A profitable business does not automatically put its owner on the path to commercial real estate ownership.
Even when an entrepreneur has the cash flow to support mortgage payments, buying a building can require substantial upfront equity.
Putting that money into real estate can mean pulling capital away from hiring, equipment, inventory and other operating needs.
Building a successful operating company and owning the real estate beneath it are two separate capital challenges.
Two Black-led organizations are working to close that ownership gap from different directions.
North Carolina-based Partners in Equity invests alongside individual business owners seeking to purchase the properties where they operate.
Chicago-based TREND acquires neighborhood shopping centers and creates opportunities for entrepreneurs and community investors to participate in commercial real estate ownership.
Their approaches illustrate different ways capital can expand who owns the commercial properties where businesses operate.
Partners in Equity: Bridging the Equity Gap
Partners in Equity, or PIE, was co-founded by Talib Graves-Manns and Wilson Lester and focuses on established, cash-flow-positive businesses whose owners want to acquire owner-occupied commercial real estate.
PIE helps fill the financing gap by investing alongside the entrepreneur in the real estate. Its investments typically range from $100,000 to $1 million through equity and, when necessary, mezzanine debt.
Together with the entrepreneur’s contribution, that capital generally brings the equity portion of a transaction to roughly 20% to 25% of the property’s value. In some cases, the entrepreneur may contribute as little as 5%.
PIE’s ownership interest in the property is capped at 19%. Additional capital can be structured as mezzanine debt, while the remainder of the purchase can be financed through conventional commercial mortgages, CDFIs or programs such as the SBA 504 loan program.
The investment is made in the real estate, leaving the entrepreneur’s operating company outside the ownership structure.
This allows business owners to preserve more capital for operating and growing their companies while building ownership in the properties they occupy.
The organization describes its capital as patient, with an investment horizon of approximately seven to 10 years. The intended endpoint is an exit that leaves the entrepreneur as sole owner of the property.
One early investment helped a restaurant owner in South-Central Los Angeles purchase the building housing the restaurant.
The acquisition gave the entrepreneur control of a property tied directly to the business. The owner also became involved in local urban-planning discussions affecting the surrounding neighborhood after purchasing the property.
PIE targets businesses including professional services firms, medical and dental practices, restaurants, childcare businesses, retailers, auto businesses and small manufacturers.
The model is designed for established businesses with a reason to own their locations, the financial capacity to support the property and a need for additional capital to complete the acquisition.
TREND: Opening Ownership of Larger Commercial Assets
TREND approaches commercial ownership at the shopping-center level.
Founded by Lyneir Richardson, the organization acquires neighborhood retail properties and works to broaden participation in the economic activity surrounding them, including business tenancy, professional services and investment ownership.
Its portfolio includes six shopping centers across Chicago, Baltimore and Columbus valued at approximately $36 million. According to the Aspen Institute, 380 community investors had participated across its properties as of December 2024, with an average investment of $2,270.
The organization has used Regulation Crowdfunding offerings to enable community investors to participate in specific shopping-center acquisitions, in some cases with minimum investments of $1,000.
One example is Walbrook Junction in Baltimore.
The approximately 47,000-square-foot shopping center was acquired for $6.2 million using primarily debt supplemented by equity from TREND and community investors. More than 100 individual investors contributed over $300,000 through a crowdfunding offering tied to the property.
A larger example is Baltimore’s Edmondson Village Shopping Center.
The property was acquired for approximately $17 million. Local residents invested $454,000, giving community-based investors an 11.2% ownership stake.
Edmondson Village is undergoing a broader redevelopment backed by mortgage and subordinate debt, public grants, New Markets Tax Credit equity, sponsor capital and crowdfunding equity. Plans include new retail and services, including health care and childcare uses.
A similar structure has been used in Chicago.
For the acquisition of the Roseland Medical and Retail Center on Chicago’s South Side, the financing plan included mortgage debt, sponsor equity and up to $1.25 million from crowdfunding investors, with a $1,000 minimum investment.
The model also extends into the commercial ecosystem surrounding the properties. Black-owned businesses and professionals have opportunities to participate in areas including leasing, property management, construction, architecture, insurance and other services.
A single commercial asset can therefore create several points of participation: entrepreneurs operating businesses in the property, professional firms earning revenue from servicing it and individual investors participating in ownership through qualifying offerings.
TREND ultimately aims for community-based investors to own as much as 49% of its shopping-center properties.
Two Paths to Commercial Ownership
Partners in Equity and TREND operate at different points in the commercial real estate market.
PIE’s model centers on an entrepreneur seeking to acquire the property occupied by the business. Its capital helps close the equity gap required for the purchase, with an eventual exit designed to leave the entrepreneur as sole property owner.
TREND’s model centers on larger commercial assets. Its shopping-center acquisitions create opportunities for community investors to participate in ownership, while entrepreneurs and professional firms can participate in the economic activity generated by the properties.
Both approaches are examples of a broader movement toward inclusively owned commercial real estate, expanding participation in an asset class that has historically required significant capital and specialized access.
For entrepreneurs, commercial property ownership can add another asset to what they have built through their operating businesses. Mortgage payments may build equity over time, and property appreciation, where it occurs, can increase the value of that asset.
Ownership also carries financing expenses, maintenance, taxes, insurance and exposure to changes in real estate values.
Partners in Equity and TREND demonstrate how different capital structures can create additional paths into commercial real estate ownership through properties occupied by individual businesses and larger neighborhood commercial assets.