Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | June 24, 2024 | Worcester Business Journal 9 in a number of developments, includ- ing a mixed-use development at 34-36 Harrington Ave. in Shrewsbury and a proposed 36-apartment building at 39 Lamartine St. in Worcester, near the Polar Park baseball stadium. ey have learned first- hand successful develop- ments are a process involving hundreds of steps which can quickly turn into hurdles. "It's like there's like a ripple effect," said Daniel Yarnie. "So that's why sometimes projects prolong and people go broke. So it's like, we all need to come together to figure out a way to make it easier." Capital from traditional sources can be tough to get. "Obviously, the banking industry too is very, very tight right now. Nobody re- ally wants to take on much risk," Rebecca Yarnie said. "A lot of the money is on so costs and unforeseen expenses. So it just ends up coming out of your own pocket." To find other avenues of capital, the Yarnies are looking to other industries. ey've launched Polar Views-branded merchandise and are working to open Finest Trees, a Shrewsbury-based can- nabis delivery company. A gateway to housing With even some of the largest devel- opers struggling to finance projects, the current environment is even tougher for developers from underrepresented com- munities, said Turay, the head of MHIC. "Just imagine through that with the most accomplished developers facing all the financing problems, now imagine an upstart [developer] and what they're fac- ing. erein lies the challenge." he said. "You've got banks that say 'Hey, we're not taking on new banking relation- ships at this time.' It's just a whole host of things that come into play that we're trying to help them solve for." A major focus of the fund will be Gateway Cities. "We are really focused on Gateway Cities, we're focused on places in the state that were badly hit by COVID, and places that are part of the low-income housing," Turay said. Financial support is needed, especially for cities like Fitchburg and Leominster hoping to bring in more residential units, said Roy Nascimento, president and CEO of the North Central Massa- chusetts Chamber of Commerce. "Real estate development is expensive, especially in some of the older Gateway Cities where we're trying to incentivize more housing in downtown business districts," Nascimento said. In November, the cham- ber launched its Regional Business Investment Fund, designed to provide low- cost financing for real estate projects in northern Worces- ter County having difficulty finding financing. "With those types of devel- opments in particular, like the developments that we've helped with our investment fund, those are typically old- er buildings that require more expense to redevelop into housing," Nascimento said. Both Weekes and the Yarnies noted the importance of understanding the labyrinth of necessary approvals and having a professional network to assist with navigating these processes. In addition to providing a source of funding, the Equitable Developers Fund will provide help with the ins-and- outs of locating affordable housing development opportunities and financing. "It's import- ant to note that MassHousing will be taking on the technical assistant aspect of this. So it's not just, 'Here's money, go pay us back,'" Turay said. "It's so we help these organizations actually build capacity and not just dollars. It's really trying to surround them with support." Generational opportunity Both the Yarnies and Weekes feel, with the proper support, the next gen- eration can benefit from more devel- opers from minority communities and other underrepresented backgrounds. Weekes, who receives mentorship from Rob Dickey, executive vice pres- ident of Boston-based Leggat McCall Properties, via the Boston nonprofit Builders of Color Coalition, hopes his career will inspire underrepresented developers. "at's part of my motivation to get Lack of developers of color Despite making up about a third of the U.S. population, less than 1% of U.S. real estate developers are Black or Hispanic. Black Hispanic Total U.S. population 14.70% 18.70% All business owners 2% 6% Real estate, rental, and leasing sector 1% 4% Real estate developers 0.40% 0.16% Source: March 2023 report by Grove Impact and Initiative for a Competitive Inner City into the real estate development space, to be able to try and make a difference and blaze the trail to be an example to other minority developers coming in, because there's not many that look like me in the space," he said. e Yarnies hope they can show their four kids real estate can be a prosperous industry. ey hope to pro- vide them with a financial foothold. "We're kind of aiming for a gener- ational wealth type of thing," Rebecca Yarnie said. "We're not really looking at the dollar bill right now." Daniel Yarnie, co- owner of Polar Views RENDERING | COURTESY OF REBECCA AND DANIEL YARNIE Roy Nascimento, CEO of the North Central Mass. Chamber of Commerce A rendering of the Yarnies' proposed development near Polar Park in Worcester. W

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