Rethink Real Estate. For Good.

Community

Mount Vernon Plaza

✅ Strategic. Purchase profitable urban community shopping centers in partnership with entrepreneurs and community investors

✅ Building local wealth. Providing a path for increased ownership opportunities of real estate assets

✅ Supporting local talent. Providing opportunities to minority-owned businesses and opportunities for local community employment

✅ Scalable. Planning to provide investment opportunities in up to 12 service-oriented community shopping center

✅ Return. Up to 49% pro-rata share of cash flow and profit to investors

The neighborhoods surrounding the Mount Vernon Plaza Shops were once a thriving hub of Black business and culture, with Mount Vernon Avenue known as the “Million Dollar Mile”.  The shopping center was originally constructed with federal urban renewal funds to help revitalize the area. In 1978, the dedication ceremony was attended by President Carter and thousands of residents. 

TREND Chicago is purchasing the shopping center, and invites you to join them. They have a plan –  to invest in urban, service-oriented shopping centres that serve local neighbourhoods while providing real financial returns.

Small and big alike, investors just like you are investing on Small Change

https://www.smallchange.co/projects/Mount_Vernon_Plaza

This is not a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any securities. All investing is risky and involves the risk of total loss as well as liquidity risk. Past returns do not guarantee future returns. If you are interested in investing, please visit Small Change to obtain the relevant offering documents.

Image courtesy of Mount Vernon Plaza

Bellevue Montgomery

✅ Missing Middle housing.  23 townhomes, duplex + 4-plex units

✅ Affordable.  Rents planned at 80% AMI

✅ Additional phases.  For a total of 67 units months construction period

✅  Underway.  Purchase + sale agreement executeduction commencement

✅ Cost.  $3.6M total project costing, dining and at least 3 parks

✅ Deferred real estate taxes.  Project awarded a 10-year PILOT, 75% deferral

✅ Completion.  Q1 2026 anticipated completion for Phase 1aces

A pocket neighborhood adjacent to Memphis Medical District.

Bellevue Montgomery is a multifamily project planned as an infill project in Midtown Memphis, Tennessee, adjacent to the Memphis Medical District. Even at the convergence of Downtown, Crosstown, and Midtown, the neighborhood does not have sufficient housing to fill the need for affordable housing. The Company intends to address this gap in the Medical District with much-needed “Missing Middle” housing. They’re looking for investors small and big alike, just like you, on Small Change. 

https://www.smallchange.co/projects/bellevue-montgomery

This is not a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any securities. All investing is risky and involves the risk of total loss as well as liquidity risk. Past returns do not guarantee future returns. If you are interested in investing, please visit Small Change to obtain the relevant offering documents.

Image courtesy of Bellevue Montgomery

Podcast hiatus.

Dear friends of all things good in real estate.

The year has been too busy (all good) resulting in too little time for podcasts (a little bad). This is a little bad because I love my podcast show – I get to talk to such remarkable people working on such remarkable things.

Now the “busy” has reached a level that I cannot ignore. To give you context here’s a taste of my daily life: A complete (unexpected) renovation of a tiny lake cottage up in northwestern Pennsylvania that has now stretched on for 8 months; an innovative housing project in the heart of Melbourne (Australia) with Breathe Studio that just broke ground (meaning I will have to be there for a month or two in the fall); five new partners who have joined me on Small Change to take it to the next level; a coworking space in a property I developed in ‘the aughts’ that we recently took over, to grow and diversify for the local community.

Since I’m no superwoman, I need to take a brief podcasting break. Will you forgive me?

I’m looking forward to being back at the mic in the spring. I appreciate all the positive feedback and with your patience, I’ll have more amazing people to introduce you to in 2025.

Yours forever in real estate.

PS. Now might be a good moment to catch up on some old podcasts but good ones here, or your favorite podcast feed.

The case for social housing.

The opera and apple strudel are the hottest tickets in Vienna these days, right?

Wrong!  US natives are invading the Austrian capital to take a look at their social housing projects.  Hordes of politicians, housing advocates and journalists tromping the cobblestones, trying to understand how housing can be more than just a profit center, and probably eating a little apple strudel on the side.  It’s part of the culture.

What’s special about these housing projects?  Through cross-subsidization they offer high-quality housing to everyone.  Rent is based on income with high income earners subsidizing low income earners.  Rent can be as low as 4% of income.

Equal opportunity for everyone. 

Fast Company asks, “Will the U.S. ever embrace social housing?” And we wonder too. The housing market is driven by profit here.  What happens when non-profit projects really start to compete?