City of Syracuse to host BIPOC developer summit on Wednesday

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The City of Syracuse will host a Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) Developer Summit to support diverse real estate development in Syracuse.

The event is set for Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Marriot Syracuse Downtown at 100 East Onondaga St. in Syracuse.

The City of Syracuse Department of Neighborhood and Business Development (NBD) will host the summit in partnership with the Community Preservation Corporation (CPC) and New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR).

NBD, HCR and CPC want to help minority developers, community organizations, and industry stakeholders “create pathways” for minority developers to secure capital to pay for their projects. This includes exploring opportunities for low-interest loans, grants, and other financial incentives, per the city’s announcement.

The summit will include presentations from the City of Syracuse, CPC, and HCR outlining what developers should know about each organization and assistance they can provide.

The City of Syracuse cites Baker Tilly, an international business consulting firm, as indicating the real-estate development sector has “significant underrepresentation of minority developers.” The London, England–based Baker Tilly reports that the U.S. has about 112,000 real-estate development companies, but only 1,000 are owned by minorities.

“Our hope is to foster a more inclusive and diverse real estate landscape that reflects our community and promotes economic growth for all,” Eric Ennis, deputy commissioner of business development for the City of Syracuse, said in the news release. “The summit is our opportunity to inform aspiring and current minority developers of tools, resources, and incentives available to them. We’ll also provide guidance on navigating the challenges commonly experienced throughout the development process.”

More information about the summit is available at: https://bit.ly/SYR-summit.