REAL ESTATE ASSOCIATION OF DEVELOPERS
Empowering Minority Developers: A Lifecycle Approach to Increasing Market Share and Building a Strong Pipeline
Create, Cultivate, Connect and Support Qualified Minority Developers
Born out of the Capital Impact Partners Equitable Development Initiative, we have taken steps to create an organization to carry forward the spirit of the CIP EDI and empower minority developers in Detroit to ensure the developer base more accurately reflects the city's diversity and delivers projects that truly serve its diverse population.
Learn more about the different segments and entities within our organization.
Explore the links in the table below to learn more about specific subjects
Our Mission
Our mission is to cultivate, connect and advocate for experienced and aspiring black real estate developers.
Our intent is to increase market share for developers of color, establish a legacy pipeline, and to leverage the power of our allies and the development community's collective resources to create a more coordinated and equitable development ecosystem for our community.
What We provide
We aim to serve Detroit’s black development community through:
Equity Advocacy
Increased access to fair capital
Networking & information sharing
Technical Assistance
Our Executive Committee
Comprised of Detroit based high level developers, READ’s Executive Committee is charged with exemplifying and forwarding our mission. Using their influence in the marketplace, they ensure black and brown developer voices are heard at all levels of government, from the Mayor’s office, to City Council, all the way to our legislature in Lansing.
Our Developer Leadership Council
READ’s Developer Leadership Council members are our mission in action. Skilled professionals in the development industry, they organize, manage, and emcee our monthly meetings, serve on subcommittees with our Executive Committee, as well as advocate for the mission and vision of READ.
Board Leadership
Empowering Growth Through Decisive Leadership
David Alade
President
David is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Century Partners, where he combines commitment to community, legacy, and purpose with a dedication to building a culture of sustainable excellence.
Chance Cantrell
Vice President
Chase L. Cantrell is the founder of Building Community Value, a non-profit, community-based corporation dedicated to implementing and facilitating real estate development projects in underserved neighborhoods throughout Detroit.
Jason Jones
Secretary
Jason creates a vision for excellence for all stakeholders in the real estate development process . He has developed over $99MM of real estate across the United States including Michigan, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Akunna Olumba
Treasurer
Akunna is an expert in business law and taxation. She has experience as an adjunct professor at Florida A&M University College of Law. Professor Olumba additionally founded a business development firm and a federal tax legal practice.
Roderick Hardamon
Advisory
Roderick is the CEO and Chief Strategist of URGE Imprint, and URGE Development Group, a real estate development firm focused on systemic change in urban communities through creative place keeping and placemaking.
Sonya Mays
Advisory
Ms. Mays helped lead Detroit out of bankruptcy and now has her sights set on propelling her hometown forward. Her mission: real estate development that addresses urgent community needs.
Christopher Jackson
Advisory
Christopher is a Partner of Queen Lillian, a Detroit headquartered development firm founded in 2008 with a specific emphasis on developing institutional-grade commercial real estate within the City of Detroit.
Derric Scott
Advisory
Derric is CEO of J29:7 Planning & Development Corporation. As former CEO of East Jefferson Development Corporation he oversaw a 30 year, $680+ Million Master Development Plan on Detroit’s East Side with more than $68M+ in investment completed through the first 4 years.
Sauda Ahmad-Green
Advisory
Sauda Ahmad-Green calls herself a “developer by chance,” but her real estate journey has deep roots in the Detroit neighborhood where she grew up. In 2006, a year after graduating law school, she purchased the property using only her savings for what would become her first major development project, six townhomes dubbed Merrill Place I, on Merrill Street, between Seward Avenue and Virginia Park Street. Ahmad-Green remembers it as an abandoned property, with water and some fire damage. It was a danger to the community, she said, because it was not boarded up. She finished the rehabilitation in 2012.
Our mission is to cultivate, connect and advocate for experienced and aspiring black real estate developers
READ – Real Estate Association of Developers is a 501(c)(3) Founded by Detroit Developers for Detroit Developers
Contact
1050 Woodward Avenue
DETROIT , MI 48226
Social Media
1050 Woodward Avenue
DETROIT , MI 48226
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