JJK Places, PBC

“We have a significant bridge to build to the future.
It first must connect us all.
Then it must transport us forward, all together as one.”

We are helping to build that bridge to the future.

Social Impact Real Estate

Real Estate with a Greater Purpose.

We are one of the country’s first
triple bottom-line “Fourth Sector” real estate companies.

We are not so much real estate developers,
But opportunity developers.
Ultimately, seeking to level the playing field for all.

We are out to change the paradigm of why and how
real estate development is done in Denver, and beyond.

JJK PLACES, PBC

is Denver and Colorado’s first social impact real estate development and consulting company, focused entirely on mission-driven, community-centric real estate projects.

We also are the first Colorado real estate entity of its type to be legally structured as a “benefit corporation” (called a “public benefit corporation” or “PBC” in Colorado). JJK PLACES, PBC is one of the few real estate companies in the entire country to be legally structured as a benefit corporation.

OUR PURPOSE:

JJK Places, PBC is an uncommon real estate development company.

We are not singularly focused on profit. Rather, first and foremost, JJK Places is about people. And, well, places.

All people need places. Really two places. Physical places for living, working, recreating. And nonphysical places to be a part of. Whether these are the place we hold in a community, in a social network, in a profession, in academics, or in whatever other complex ecosystem that we are a part of in our lives…we all need to feel we have a place in the world. These places give people meaning, value, respect, camaraderie, and a sense of belonging. And opportunity, opportunity that leads to hope. And to a future.

Opportunity therefore is key. And places create opportunity. Both places. Working together.

We are a company creating places. Physical places that have the potential to fuel the growth of the nonphysical places that give people a sense of belonging.

Yes, you got it. We seek to use real estate to create opportunity.

Create opportunity and we advance lives. Create places that create opportunity, and we then create places that advance lives.

And that is our purpose. Advancing lives. By creating places. For people.

That’s why we do what we do. We’re an uncommon company, with uncommon purpose, thinking, and results.

We’re JJK Places, PBC:
“Creating places that advance lives.”

CREATING PUBLIC GOOD

There’s a growing global movement that believes business can and should be a force for creating public good.

JJK PLACES, PBC is using real estate as a force for creating public good.

It’s called “Social Impact Real Estate” (or “SIRE”).

As a company, it is JJK PLACES’ only focus. So it makes us uniquely positioned and qualified to do it well, and to deliver what all our stakeholders and collaborative partners are seeking to accomplish.

Our Overarching Goal is Simple:

To use real estate, space and the built-environment as tools that increase
opportunity, community, and social equity – particularly in
disadvantaged neighborhoods and for historically underserved populations.

Our Services

No matter what our service, producing social impact is always the goal.

Real Estate Development

In real estate development projects, JJK Places can serve in one of three general roles: 1) Developer or co-developer / joint venture partner, 2) fee-based owner’s rep / project manager, or 3) as a consultant / advisor.

Project Management

We can act as a fee developer or project manager on a wide variety of real estate project types, collaborating with a broad array of stakeholders, from developers and property owners, to non-profits, community groups or city governments.

Consulting Services

JJK Places offers our expertise to consult and advise, or can act as an owner’s rep on a variety of project types. We have the expertise and the experience to consult on every stage of the real estate development and pre-development process.

"Social Impact Advisor"

The SIA role exists to advise developers, property owners, community groups, nonprofits, funders and others on ways to maximize the social impact and community benefiting components of a proposed future real estate development project.

TRIPLE BOTTOM-LINE

JJK PLACES is a “Triple Bottom-line” company, meaning our projects are not singularly driven by, nor is their success measured by, dollars signs. Instead, we have three equal priorities that guide all of our work and the projects in which we become involved. These priorities are: PEOPLE, WELLNESS, and PROSPERITY.

They are priorities we take very seriously.

Additionally, JJK PLACES pays close attention towards fulfilling ESG standards—Environmental, Social, and corporate Governance standards—in the operations and management of our business.

PEOPLE

People, Local Residents, and Community

WELLNESS

Environmental Responsibility,

Human Health & Wellness,

and JJK’s “6 Sustainabilities”

PROSPERITY

Long-term Value Creation for
all Stakeholders

JJK PLACES AS A “FOURTH SECTOR” COMPANY

The “fourth sector” is a rapidly emerging new sector of the economy that combines the purpose, logistics, and resources of the existing three sectors of the economy within a single company/organization. For-profit “fourth sector” entities combine market-based approaches inherent in the private sector with the social, public good, and environmental objectives characteristic of the public sector (i.e., government) and the non-profit sector.

As a legal public benefit corporation (PBC), JJK Places is obligated to fulfill a “public good” mission. As such, we act as both a bridge between all three current sectors of the economy, and an implementor of their socially beneficial policies. JJK Places is unique in this regard; it is one of the first “fourth sector” real estate companies in the country, and the first in the state of Colorado.

Structured as a “fourth sector” company, we are leading the way in creating a new business model for the real estate industry, a model that puts people and communities as one of its triple bottom-line priorities.

JJK Places is literally out to change the paradigm of how “community-oriented development” is defined.

TEAMWORK

At JJK Places we don’t believe in calling staff members employees, instead everyone no matter their functional area is considered a “Collaboration Partner.” In this mindset, everyone is encouraged to speak up and suggest ideas or potential solutions no matter how unusual or even ridiculous they may at first sound. We too encourage this attitude with our design teams, contractors, service providers, suppliers, investors, funders, and community members. This is what we consider robust teamwork.

In any project, our team has decades and decades of expertise and hands-on experience working with socially-conscious real estate. This attribute alone makes us as good as the next guy, but on top of this we are able to view real estate from multiple perspectives, not just from a singular profit-oriented focus. We also view everything through a social equity lens, something very unique and uncommon in the for-profit real estate industry.

These aspects, when combined with our tenacious determination and innovative problem-solving skills, make for a unique and diverse real estate team unparalleled in Colorado for its capacity to produce significant social impact results from the most challenging of projects. Truth is, we like challenges. And we are very good at solving them.

SOME REASONS FOR OUR WORK

714,000 Coloradans

live in households that are “Severely Cost Burdened” because they are spending 50% or more of their household income on housing costs.

Approximately 714,000 Coloradans, or 12.5 percent of the state’s population, live in households that are “Severely Cost Burdened” because they are spending 50 percent or more of their household income on housing costs. As such it often curtails their ability to pay for medical care, buy food or clothes, or obtain other life necessities. Per federal standards, a household should spend no more than 30 percent of their gross income on housing costs. (Source: Colorado Department of Local Affairs, Division of Housing)

Over 26 percent of white Coloradans live in households that are “cost-burdened,” meaning they spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing. Among African Americans in the state, 39 percent are “cost-burdened.” (Source: Colorado Health Institute)

(Source: Colorado Department of Local Affairs, Division of Housing)

41% versus 16%

Average increase in residential rent vs. household income that occurred in Denver between 2007 and 2018.

Between 2007 and 2018, the average residential rent in Denver increased 41 percent, while average household income during this same period only increased 16 percent. (Source: SPARCC and Mile High Connects)

The disparity was even greater in communities of color, which also have experienced the greatest impacts of involuntary displacement due to rising rental rates, particularly as once affordable neighborhoods become gentrified. The once substantial Latino community on the Northside of Denver has decreased by 40 percent in the past decade as rents and property values have skyrocketed.

2,300 Children

The number of children enrolled in Denver Public Schools who are homeless. This figure has tripled since 2010.

2,300 children enrolled in Denver Public Schools are homeless. That number is triple what it was in 2010. However, the number is undoubtedly higher as this figure does not include homeless babies and preschoolers, nor does it count the children who move from town to town with their families and don’t enroll in the DPS system. (Source: The Denver Post)

380.2% and 58.6%

Increase in the value of a Denver house between 1991 and Q2 2019; and increase in the sales price of the average Denver house in the last 5 years (2014 – 2019)

23,000 children enrolled in Denver Public Schools are homeless. That number is triple what it was in 2010. However, the number is undoubtedly higher as this figure does not include homeless babies and preschoolers, nor does it count the children who move from town to town with their families and don’t enroll in the DPS system. (Source: The Denver Post)

LIVE RADIO INTERVIEW

JJK Places’ Founder and President, Will Kralovec, was interviewed on live radio a while back to talk about our company, its “triple bottom-line” business model, and the future of social impact real estate.

The interview took place on February 12, 2020 on independent community radio station KGNU (Boulder/Denver), which is heard at 88.5 FM and 1390 AM. Will was a guest on the radio show “On the HEAL Tip! (Health, Eating, Active Living)” with host Beverly Grant.

The full uncut/unedited interview can be heard here (about 25 minutes):

"On the HEAL Tip! (Health, Eating, Active Living)" with host Beverly Grant and guest Will Kralovec

SAMPLE PROJECTS

#1: Tramway-Cole Train Development Project

Co-Developer on the development of 64+/- Affordable For-Sale Residential Condos, and approximately 7,500 sq ft of commercial space targeted for community-serving uses in a unique mixed-use project incorporating new construction and renovation of existing industrial space.

#2: House Renovations

Creating Scattered Site Affordable For- Sale Single Family Houses in the Denver Metro Area.

#3: Eco-Green Court Demonstration Project (aka Solar Decathlon Project)

Owner’s Rep/Development Manager for a unique single-family house development project in Aurora, Colorado. This affordable housing “demonstration” project” is utilizing four unique and individual modular houses to create a new “missing middle” model of compatible-scale development within a single-family zoned neighborhood.