The annual East Side Community-Based Real Estate Development Training (CBREDT) program provides training, development, and funding opportunities to people who might not otherwise be passed by. This essential program is “designed to build a community of citizen developers on the East Side of Buffalo.” And when you stop to consider where many of the future development opportunities are situated, the East Side is the next frontier for rebuilding communities.
The free 25-week training program is available to East Side building owners and community members who are looking to embark upon commercial and mixed-use real estate development projects. The goal is to spur people on, while fortifying them with the tools that they require to succeed. Those tools include pre-development, construction management, property management, and financing the project from private and public sources.
CBREDT is part of New York State’s $65 million East Side Corridor Economic Development Fund, funded in collaboration with private and philanthropic organizations who created a pooled $8 million East Side Collaborative Fund. The successes of this initiative are readily evident, as can be witnessed by reading a number of interviews with the graduating class of 2022. Interviews include:
Tony Borden is developing a mixed-use project on East Delevan AvenueDeborah Daniel, who is looking to renovate a storefront on Kensington with a four-bedroom apartment in the upperCharles Foreman owns a number of properties and is considering his next stepsDarold Fountain, wants to develop a mixed-use building at 500 LeroyKatrinna Martin-Bordeaux plans on opening MedSpa (3 locations), along with significant restaurant and retail space, with affordable housingMichael Quinniey, owner of the Broadway TheatreDarren Renford will convert his unsightly car storage lot into self-storage units
Applications are now being accepted for the 2023 program. They are due Thursday, November 17, 2022 by 5 p.m. and are available on the East Side Avenues website at www.eastsideavenues.org/CBREDT-2023. There is no cost to apply; accepted students will only be charged a one-time, non-refundable $150 registration fee. Questions regarding this program should be directed to ap-CBREDT@buffalo.edu or (716) 878-2440.
This program will explore potential federal and state funding opportunities for commercial development in Buffalo and, in particular, for the East Side of Buffalo. Namely, Empire State Development (ESD), through the East Side Corridor Economic Development Fund, established a $5 million capital grant program available only to graduates of the program for implementing projects on the East Side of Buffalo. Upon completion of the program, graduates will be invited to apply for the East Side Community-Based Real Estate Development Training Program Capital Fund administered by ESD and its Local Program Administrator (LPA).
Learn more about East Side Avenues at www.eastsideavenues.org
Lead image: Photo of the 2022 class at the first-ever in-person graduation ceremony which took place at the Northland Workforce Training Center this past August.
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