Last month, Land Bank Twin Cities announced it was bringing aboard a new CEO after about a year of searching Aarica L. Coleman.
Land Bank is a nonprofit that was formed during the foreclosure crisis and, according to Coleman, focuses on returning tax-forfeited land and foreclosed properties to the market. It works to buy land and do commercial lending to emerging developers and others in the commercial real estate space. Land Bank Twin Cities is the only land bank in Minnesota.
Coleman joins Land Bank after about 10 years of working in local government first with Hennepin County as a property management specialist working with tax-forfeited land, then as a project coordinator with the city of Minneapolis and most recently as the appointed administrator for the Housing and Redevelopment Authority for Bloomington for almost four years.
Coleman sat down with F&C for a conversation about her work, changing from local government to the nonprofit world and what her hopes for the Land Bank Twin Cities is now that she’s in the top spot.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: You've been in the role for five weeks now. How was that transition into being the CEO of land bank.
A: It has been a really exciting and engaging transition.
I've been in real estate for 25 years as a licensed real estate agent. I've been in finance, in the real estate industry, but I've also worked in the private sector in terms of affordable housing, affordable homeownership, but also market rate. Then I've worked in the public sector, and so to have one position that really takes all the good pieces of those sectors and puts it together and says, “now go forth and build on this mission of this great organization,” this transition could not have been easier for me at this time.
Q: What made you decide to make that jump from local government and to the nonprofit world?
A: The reason I left Bloomington was I really embarked upon a great opportunity to turn that HRA around from what it had been doing for many years, which was a good job, but coming more into this COVID/post-COVID type of market that we were finding ourselves in, and what does that mean in terms of just rental help, housing help, different type of construction, different opportunities, who's not being served. And I turned it around and expanded it.
As I learned more about Land Bank Twin Cities, which goes back to what I said earlier, it's the only one in the state, the reach and the impact that Land Bank Twin Cities has had, and the potential that it has for an even greater impact and reach I wanted to be a part of that. I really like being with organizations that align with my values and that not only can I grow, but I can see the good and impact and the return on that impact on society.
That is why I made the jump from the public sector to nonprofit, which is to me not quite that big of a jump. We're both in this together, and we work together and depend on each other for advancing equitable outcomes.
Q: With Land Bank Twin Cities being the only land bank in the region, I'm curious where you see maybe Land Bank Twin Cities going next?
A: I see Land Bank Twin Cities first becoming really well known in the seven-county metro. Land Bank Twin Cities, like I said, is focused on the seven-county metro. So those counties include way more than just Hennepin and Ramsey.
What I see in the future is Land Bank Twin Cities first being able to have that strong impact and being a household name right here in the Twin Cities, but then even further, being able to help other areas of Minnesota who have a desire or wish to do something that is necessary in the communities of Greater Minnesota, around land banking and lending for broader goals. Then beyond that, we'll see. I think we have a lot of opportunities here in Minnesota, because any place that has a Federal Reserve, any state that has a Federal Reserve, actually has a lot of unique opportunities.
Q: You also have done some work with both the Minneapolis Area Realtors and the Minnesota Realtors. Could you tell me a little bit about some of that work?
A: I'm a part of the local Minneapolis Area Realtors Association, the Minnesota [Realtors] and then the National Association of Realtors. I'm a part of all three engaging in how we do our work and how we can live up to our values as an association.
My involvement does include at the local association, being on the board of directors. Currently for the 2024 year, I am the secretary on the board of directors, so that is on the executive committee, as well as working with our government affairs team at the local association as a local political coordinator. A local political coordinator is actually someone that is assigned to different elected officials to help educate, provide information and teach about advancing affordable homeownership, protecting property rights and other values around property ownership that the realtors represent.
In addition to that, I'm a part of the Government Affairs Committee for the state association. That government affairs committee actually focuses on the state level, and on the state level that includes Housing Day at the Capitol. I love it every year where we go to the State Capitol of Minnesota, and we advocate again for property rights, for ownership rights, for affordable homeownership, for preservation, creation of housing, and really engage with our legislators around that. That’s super exciting. On the national level, I actually am a part of a federal political coordinator team for a member of Congress, where we do the same thing that we do at the state level, just for members of Congress.
Q: How do you see that intersecting with your work at Land Bank Twin Cities?
A: It intersects very well because when I started out, I said Land Bank Twin Cities is an economic mobility intermediary through real estate and lending, we are a fully-fledged real estate entity. To me, my work with the Realtors fully aligns with my work here at Land Bank, and it actually allows me to be in a really great position, because navigating the nonprofit sector and navigating the realtors where everybody doesn't understand what Realtors do, and the place that we hold in terms of protecting ownership rights, but also in just advocating for different laws and different opportunities funding.
That goes hand in hand with exactly what we do right here at Land Bank Twin Cities when it comes to capturing strategic real estate opportunities for the benefit of values based and mission-oriented organizations and we can't do it without each other. This education, this background, this engagement with the Realtors, is transferable to how I work, to expand and expound on the work that land bank Twin Cities has already done for so many years.
Copyright © 2024 BridgeTower Media. All Rights Reserved.
For top headlines, breaking news and more, visit finance-commerce.com or sign up for our newsletter .
Most Popular
Comments / 0