The
Associates in Commercial Real Estate (ACRE) program has created pathways to working in Milwaukee’s commercial real estate industry for many of the more than 300 people of color who have completed it during the last two decades, a new
Wisconsin Policy Forum report finds.
The report finds that ACRE has met its primary goal of diversifying Milwaukee’s real estate industry, but also finds opportunities to improve the program. These include enhancing mentorship for current participants and recent alumni, expanding post-graduation opportunities such as internships or apprenticeships, and providing additional support for alumni, such as continuing education or increased networking opportunities.
Founded in 2004 at
Marquette University, ACRE is a competitive 26-week program to train people of color for careers in the real estate industry and related fields through classroom instruction, project-based learning and networking with peers and industry professionals.
ACRE is now administered by
LISC Milwaukee and includes
Milwaukee School of Engineering and
UW–Milwaukee as academic partners.
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Kevin Newell[/caption]
About two-thirds of the 56 ACRE alumni surveyed by the Policy Forum remain in the Milwaukee area, and about 80% are currently employed in real estate or related fields.
Notable alumni
Just over one-fifth (21%) of respondents said they currently work as real estate developers or for development companies. Large shares of alumni say they have managed (55%), invested in (41%), or played a major role in developing (35%) at least one real estate project through fields like finance and architecture, the report says.
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Michael Emem[/caption]
Notable ACRE alumni that have started their own real estate development firms include
Kevin Newell of
Royal Capital Group, which is behind the $105 million ThriveOn King development, and
Michael Emem of
Emem Group, which is working on projects like the MLK Library Apartments and the new Milwaukee Public Museum.
ACRE graduates also have gone on to prominent government or community leadership roles. That includes several current and former members of Milwaukee’s Common Council, the city’s current commissioner of city development,
Lafayette Crump, and the former executive director of WHEDA
Joaquin Altoro, who now is the administrator of the USDA’s Rural Housing Service.
$135 million in development
Properties that ACRE alumni have developed in Wisconsin are assessed at a combined value of at least $135 million and include at least 1,700 housing units, according to data provided by Marquette University.
Almost all of Policy Forum survey respondents said the ACRE program was valuable to them and their careers, including nearly three-quarters who said it was “very valuable.”
Strong majorities of respondents found value in virtually every component of ACRE’s curriculum. They were nearly unanimous in valuing the content focused on financial tools and concepts, including how to understand and develop a pro forma (a tool for assessing a development project’s financial viability).
Many alumni said the opportunities ACRE gave them to meet and network with both industry leaders and classmates were among the most valuable – if not the most valuable – aspects of the program.
Opportunities for improvement
A major theme of ACRE alumni who responded to the Policy Forum survey was that they could have benefited from more support during and after finishing the program, the report says. They suggested mentorship from experienced ACRE graduates and other industry professionals could be expanded to provide additional support, including in the form of more individualized mentorship.
Alumni also would like ACRE to include more post-graduation opportunities, which could involve internships, apprenticeships or other opportunities to partner with experienced professionals on development projects, or expanded opportunities to access capital for development projects.
The study concluded that ACRE "is meeting its objective of helping to diversify Milwaukee’s real estate industry," but has been less successful in "preparing people of color to work directly as developers or for development companies and increasing development in disinvested neighborhoods," the report says.
