We’re proud to support borrowers who take on the challenge of revitalizing neighborhoods.
In our series, “Developing Stories,” read about some of these borrowers and their experiences.
Burned out from a career in the tech industry, Jim turned to real estate in the late 2000s. He bought four buildings totaling 18 units in his hometown of Reading, PA. The real estate professionals reading this know what those buildings were—“tuition!” Jim calls the investment a “disaster, ”saying “I did not know my numbers.”
But like everyone who ultimately succeeds in real estate, Jim was undeterred. He took the lessons from that project with him when he moved to Pittsburgh in 2011 and in 2013 he made his second purchase, a single-family home in the Beechview neighborhood. He flipped that house, then several more, and then began building a rental portfolio that now comprises well over 100 units, as well as his own construction crew and property management team.
Above: Our lenders, Kyleigh and Terry, with our borrower, Jim (right), at a property Jim is renovating.
Jim believes in managing his business to a “triple bottom line,” taking into account not just financial return but social and environmental responsibility as well—a philosophy that syncs well with Spring Garden’s approach. So when a title company introduced him to our Pittsburgh market leader, Terry Fisher, in late 2022 there was an immediate meeting of the minds.
Since then, Jim has worked to acquire and renovate more than 50 units of housing, all of which is affordable to people making the median income for the area or less, including the first property to take advantage of the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority’s new Housing Preservation Program.
Jim isn’t planning on slowing down anytime soon, and looks forward to continuing his growth with Spring Garden Lending on his team.
Below: Renovation of four buildings to create 28 units in the McKees Rocks neighborhood (left) and renovation of a large historic building creating 25 units in the Knoxville neighborhood (right).
