Seven Building Power Lessons
Richmond LAND sees itself as a dynamic organization that builds by doing, learning, and teaching into our organizational programs and activities. The transition from being advocates and organizers to practitioners carrying out the different arms of land-use advocacy, development, and stewardship is an ongoing process that will continue to push the limits of our skills and experience. As we look back at the leaps we’ve made this year from engaging in a robust development design process, plunging into our first real estate purchase, bringing people together for county advocacy, and taking action to advocate for new funding streams for housing preservation, we recognize the importance of collective reflection and documentation of our experiences that can be made public and shared back with our community. The following blurbs represents 7 lessons of Building Power as we work to grow and enhance our communities participation and power in the intersections of political, social, and economic interventions to facilitate Staying Power.
It’s a team effort: Real estate transactions have many moving parts and stakeholders
Acquiring the S.24th Street building took us through many twists and turns that you only learn about by going through the process of purchasing real estate. That process becomes even more complicated when the purchase is for the purpose of operating affordable housing because it comes with needing to obtain financing from institutional lenders like Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), which offer financial products for efforts that support economic development in disinvested areas. I’ve learned the importance of harnessing resources to support each step of the process to help us meet the strict requirements for obtaining an acquisition loan. We worked with a development finance expert in creating the proforma (a real estate term that means cash flow projection) and hired values-aligned real estate brokers to facilitate the transaction. They were also able to identify proper building inspectors and professional services. As participants in the CalCORE program, we gained valuable skills in understanding how we will be evaluated by lenders, including what a healthy organizational budget looks like. Learning the ins and outs of the real estate development process and building a network of supporters was essential to our success with the first acquisition and I am excited to test this knowledge again when we gear up for our next purchase. - Mia
To build power for stable, thriving communities, we need a collectivist mindset
Real estate transactions have historically been about power, wealth and individualism and in communities of color, that dynamic has been dangerously deceiving. People approach housing/land from individualistic places, but the vision to have thriving communities involves us all to not be complicit in individualism. I have learned that when the model of the Land Trust clicks with community and residents, they understand that it means lasting affordability in the hands of the community. No one can take this land from us, not even banks! The idea that we can have community wealth building opportunities starts with departing from the notion of individualism and with a strong vision for all of us to be well and housed. -Dulce
To combat geographic inequities in building affordable housing, we need adequate public investment
Our county advocacy work led us to the realization that there is a need to dispel certain myths and misnomers related to the affordable housing industry. Terms like “preservation” “neighborhood stabilization” and “acquisition/ rehab” are not in our community’s lexicon when discussing affordable housing because these strategies have not been adequately explained or explored as viable ways to resist displacement in Contra Costa County. Additionally, neither Richmond and Contra Costa County have had the benefit of affordable housing bonds and other revenue generating measures that in recent years, have helped Alameda County and San Francisco raise resources to increase their supply of affordable units. While the community land trust model can bend itself to meet a variety of unmet housing needs in our communities, it’s going to take public will to explore the necessary policies and programs to offset the geographic inequities within affordable housing development. - Valerie
It’s time to think about alternative financing for transformative real estate
We were fortunate to secure financing with a mission-driven lender who believed in our ability and vision to acquire the S.24th Street building and create a rent-to-own program for its residents. But, when we added up the interest fees, cost of completing capital improvements with formal contractors, and other operational expenses - we quickly learned that the cost of creating and preserving affordable housing is much higher than the price of a building! We knew from the beginning that we needed to build our capacity in managing real estate to become eligible for federal funding and engage in campaigns to grow local resources for housing preservation (also known as acquisition/ rehabilitation of existing homes), but we are also realizing that we need to explore other creative strategies to generate the dollars to be able to replicate models that help our community. - Mia
We are only as strong as our ecosystem
In many ways, our work this past year focused on building a strong, sustainable ecosystem that will enable us to carry out people-centered development that’s possible with the community land trust model. We built relationships with local government partners who were curious about our model and shared our vision for transformative development processes that curtailed displacement. These conversations taught us the importance of creating a roadmap towards housing equity that the community drives, so that we don’t exhaust our limited resources trying to do everything at once. We also learned about the disconnection between housing justice advocates and practitioners in forming a common understanding and language of the solutions, and created spaces to learn and dream together. This all goes into Richmond LAND’s work of weaving together an ecosystem that is rooted in people power for resident-driven development. - Valerie
Community-led design processes ground development concepts in real needs
This year we also concluded the second half of the Building Power Fellowship, where we had the chance to experience what community-led design and feedback processes could look like. Our fellows took charge in working closely with architects to explore ways to realize their sustainability and place-making goals for the North Richmond Eco-Village and outreached to bring community members into focus groups to hear other residents’ suggestions and thoughts about their development concepts. Not only did these activities help us hear about what questions community members had and shed light on what aspects of design needed to be considered, it gave us a chance to test community-led processes and better understand what works for next time. I’m really grateful for the fellows’ work in helping Richmond LAND live into its values. - Mia
Where there is care, there is hope
The community of Richmond cares. Our community members have suffered from housing instability, loss of their family homes and the impacts of the housing crash of 2008. A lot of families purchased their homes in Richmond, when no one wanted to take a gamble at living in this city near the Bay. The work of the community land trust is about building a movement both politically and conscientiously. Once we’re past educating about CLT, it’s about positioning us to grow in our power to direct community-controlled housing visions and strategies. -Dulce