Community members purchase shares of Market Creek IPO
San Diego Daily Transcript
By Doug Sherwin
Tonya Oliver and her 9-year-old daughter, Cayasia, strolled over to Market Creek Plaza on a recent afternoon like any other visitors to the collection of shops in southeastern San Diego.
But they weren’t there to look for clothes or buy food. As members of one of the city’s unique investment groups, the Olivers went to claim “their spot.”
Tonya and Cayasia purchased shares in the initial public offering (IPO) of Market Creek Partners LLC, a company comprising the local community’s residents.
The offering closed Oct. 31 having met all of its investment goals.
“I can’t really express how I feel just knowing that I own something other than a car or a pair of shoes or a designer bag,” Tonya Oliver said. “That we own stock, and that we have an opportunity to make a difference in what type of business goes in the community (is unbelievable). We have some say-so in the community environment.”
The Market Creek IPO raised $500,000 through a total of 423 investors, who represented approximately 600 individuals, couples, nonprofit and for-profit entities.
Participants had to purchase a minimum of 20 units at a cost of $10 a unite while the maximum investment was limited to $10,000 per investor. The average investor purchased $1,100 worth of units.
Many low-income families were able to use a payment plan in order to participate in the historic offering.
In addition, eight nonprofit organizations, including some churches, purchased units.
“It brings the dream full circle for us, which is just amazing,” said Jennifer Vanica, president and CEO of Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation. “It’s a really exciting moment.”
“The big idea of Market Creek Plaza (was) could you take a piece of blighted land thought to have no value and turn it into something through the creativity of resident and recycle the benefit back into the neighborhood? The really big idea was people would actually own it and the profits would come directly back to them.”
The idea for the community IPO was hatched six years ago, and it took that long to secure the rights for residents to invest.
“We weren’t sure once we got the right, would people actually do it,” Vanica admitted.
The IPO was launched in June and sign-ups were slow at first. After formal sales meetings didn’t provide much of a response, Vanica was encouraged to speak at churches and community groups.
With a week to go before the closing date, Vanica still wondered if the deadline should be moved back.
A last-minute push of investors eased her concern.
Tonya said the notion to invest was her daughter’s, who didn’t like the idea of her money sitting in a bank. Her mother saw it as an opportunity to learn as well as plan for the future.
“I wanted an opportunity to secure my daughter’s future,” Tonya said. “I wanted to teach her how to make her money matter and be part of helping the community to grow to another level.”
Bevelynn Bravo, another resident investor, used the experience to learn something herself.
“I really didn’t even understand what investing in stocks was all about,” she said. “I didn’t see the importance of it.”
Now even her kids -- ages 15, 12 and 11 -- know what IPO stands for.
“I didn’t go into it looking to get rich off it,” Bravo said. “I went into it because it’s something I believe in. It’s something I can leave for my kids. It’s an investment not for me, but for my kids.”
The community company owns 20 percent of Market Creek Plaza with the Jacobs Center and its investment partners owning the remaining 80 percent.
Another community group -- the Neighborhood Unity Foundation -- is posed to launch a similar IPO, giving residents a chance at owning another 20 percent of the mall.
In 10 years, Vanica said, the value of the projects is expected to increase enough so the Jacobs Center and its partners can cash in its shares and leave the entire ownership to the community stakeholders.
Resident investors will earn a 10 percent preferred return and be first in line for the distribution of profits. But the main benefit for joining, according to Vanica, is to be a part of something bigger than themselves.
“A minister talked about how young people have been claiming territory through gangs and violence,” she said. “For the first time, here’s a head change about claiming territory through ownership and having an economic stake. It’s been an amazing journey and I hope it continues to grow.”
The Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation is a non-profit foundation that operates on the premise that residents must own and drive the change that takes place in their community for it to be meaningful and long-lasting. JCNI explores new pathways to change through entrepreneurial relationships, hands-on training, and the creative investment of resources.
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