To kick off Season 3 of American Building, I sit down with Sean Pichon of PGN Architects and Omar Karim of Banneker Ventures. We explore the projects they are working on together in D.C., such as 2220 MLK Avenue, while also diving into topics such as the nationwide housing shortage and home ownership for Black Americans. 

Sean and Omar go in depth about their project in Historic Anacostia at 2220 MLK Avenue, an update to a local church which adds affordable housing to the neighborhood, and how they are approaching community pushback. We also break down how the residential asset class is defined, housing and lending programs, and how these projects impact communities. 

Turning to headline news, The New York Times recently released a statistic that only 5% of developers are not white males. This headline drives our conversation as Omar details how he sees this statistic play out, especially when interacting with lenders. 

Listen to this week's episode of American Building to hear more about DC residential projects, defining impact, and how institutions are distributing money for BIPOC developers.  

About Sean:

Sean is a founding partner at PGN Architects, which was recently acquired by Michael Graves Architecture and Design. The firm's design work focuses on affordable and market rate residential projects and mixed use projects along with renovation and historic preservation. He is a board member at Eastern Market Main Street, an economic development focused nonprofit. He began his career at Skidmore Owings & Merrill and is a graduate of Howard University.

About Omar:

Omar Karim is the president of Banneker Ventures, a real estate development, construction and property management company. The firm focuses on residential and institutional projects. Omar is a lawyer who began his career at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel and is a graduate of Howard University.

Topics Covered:

• Details on Sean and Omar’s shared projects 
• Challenges when converting commercial properties to residential properties 
• How can BIPOC developers access capital for new projects? 
• Defining impact in the development world 
• Sean’s perspective on the lack of housing supply in the DC area 

About Your Host

Atif Qadir is the Founder of Commonplace, a company dedicated to tackling one of the biggest barriers to more inclusive, affordable, and sustainable development: improving access to capital. Commonplace helps impact-driven developers and capital providers with shared values discover and connect with each other.

Connect with Sean Pichon

• Connect with Sean on LinkedIn
• Learn more about Michael Graves Architecture & Design
• Learn more about PGN Architects 

Connect with Omar Karim 

• Connect with Omar on LinkedIn
• Connect with Banneker Ventures on LinkedIn
• Learn more about Banneker Ventures 

Resources: 

• The U.S. Needs More Housing Than Almost Anyone Can Imagine
• ‘Excuse After Excuse’: Black and Latino Developers Face Barriers to Success

Follow Us: 

• Grab our exclusive guide: How Eight Developers & Designers Are Responding to the Housing Crisis
• Learn more on the American Building website
• Follow us on Instagram
• Connect with Atif Qadir on LinkedIn
• Learn more about Michael Graves
• Learn more about Commonplace.us