Company Description
The Chicago TREND Corporation (“TREND”, the “Manager” or the ”Sponsor”) has negotiated a contract to acquire the Walbrook Junction Shopping Center in Baltimore, MD. TREND is launching a crowdfunding campaign to allow Black entrepreneurs and community residents with as little as $1,000 to co-own the asset.
TREND will seek to engage Black professional service providers, lease to Black-owned businesses and create opportunities for local community employment. TREND is purchasing Walbrook Junction at a favorable price and will endeavor to own and operate the property with pride and integrity, becoming a “trusted neighbor” in the community.
Walbrook Junction Shopping Center is a 47,070-square-foot neighborhood shopping center, dual-anchored by Rite Aid and Save-a-Lot, and located at 3421 Clifton Ave in Baltimore, Maryland (the “Property”). Additional tenants include Rent-A-Center, Papa John’s, Metro PCS, Boost Mobile, and a mix of local retailers. Located in an Opportunity Zone at a highly trafficked, lighted intersection with excellent visibility and ample parking for tenants and customers, the center was fully redeveloped in 1991 and features a long-term, stable tenant base with strong commitment to the site and area. The essential, service-oriented tenants cater to the local community. Many of the tenants at the center have been deemed essential business and are resistant to the rise of e-commerce, providing further long-term stability.
Management Team / Advisory Board Bios
Lyneir Richardson is co-founder and CEO of The Chicago TREND Corporation. An experienced commercial and residential real estate developer with over 17 years of experience in urban retail development, Lyneir served as CEO of the primary economic development corporation in Newark for two different mayoral administrations. He was Vice President of Urban Development at General Growth Properties where he led the national initiative to bring quality shopping centers to ethnic neighborhoods in large U.S. cities.
Early in his career, Lyneir founded Lakeshore Development Construction Company and was recognized by the U.S. Small Business Administration as Illinois Young Entrepreneur of the Year. He started his career as a corporate attorney at the First National Bank of Chicago.
Lyneir is also a Professional Practice Instructor in the Department of Management and Global Business at Rutgers Business School in Newark, New Jersey, and the Executive Director of the Rutgers Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (CUEED), where he leads capacity-building programs that have assisted over 400 entrepreneurs.
Lyneir is a graduate of Bradley University and the University of Chicago Law School. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute, the International Council of Shopping Centers, and the International Economic Development Council. He serves on the Board of Directors of the International Economic Development Council, New Growth Innovation Network, Newark Arts Council and the Cook County Land Bank, and has served as Vice Chairman of the Illinois Housing Development Authority Trust Fund Board and as a Commissioner on the Chicago Plan Commission.
The Executive Team.
In addition to Lyneir Richardson, Chicago TREND’s executive team includes Gretchen Kleinert, COO, David Shryock, Benefit Director and Robert Weissbourd, Co-founder and secretary of the board.
Gretchen joined Chicago TREND in January 2019, bringing experience in community and economic development, real estate economics, project management and program design. Gretchen holds a BA in Statistics and Economics and a master’s degree in Regional Planning.
Dave has three decades of experience in financing small and minority-owned businesses. Following business school, he spent eleven years at South Shore Bank in Chicago, initially as a commercial lender and eventually as President and CEO of the Bank. Dave is a graduate of Harvard College and Yale School of Management.
Robert manages RW Ventures, LLC, an economic development firm specializing in technical analysis of urban assets and markets, and in creating the products and enterprises necessary to successfully grow urban and regional economies. He was a lead developer of the New Growth Innovation Network (NGIN), the Greater Chatham Initiative, TREND, Chicagoland Food and Beverage Network, the Center for Financial Services Innovation, MetroEdge and the Metropolitan Business Planning Initiative, which he co-managed with the Brookings Institution. He brings over thirty years of experience leading economic development work in dozens of cities and scores of neighborhoods, including serving on the Obama Transition HUD Agency Review Team, as a nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Center and as adjunct professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy.
The Property Team.
TREND aims to assemble a team of Black experts (leasing, management, insurance – even the landscaping company) to provide hands-on property management, stay on top of issues, retain existing tenants and attract new ones to improve financial performance and community impact. As an example the team in Chicago includes:
Emerald Partners Property Management
FP Commercial Advisors (leasing)
Property Care Management (landscaping/snow removal)
P2 Capital Insurance Brokers, Inc.
5T Construction
Beehive Architects
TREND will identify a similar team in other cities in which it acquires shopping centers.
Assembling a culturally informed and industry-experienced ownership team is expected to help with tenant retention and attraction to the 8301 shopping center. A strong property management and leasing strategy, including marketing and attractive co-tenancies, will allow TREND to create added value for the community, such as employing Black people and creating opportunities for Black-owned businesses in the shopping center and trade area.
