Source: Michigan Online
Chase Cantrell brings a new perspective to real estate development with an online course focused on helping residents invest in their own communities.
Chase Cantrell brings a new perspective to real estate development with an online course focused on helping residents invest in their own communities.
Growing up in Detroit, Michigan, Chase Cantrell saw from a young age what could happen to a community that does not have the resources needed to grow and thrive.
After graduating from the University of Michigan, Cantrell worked as a real estate and corporate lawyer, where he played a part in many development projects in Detroit. It opened his eyes to who had a seat at the table and the ways in which community values are often ignored.
Frustrated that community members were so often lacking a voice, Cantrell decided to put his energy behind delivering real estate development education to people who so often feel like they are not allowed to be a part of the conversation.
Including community voices is a form of power, says Cantrell, who is also an urban planning lecturer at the University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture & Urban Planning. When community members can influence and even lead real estate development projects, it gives them the ability to build wealth in their neighborhoods to benefit all who live there.
“In 2014, almost 100,000 parcels were marked for redevelopment by the Detroit Land Bank Authority. We saw a lot of speculators coming from out of town and even out of the country to purchase these properties. So there was a transfer of wealth from local African American residents to such speculators.”
