Though he is known widely for his acting roles on television in shows including "New York Undercover," "Empire," and "Designated Survivor," actor Malik Yoba is now putting his all into a new role — as community leader, with his New York-based development firm, Yoba Development.
The firm will be hosting “From the Ground Up: Flipping the Hood,” a unique two-day activation at Brooklyn Navy Yard, from Saturday, May 12 through Sunday, May 13.
Participants in this immersive weekend conference — led by BIPOC entrepreneurs, real estate professionals, investors, storytellers and educators — will be connected to a community of like-minded individuals, including high school and college students, all of whom are seeking actionable information on commercial real estate, economic and community development, investing and home ownership opportunities.
The event is a step toward Yoba’s mission of promoting financial literacy and generational wealth-building for people of color through real estate education. In essence, we are creating a “community family office," said Yoba.
“In order for us to close the wealth gap, we have to close the information gap and opportunity gap. If we move collectively, then we can close that gap a lot faster.”
Some of the most esteemed figures in government, real estate, architecture, finance and education have been tapped as panelists, including New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks; Karine Appolon, chief diversity officer at the NYC Department of Education; Valerie White, senior director of LISC NYC; Bruce Jackson, managing director for strategic partnerships at Microsoft; Jude Bernard, founder of the Brooklyn Bank; Roberta Hoskie, founder of Millionaire Mindset and more.
But, Yoba said, he doesn’t want the event to be a long list of panel discussions. The goal of the event is to network and give attendees access to scholarships, internships, job opportunities and the chance to forge joint ventures.
“This whole idea of 'flipping the hood' is about asking How are we flipping our mentality? How are we flipping the way we approach things?' And once we do that, then we have an opportunity to flip the hood, the physical spaces," Yoba said.
Yoba first realized the power of real estate when he made a considerable profit in the early 2000s from selling a property he purchased back in the 90s with his acting money. He got his start in real estate development back in 2008, when a friend offered him an opportunity to invest in a property in Baltimore. Since then, Yoba has partnered on projects across the country in cities like Boston, Nashville and New York. He went on to launch Yoba Development in 2017.
Yoba Development recently launched I Build NY, a first-of-its-kind real estate curriculum, at the Brooklyn STEAM Center, a career technical education center for high school students at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Through I Build NY, students work on projects alongside college students from the nearby Pratt Institute School of Architecture.
Yoba Development currently is parteron multiple community-focused projects, including the redeveloping a South Bronx middle school, as well as with the Frederick Douglass Houses on the Upper West side create New York City Housing Authority’s first Resident Management company, where tenants will have the opportunity to run properties.
Still passionate about filmmaking, Yoba created “The Real Estate Mixtape” a documentary series chronicling the journey of developing his first commercial real estate property in New York City. The actor has also appeared the recent series, “East New York," on CBS.
But, his main focus remains his development firm.
“For us, it's not just the sticks and bricks and the physical structures, but you have to also build community.”
Register for “From the Ground Up: Flipping the Hood” here.
