Gentrification is a serious topic that many community organizers always bring up with respect to the Opportunity Zones Marketplace. How do you redevelop and revitalize a distressed area when those very changes may be the cause of displacing current residents, many of whom are already skeptical of redevelopment efforts in the first place? Listen to this podcast as Sasha Favelukis discusses how his company – CoPlace – is addressing this issue with a “Social Impact” approach to stimulate investment, creativity, culture, and community… or as he puts it, “gentrification without displacement”
Coplace is proving that economic growth can happen without displacement. By consciously investing in communities with the highest need for economic development, CoPlace works with cities, towns, and real estate developers to transform communities while making investments that produce a positive ROI. By connecting with the community to determine specific needs at local and government levels, Coplace plans economic models that support community growth, thereby creating the positive social impact intended. Plus – as Mr. Favelukis states on the show – when communities express themselves artistically, people think creatively about how they can contribute to their own lives and those of their neighbors which over time can further increase the value of a targeted community in general. By listening to this podcast episode, you’ll get a great overview on an “inside out approach” to real estate and social impact investing that the Opportunity Zones Authority thinks is great – all while learning how CoPlace combines architecture and planning, strategy and management, community activation, and then sourcing businesses into Opportunity Zone areas to make it all happen! You can get more information on CoPlace by visiting their website here
ABOUT OUR GUEST: Sasha Favelukis
Sasha (Alexander) Favelukis is an investor and innovator who has been disrupting the financial investments space for more than 20 years. Favelukis is currently a Co-Founder of CoPlace, an investment and advisory firm that focuses on activating distressed areas by revitalizing their local communities and business ecosystems. CoPlace’s mission is to transform communities while generating positive ROI and propelling economic growth. Favelukis and his team have completed multiple socially and economically impactful CoPlace projects, which have received awards and garnered international attention from industry, governmental, and academic groups.
Favelukis’ work with CoPlace has allowed him to truly fulfill his lifelong mantra, “Live With Purpose,” and CoPlace’s success has motivated investment funds, developers, and municipalities to seek out Favelukis and his team members as advisors.
Prior to his involvement with CoPlace, Favelukis co-founded Sequoian Investments, a private financing and investment firm that was named the “#1 Fastest Growing Company in 2016” by the San Diego Business Journal. Favelukis has also invested in multiple fintech companies, such as Quartic Data (a data analytics and risk management company for the real estate and financial services space), Traveler.com (a crypto-based B2C travel booking site), and TripX (a blockchain solution for the B2B travel industry). Since 2008, Favelukis has helped facilitate over $250 million in private real estate investment transactions. He and his companies have been featured on Bloomberg and CBS, and in the San Diego Tribune, among other media outlets.
Favelukis believes that community-driven development creates positive social impacts for residents and builds long-term ROI for investors. He is focused on creating environments in which each resident owns their responsibility to their community and tries to develop their best self. As Favelukis explains, “I want to contribute to the empowerment of community residents, and encourage them to cultivate themselves, discover their passions, and unlock their endless potentials. By creating a balanced ecosystem, people can succeed and in turn inspire others to pursue their passions. When a community feels equitable and proud, they take care of their assets, rewarding investors as well as the community itself.”
IMPORTANT!
All information provided is for informational purposes only. This information is not intended as legal or investment advice for anyone to make an investment in any one particular company and is not intended for any companies to rely on this information to form an opinion to go public or not to go public or to do any type of offering of securities. You must check with a securities attorney to find out if an offering is for you, or if you are going to be in the business of selling any type of securities, you need to make sure you are following your state and federal legislative law so you do not get into any troubles. Do not use the opinions as stated on this show as any way to form an opinion as what is wrong or right or what could be done for your business or as an investor.
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