Conference confronts challenges of minority developers, neighborhoods

David Lloyd of HGL Construction leads a presentation at the 2021 PlaceKeepers Conference in Oklahoma City. This year’s conference is set for July 30. (Photo by DeAndre Martin)

Successful community developments on Oklahoma City’s east side that saw the arrival of two grocery stores and the Eastpoint center is a perfect example of the term “placekeeping,” but throughout Oklahoma and the nation, gentrification and the pushing out of minorities from traditional neighborhoods continues.

In an effort to create a blueprint for aspiring and existing developers to grow their neighborhoods in a way that keeps the original personality and population, the second-annual PlaceKeepers Minority Developers Conference, presented by Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency, will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 30. Focusing on community-led real estate development, the conference will be held in the atrium of the Downtown OKC Oklahoma State University Discovery Building, located at 300 NE Ninth St.

For DeAndre Martin, organizer of the PlaceKeepers conference, a demand exists to help train community leaders and members to learn how to revitalize their neighborhoods without pushing out the minority influences that created the space.

“Homeownership and wealth disparity between black and white Americans has compounded alongside real estate appreciation from generation to generation,” said Martin.

“Equally challenging is that local community members are lacking the tools necessary to take action to redevelop their neighborhoods, which is where PlaceKeepers comes in. Placekeeping means honoring those areas and empowering people from the community to make these areas whatever they see fit and to honor the culture and history of these places.”

Gentrification of distressed neighborhoods – or placemaking – oftentimes creates “improvements” to an area that often price out the original community members as the area grows and becomes more popular, Martin said.

“People from outside of the community would say these are not destinations, but these are places where families in the community have had barbecues, where they come every Friday for a fish fry, and they are a secret gem in the community,” he said.

“And when you get gentrification coming to an area, we tend to lose these areas because developers want to make the area better for the people that they’re bringing in with no kind of acknowledgement for the people that have been here or the story or history.”

The goal of the PlaceKeepers Minority Developers Conference is to provide essential information for real estate development of minority communities of Oklahoma City and activate a network of local, small-scale developers who are existing residents, stakeholders and either existing or emerging leaders in their beloved landscape.

“To ‘placekeep’ is to provide education and resources to residents and stakeholders so they can participate in the economic development of their community, and this model not only visibly changes the landscape of preexisting communities, but also provides the often-missing components like cultural preservation, empowerment and sustainability,” Martin said.

This year’s conference will leverage the conversations and success from last year’s conference to equip attendees, community residents and stakeholders with the tools, strategies, information and connections to be PlaceKeepers within their own communities. Sessions include Art and Development, Community Driven Design, and more led by some of the nation’s top thought leaders on the concept of placekeeping.

“We are committed to forging a path to equitable opportunities for developers of affordable housing, including minority developers who are vastly underrepresented,” said Deborah Jenkins, CEO of the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency. “OHFA is pleased to partner with PlaceKeepers to provide training and technical support to emerging developers with a vested interest in the revitalization of northeast Oklahoma City.”

Tickets are $65 for in-person and $35 for the virtual experience. In-person seating will be limited. Sponsoring organizations include Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency, Johnson and Associates, Cushman Wakefield, The Alliance, Citizens Bank of Edmond, Greater Oklahoma Chamber, Robinson Park, CrossFirst Bank, Phillip Architecture, Mason Realty Investors, First Security Bank and Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

The conference stems from a Northeast Renaissance in 2019 and a PlaceKeepers five-week, 25-hour training program for community members.

“This conference birthed out of that. We know the problems and challenges in northeast Oklahoma City are not isolated to northeast Oklahoma City but are challenges and things that we face are all over the city,” said Martin.