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For immediate release:    

Media contacts: Juliette Coulter, The Coulter Group, 214.366.2626, juliette@coultergroup.com

The Real Estate Council’s Associate Leadership Council Rebuilds Affordable,

LEED-Certified Home in Historic Jubilee Neighborhood

Dallas, Texas, May 29, 2009 – After research and site visits focusing on neighborhood revitalization, The Real Estate Council’s (TREC) Associate Leadership Council (ALC) class of 25 young leaders selected buildingcommunityWORKSHOP’s Congo Street initiative in the Jubilee neighborhood as its project. The ALC members have participated in an intensive 10-month leadership training course that began in August 2008.  As part of learning leadership, philanthropy and fundraising, they select and implement a real estate-related community service project.

Jubilee is an historic African American neighborhood near Fair Park.  Starting in February, the ALC class, in partnership with bcWORKSHOP and Congo Street residents, designed and constructed the house at 4523 Congo Street.  The team deconstructed by hand a dilapidated 98-year-old, 525-square-foot house so that the materials could be reused in rebuilding a LEED-certified, affordable home.  The new home is now 880-square-feet.

The home is completed, and TREC’s ALC class has dedicated 4523 Congo on Friday, May 29. Councilmember Pauline Medrano participated, along with neighborhood representatives and TREC leaders.

The house is the third of six houses set to be built, in conjunction with bcWORKSHOP, a community design center and design builder responsible for originating this initiative with the residents on Congo Street.  A mother and her six teenage children will live in the home, where the family has resided for 30 years.  Members of the family have lived on the street since 1910. 

Mitch Paradise of Corgan and TREC ALC chairman, said, “In addition to giving this family a new home and far better quality of life, we are contributing to the revitalization of an entire community by providing quality, sustainable, affordable housing and the educational tools to maintain it.  In partnership with the residents, bcWORKSHOP and private enterprise, investing our time, professional services and sweat equity, we are making a long-term impact, not a quick fix.”

Brent Brown, founder of bcWORKSHOP and TREC member, said, “I am honored that TREC’s ALC selected this project to learn more about real estate and neighborhood revitalization.  This home is one piece of a larger vision of revitalizing the community by building relationships with other nonprofits and creating a model for future nonprofit urban housing endeavors in Dallas.”

The project is valued at about $80,000, which includes grants and in-kind donations of materials and services.  The 25 ALC volunteers, bcWORKSHOP and residents contributed more than 2,000 volunteer hours in planning and constructing the house.

Ann Allison, TREC Foundation executive director, said, “The Congo Street project was selected because TREC Foundation has a history with Brent and bcWORKSHOP.  We provided an initial grant to build the first new home on Congo Street, which was a LEED-certified, award-winning, affordable home where families could stay while their homes are being rebuilt or renovated.”

To fund the renovation, TREC ALC members sold raffle tickets and received a grant from TREC Foundation.  In addition to the TREC Foundation grant, the ALC class solicited in-kind donations of materials and services from generous companies including American Roofing, Bartlett Drilling, CMC Rebar, Daltile, Gill Excavating Co., Inc., Hatfield Drywall, Hull Associates, LLC, King Building Services, LMC, Prism Electric, Inc., Summit Lumber, TDIndustries, Texas Plywood, Turner Forest Industries and Venture Mechanical. 

About TREC’s Associate Leadership Council:

TREC’s Associate Leadership Council is a leadership development program of The Real Estate Council designed to encourage individuals, 27-37 years of age, in the commercial real estate industry to assume leadership roles in the greater Dallas community.  Leadership development includes monthly programs about government affairs, neighborhood revitalization, mentoring and networking.  To learn more about TREC ALC, visit www.recouncil.com or call 214.692.3600.

About TREC:
Founded in 1990, The Real Estate Council is a dynamic organization of 1,600 commercial real estate professionals representing more than 500 companies in the Dallas area. Through investments of financial and human capital, TREC Foundation works to improve the quality of life in Dallas’ most distressed neighborhoods with programming to address job creation, child welfare, education, community revitalization, the environment and affordable housing. Since 1990 TREC has invested $7 million in cash and $75 million in pro bono professional expertise in the community. TREC is a leader of initiatives shaping the future of our community including the original $1.5 million grant spearheading Woodall Rodgers Park, and $250,000 in funding and $6.3 million in pro bono legal and title services creating the Urban Land Bank. TREC’s Government Affairs Board pursues advocacy efforts on local and statewide public policy issues. Find out more at www.recouncil.com or by calling (214) 692.3600.

Members of The Real Estate Council’s Associate Leadership Council 2008-09 Class:

James Adams – Corgan

Kate Alpert – Stewart National Title Services

Natalie Anderson – Wells Fargo

Monica Berry – Bracewell & Giuliani LLP

Joseph Chu – Thackeray Partners

Steve Davis – Winstead PC

Valerie De La Rosa – Good Fulton & Farrell

Ian Fairchild – Munsch Hardt Kopf& Harr, P.C.

Brendon Fitzgerald – Henry S. Miller

Mike Jones – BalfourBeatty

Prama Kumar – Hill & Wilkinson

Jeff LaBauve – Comerica

Mandy Lemmond – Crow Holdings

Monica Libbey – Amegy Bank N.A.

Justin Miller – Transwestern

Tiffini Miller – Dallas Fort Worth International Airport

Justin Moon – Jones Lange LaSalle

Seth Parker – JSP Consulting

Sarah Payne – Stream Realty

Jason Piering – CBRE Melody

Randy Primrose – UDR

Clark Pulliam – Jackson Walker, LLP

Justin Ridnour – Jackson-Shaw

Oliver Robinson – Trammell Crow Company

Brooke Schmidt – Ernst & Young