Looking for ways to involve minority real estate pros in projects in your community? The Summer Program in Real Estate (SPIRE) offered by the University of Southern California is a model worth investigating. The program’s founders saw a need for minority and non-profit developers to become involved with their community’s rebuilding efforts and crossed it with the vision of key people from the real estate development and education sectors. An intensive, two-week course targeted to minority professionals covers the basics of real estate development, with emphasis on finance and acquisitions.
Originally created to help involve minority and non-profit developers in revitalizing South Central Los Angeles after the civil unrest in the early 1990s, the SPIRE program has evolved “to focus on urban development and redevelopment issues,” says David Dale-Johnson, professor and co-director of the program at USC and a NAIOP Distinguished Fellow.
The course is limited to 30 students or fewer, identified by a committee made up of members of SPIRE’s board. Candidates are evaluated based on background, real estate related experience, education and potential, says Professor Dale-Johnson. “We provide training and skill building along with access to USC’s real estate industry network and the Ross Program alumni.”