Solutions for BIPOC Developers to Overcome Challenges in Boston
The Builders of Color Coalition’s Founder on breaking down barriers and creating a more inclusive multifamily industry.
In an industry where access to capital, land and networks of partners often determines success, the Builders of Color Coalition in Boston is working to level the playing field for minority real estate professionals.
Founded with the mission to increase diversity and promote economic well-being, BCC brings together a diverse group of developers, investors, architects, attorneys, bankers, contractors and brokers to bridge the gap between the needs of the industry and the wealth of talent and expertise that exists within minority-led development firms.
In this interview, Dave Madan, the founder & chair of BCC, talks about the coalition’s initiatives, successes and goals.
In your view, what are the biggest barriers to growth that BIPOC developers face in Massachusetts today, and how can these be overcome?
Madan: The primary barriers to growth for any developer are access to capital, access to land and projects, and access to knowledge and networks, all of which are exacerbated for developers of color. These barriers can be overcome with the help of intentional real estate firms and institutions that are willing to expand their networks and adapt their practices to reach a new set of partners, employees, contractors and clients.
Right now, there are innovative programs nationwide working to close these gaps, and the BCC is the central convener and knowledge hub for these innovations. For example, the C3 Fund in Chicago does direct lending to emerging developers in underserved communities, to grow their capacities and portfolios. And the City of Boston has lengthened the pre-RFP outreach period for affordable housing projects on city land, to allow early-stage developers a chance to assemble the resources and partnerships to pursue effective bids, which is now helping cities across Massachusetts to pursue similar shifts in their practices.
In what ways have you helped minority developers so far?
Madan: The first cohort of BCC Fellows, who went through a six-month intensive program to build their development businesses, experienced an average of 160 percent revenue growth, from $3.5 million in combined revenue across 11 firms in 2022, to $9 million by 2024. In recent RFP rounds for development of affordable housing on public land in Boston, 50 percent of the awardees were graduates from BCC’s fellowship programs.
If you had the power to make any changes, what would you do to ensure that affordable housing communities remain accessible to low- and moderate-income families in the long term?
Madan: While housing affordability has many layers, our political leaders now seem to be keenly aware that slow housing production has always been a core barrier to affordability. BCC works to contribute to the solution by increasing the capacity of more developers to participate in housing production, including in the affordable housing sector.
We believe this is a net-win because it builds wealth for emerging developers, while also creating more attainable housing options.
How does your work in Massachusetts serve as a model for other regions looking to increase minority participation across the multifamily industry?
Madan: BCC’s primary success has been two-fold: mobilizing a large network of diverse developers and real estate professionals—and working to better connect them with development opportunities—and inspiring and inviting industry leaders to the table with us to help open up their practices. We built this off the hard work that has been done by generations of developers before us, who created structural opportunities for wider participation in the real estate sector.
As we move into our next phase of growth, BCC is looking to share local successes more broadly, and to establish ourselves as the central convener and knowledge hub for these innovative practices that are happening nationwide.
What are your longer-term goals?
Madan: We are looking to build market capacity for greater opportunity within the multifamily development field by mobilizing a large network of established and emerging professionals of color and offering them opportunities to increase their skills and networks, and by working with firms and institutions across the industry to engage diverse, new audiences by improving their business practices and helping connect the dots between their needs and the wealth of talent that exists.
Is there anything you’re excited about for 2025? How do you aim to further support BIPOC developers?
Madan: In the spring of 2025, BCC will be launching the next round of its Affordable Housing Developers Fellowship Program, readying a new generation of emerging, private developers with the knowledge and networks needed to contribute to affordable housing production. We will also be furthering our Capital Access Initiative with the housing of our Capital Investors Summit, bringing together financial services organizations from across the country to learn how to build better products to meet the needs of emerging developers.
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What role will new policies and government support play in assisting BIPOC developers in the future?
Madan: I believe government organizations are strong conveners, and can help emerging developers to better integrate into the market ecosystem, so they can grow their capacities. Government policy can also promote access to capital, by establishing credit guarantee priorities. And municipalities have enormous power in determining how their publicly-held lands are used, and whether those uses are most suited to a community’s needs.
To what extent can mentorship help BIPOC professionals succeed? What advice would you give to young BIPOC professionals who are interested in pursuing a career in multifamily development?
Madan: There are a number of ways that mentorship can be helpful to a young professional: offering a sense of pathways to move into and ahead in the field and specific people/models to look to; offering specific technical knowledge about the industry; and offering access to the mentor’s professional network. Seek out great mentorship opportunities, particularly as an entry-level associate in a development or contracting firm. Be willing to hear plenty of ‘no’s’ until you start getting to ‘yes’.
