Real estate developer Chris Senegal and broker Jay Bradley are teaming up to buy several blocks to renovate and revitalize in Houston. Together with Cocoa Collective Xchange, they are helping bring back Black-owned businesses into the Fifth Ward community through a Buying the Block campaign.
The project was started by buying abandoned properties and turning them into new construction homes. It has, so far, attracted a number of young Black professionals to be homeowners as well. New homes for families who have lived in the Fifth Ward for decades will also be built in some of the redeveloped blocks.
More than that, the main purpose of the Buying the Block campaign is to attract more investors into the community in order to fund long-term rentals for businesses such as restaurants, coffee shops, and office space. The campaign has raised more than $720,000 from over 1,100 investors.
“I have enough to complete the project,” Senegal told Chron. “Additional investor funds will be used to acquire adjacent properties to expand the scope of the project.”
For Senegal, the project has been beneficial to alleviate the damage caused by flipping houses. Bradley, who owns the Equinox Realty Group, shares the same sentiments, believing better opportunities come with having strong ties within the community.
“You create opportunities to have something better in the community,” Bradley said. “At this point, it’s really about helping people who are trying to do good things with the community.”
For more information about Buying the Block campaign, visit BuytheBlock.com
Blackbusiness.com
