Poetry Under the Stars
When investors and property managers visit low-income communities, the notion is that they are buying certain buildings or houses to start the process of gentrification, which of course, native residents wouldn’t be the biggest fans of. Primestor, a retail sector leader, what’s to present a different perception to locals when they see these transactions taking place.
Primestor started in 1991, and like any other property company, they specialize in leasing, property management, development, construction management, rehabilitation, and acquisitions. Their mission is to manage and develop properties that empower the community. Primestor is minority-owned and led.
“There is a lot of opportunity in these areas to connect with the community, and there’s a lot of talent and room for growth for these communities, and that’s where Primestor excels at,” said Katia Lopez, marketing manager for Primestor. “We plan on adding to the community growth through workshop classes that teach financial literacy, art classes, job fairs, interview tip classes, and providing and overseeing the younger generation’s growth.”
Primestor started the Urban Vision Fund I, which seeks to develop and acquire transit-oriented, mixed-use real estate investment opportunities in urban, minority communities with a geographic focus on California. The fund raised 125 million dollars through an equity commitment from Belay Investment Group of up to 100 million and 25 million from LGT Capital Partners. With this funding, Primestor could continue developing new projects and bring more community events to the spaces.
Lopez and Primestor wanted the community involved with their new business venture and created a workshop in partnership with the Watts Writers. “With the program that we created back in 2022, which was creating an open mic workshop in our spaces and with the help of Starbucks, we were able to curate “Poetry under the Stars” for the community, which they were extremely respective too,” Lopez said as she explained the creation of the open mic workshop.
Poetry Under the Stars was a month-long writer’s workshop opened to the public that started in June and ended on June 29, as everybody who participated would perform their piece in front of a crowd.
