Episode 55: Portrait of A Developer

[Originally Published on Rail~Volution Podcast: View Source]

We’re joined by Lea Hargett, chief strategy consultant with JOG Associates, a Minnesota-based boutique consulting firm, and Johnny Opara, President and CEO of JO Companies, an affordable housing real estate developer in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Johnny Opara remembers growing up in a townhouse in the suburbs of Minneapolis-St. Paul, a home he only realized later was “affordable.” On this podcast he talks with Lea Hargett about his path to becoming developer of The Hollows, a 62-unit workforce housing development in St Paul, set to open January 2023.

Opara is a member of the first cohort to participate in the Developers of Color Initiative created by the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Twin Cities. The goal of the Initiative is to go beyond training to provide implementation capacity and supports to get cohort members’ projects over the finish line. Key elements include access to capital, strengthening their professional networks, and providing a learning platform to deepen their knowledge and expertise. The program sets out to address racial equity and reverse a legacy of exclusion, Hargett says.

Listen to the podcast to hear Opara’s journey to closing on The Hollows. Located on transit and near both education and employment options, it offers four different types of units, Alcoves, Studios, one and two bedrooms, with rents at Fair Market Value (FMR) and for households earning 60% and 30% of Area Median Income (AMI). His goal, Opara says, is to build housing that’s affordable with a market rate feel, where residents can have a sense of pride about where they live and “create memories at the kitchen table” just as he did growing up.