POKO’s development objective is to create value as well as contribute to broader revitalization objectives in urban and suburban communities. POKO seeks out small and mid-sized mixed-use projects that are strategically located in order to have a significant and positive impact on the surrounding neighborhood. POKO has often found itself at the forefront of community revitalization efforts and is proud of its pioneering role in many inner-city communities, including Melrose, Bronx; Jamaica and Richmond Hill, Queens; Harlem, New York, Carlstadt, NJ; and Norwalk, CT. POKO is currently leading waterfront revitalization and historic preservation efforts in southeastern Connecticut, through the rezoning and renovation of historic mills for mixed-use projects.

POKO’s approach to community redevelopment begins with community outreach and the participation of public agencies and local organizations. POKO involves the community from the early planning phases through construction and marketing. This approach has helped to seal the success of POKO’s community development projects, ranging from inner-city neighborhoods in New York City to waterfront communities in Connecticut and the Bahamas.

POKO’s development objectives are to reposition underutilized properties and revitalize the broader community using the following strategies:

       Affordable and mixed-income housing

       Retail, cultural, and community facilities

       Public amenities and open space

       Sustainable development and Green building techniques

       Historic preservation and adaptive reuse

       Waterfront redevelopment and environmental cleanup

In New York City, POKO has developed more than 400 units of housing, using low interest municipal loans, state and federal low income housing tax credits, tax-exempt bond financing with 4% low income housing tax credits, taxable bond financing, federal HOME Funds, and tax incremental financing for brownfield redevelopment. POKO has been designated to develop properties by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development through its Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Program, the New Foundations Homeownership Opportunities Program, and the Cornerstone Program. POKO has also been awarded sites on several additional competitively bid HPD and DHCR Request for Proposals as well as local and federal HUD Section 8 projects.

POKO has worked with not-for-profit entities including The Enterprise Foundation, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, and the NYC Housing Partnership and Outreach Project. POKO has successfully coordinated projects through the land use approvals process in many communities. POKO has negotiated land use approvals with NYC Community Boards, NYC Councilpersons and Borough Presidents, and local planning and redevelopment agencies and commissions in New York and Connecticut.

POKO Partners LLC has developed more than $220 million of residential and commercial real estate and financed in excess of $300 million of real estate in the last 10 years.