ALEMBIC COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT builds equitable partnerships to bring impactful investments to underserved neighborhoods through real estate development and capacity building initiatives.
We partner with mission driven entities in a way that is mutually beneficial and builds capacity. In projects, this means shared ownership, economics, and decision-making.
We understand the value we can bring to partners and their communities, as well as what we cannot. We show up and are consistent in our work and care.
We acknowledge benefiting from the real estate industry while seeking to use our access to change it from within. We know the deep racial and class inequities in real estate and believe that our partners’ ownership and self-determination of projects are paths to make change over the long term.
We foster a culture of continual learning founded upon our curiosity and belief in the value of communities. We practice transparency by teaching our partners what we do from a commitment that communities can and should understand how real estate development operates.
Benjamin founded Alembic’s predecessor company, Warnke Community Consulting, as a one-person practice in Brooklyn in the late 1990s. In the wake of 9/11 in New York City, WCC became involved in rebuilding initiatives with community development organizations in Chinatown, which then led to additional opportunities to support nonprofit organizations in affordable housing, economic development and capacity building efforts throughout the city.
In 2004, Alembic Development Company, later renamed Alembic Community Development, was founded with a mission to be an equitable partner to nonprofit organizations in the development of affordable and supportive housing in underserved NYC neighborhoods. Alembic’s initial development, located at 1920 Washington Avenue in the Tremont section of the Bronx, was a new construction property completed in 2008 with 73 affordable apartments and a 5,000 SF primary care health facility.
Meanwhile, we expanded our reach to New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast in 2006 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the federal levee failures. Alembic formally opened an office in New Orleans in 2007, and initially partnered with nonprofit organizations in East Biloxi and the Lower 9th Ward on a range of redevelopment projects and capacity building assistance.
Alembic has developed properties in disinvested areas totaling more than 2,500 affordable and supportive housing units; over 300,000 square feet of commercial and community facility space, including social service and nonprofit facilities, schools and educational spaces, cultural art exhibition and performance spaces, a fresh food store, and recreational facilities; and $1.2 billion of development costs.