Enterprise Community Loan Fund makes 10-year commitment to equitable revitalization of Detroit’s Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood
$3 million investment from new Kresge Community Finance initiative accelerates commitment, builds on current work of Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellow in East Jefferson corridor
DETROIT – A $3 million investment in Enterprise Community Loan Fund (Enterprise) catalyzes a 10-year commitment by Enterprise to the equitable revitalization of Detroit’s Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood. The support comes from The Kresge Foundation through its new Kresge Community Finance (KCF) initiative, announced today.
“KCF’s significant investment enables us to take a long-term, strategic approach to equitable and inclusive community revitalization in East Jefferson in a way that is aligned with the community’s vision,” said Lori Chatman, president, Enterprise Community Loan Fund.
Enterprise was one of six organizations to receive funding out of more than 130 that submitted proposals for the inaugural KCF round. The resulting investments from Kresge’s Social Investment Practice pair standardized loans, available for up to 10 years, with small operating grants. Social investing allows Kresge to leverage its assets beyond traditional grant-making and to support markets not well served by the traditional financial sector.
“We wanted to test the demand for a standardized product of patient capital for Community Development Financial Institutions and Development Finance Agencies and to demonstrate to other investors an efficient approach to meeting the capital needs of low-income communities,” said Joe Evans, portfolio manager, Social Investment Practice, The Kresge Foundation.
Supported by The Kresge Foundation, Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellow Joshua Budiongan has been working since 2015 with neighborhood organization Jefferson East Inc. (JEI) to engage Jefferson-Chalmers’ residents and business owners in the community’s revitalization.
Hosted in partnership between JEI and the Villages Community Development Corporation, Joshua enables his host organizations to complete commercial revitalization and housing developments using best practices in urban design, green building and creative community engagement. Through his fellowship Joshua serves the entire East Jefferson commercial corridor as well as the six neighborhoods of the Villages.
Over the next decade, Enterprise Community Loan Fund will build upon that work by raising additional investment capital from socially-motivated community members and businesses as part of its sustained commitment to create a thriving East Jefferson corridor that equitably benefits people in the Jefferson Chalmers’ community.
###
About Enterprise Community Loan Fund
For more than 20 years, Enterprise Community Loan Fund has strategically invested more than $1.4 billion in communities lacking access to traditional sources of capital. Enterprise Community Loan Fund is one of the nation’s largest U.S. Treasury-certified Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). As part of the Enterprise Community Partners family, Enterprise Community Loan Fund works to deliver the critical financing needed to ensure that everyone has access to affordable homes connected to jobs, transit, quality schools, and health care.