
Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority ED Gregory Heller.
(Screenshot via YouTube)
Not all development in low-income neighborhoods has to contribute to gentrification. All it takes is a developer with deep pockets, an appetite for risk and a commitment to working with communities.
Philadelphia has a few developers who have made social impact real estate their MO, including Philly Office Retail founder Ken Weinstein and former American Communities Trust CEO Gregory Heller, now executive director at Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority.
“We have to figure out a better way to build projects that are important to our community,” Heller said last June during his TEDxPhiladelphia talk. “I’m thinking about projects like affordable housing or a neighborhood grocery store, a public health clinic, artist studios or job training.”
Those type of projects, Heller said, are “critical to the future of our cities, our communities and ultimately, our society.”
But they’re super hard to finance. Heller explains that typical private development is easier to finance because it’s low-risk, yet yields a high return. Social impact real estate, on the other hand, is much more difficult to finance because they are typically high-risk projects that, despite their high social return, may yield low financial returns.
It’s a lot like how many traditional venture capitalists see investing in for-profit social enterprises: You’re risking financial returns for social good. Heller believes that’s a mindset that needs to be revolutionized, starting with a change in how projects are funded in low-income neighborhoods.
“That system doesn’t make a lot of sense to me for projects where the end goal is to improve our communities,” he said. “These projects have totally different requirements and goals. It’s apples and oranges.”
-30-From our Partners
‘If you start to address the affordable housing issue, you will begin to address the poverty issue’
5 principles of community driven development — and how to actualize them
Community advocates make the case for equitable housing in the spirit of Dr. King
Generocity Philly
Inscripción Doble en Congreso: Lo que trae el futuro

City of Philadelphia, Rebuild
Director of Evaluation and Learning
Apply Now
JFCS of Greater Philadelphia
Youth Engagement Program Coordinator
Apply NowNonprofits are struggling to do more with less money, but donors and volunteers can help: 5 questions answered
Here are 37+ organizations to donate to during #GivingTuesday (or, really, any day)
Wanted: Orgs with strategies to maximize income and benefits for households facing poverty
Generocity Philly
Dual Enrollment at Congreso: Where does it go from here?
United Way of Greater Philadelphia & Southern New Jersey
Chief Knowledge Officer
Apply NowSign-up for daily news updates from Generocity
More Information