black community with a focus on current and legacy East Oakland residents, businesses, entrepreneurs, organizations, and artists.
Destination Crenshaw, Los Angeles
Destination Crenshaw is a reparative development project that will commission more than 100 works by Black artists who have strong ties to Los Angeles. The project creates a pipeline of work and jobs for emerging, seasoned, and internationally renowned artists. Destination Crenshaw will be a legacy of Blackness on Crenshaw Boulevard that includes spaces for art, parks, gathering, rest and conversation, as well as community healing, protest, and celebration.
Dishgamu Humboldt, Loleta
Dishgamu Humboldt Community Land Trust is an Indigenous-led land trust organized under the Wiyot Tribe based in the Humboldt Bay Area in Northern California. Through land return, Dishgamu seeks to return public and private land within the unceded ancestral territory to the Wiyot Tribe. Dishgamu Humboldt calls on Native and non-native peoples to heal intergenerational trauma through the protection, preservation, cultural and environmental restoration of Wiyot Land.
East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative (EBPREC), Oakland
EBPREC buys and preserves real estate to keep tenants of color housed, remove housing from the speculative market, and address root issues of poverty and disinvestment. They build a culture of democracy and cooperation by giving tenants and investors an opportunity to co-own and co-manage real estate property.
Inclusive Action for the City, Los Angeles
Inclusive Action for the City is a community development organization whose mission is to bring people together to build strong, local economies that uplift low-income urban communities through advocacy and transformative economic development initiatives.
Japantown Task Force, San Francisco
Japantown Task Force preserves and develops Japantown, strengthens the ethnic diversity, and creates an atmosphere of safety, beauty, vitality, and prosperity. They are developing Japantown as a historical center, cultural capitol, and community center for people of Japanese ancestry.
Kultivate Labs, San Francisco
Kultivate Labs is a nonprofit economic development and arts organization that manages the SOMA Pilipinas Cultural District established by the City of San Francisco. The organization is a business incubator that provides Filipino business owners a place to sell their products and offers assistance with financial management, retail, and marketing.
Little Manila Rising, Stockton
Through education, advocacy, organizing, and arts and culture, Little Manila Rising promotes the remembrance, reclamation, and rebuilding of the Filipina/o American community and heritage in Stockton.
Pacoima Beautiful, Los Angeles
Pacoima Beautiful was founded in 1996 by five mothers who wanted to change the unpleasant sight of trash and toxic smells they endured while walking their young children to school. They knew that the only way to create a safer and cleaner community for their children and neighbors was through collective action. Their priorities include art and culture, organizing, policy, planning, and youth organizing.
Santa Cruz Barrios Unidos, Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz Barrios Unidos promotes multicultural social justice, nonviolence, and economic equity through cultural healing, civic leadership, and community development. They seek a community where the importance of culture is understood and individuals can draw strength from their authentic selves to create a world that is truly just for all.
Southwest Fresno Development Corporation (SWFDC), Fresno
The SW was formed in 2012 to advocate for and create safe, clean, and thriving neighborhoods. Their mission is to uplift and restore pride in the SW Fresno community through providing pathways to entrepreneurship and homeownership, creating safer, cleaner and vibrant neighborhoods where residents thrive.
United Cambodian Community (UCC), Long Beach
UCC elevates the Cambodian community through local engagement and leadership that embodies Cambodian cultural values, and they provide culturally competent social services to the Cambodian community. UCC was established in 1977 by a small group of Cambodian refugees to integrate Cambodian immigrants into Long Beach by providing housing, economic, and benefit enrollment support. Since then, UCC has developed into a multi-service agency providing youth development, workforce development, and mental health services to address the changing needs of the growing Cambodian population.
Unseen Heroes for Creative Community Development, Sacramento
Unseen Heroes embraces, inspires, and impacts community by creating spaces and places for all people to celebrate and connect.
CalCORE Cohort 1 Participants
Ecclesia Church San Bernardino Community Development Corporation, San Bernardino
Fideicomiso Comunitario Tierra Libre, Boyle Heights
Jovenes, Inc., Los Angeles
Lowell Community Development Corporation, Fresno
Oakland Community Land Trust, Oakland
People of Color Sustainable Housing Network, Bay Area
Richmond LAND, Richmond
Sacramento Community Land Trust, Sacramento
South Bay Community Land Trust, Santa Clara County
SW Fresno Community Development Corporation, Fresno
T.R.U.S.T. South LA, Los Angeles
Thrive Santa Ana, Orange County
TrueEvolution, Riverside
Vallejo Community Land Trust, Vallejo
