By Tony Lawson
Real estate developers shape how cities grow, where housing is built, and how neighborhoods evolve.
Their work involves assembling land, structuring financing, securing entitlements, and managing the long timelines required to move projects from concept to completion.
Operating at this level requires navigating construction risk, capital markets, and public approvals while maintaining pipelines that often extend over many years.
The firms listed here work in sectors including affordable housing, mixed-use redevelopment, and major urban projects, with established portfolios and active development activity.
This article is part of an ongoing Shoppe Black series documenting Black-owned real estate development firms.
Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners | Washington, DC
Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners was founded in 1998 by Jair Lynch, who serves as President and CEO. The firm specializes in mixed-use development, attainable housing, and the redevelopment of institutional and civic properties in walkable urban neighborhoods.
The company has completed more than 65 projects totaling nearly 5.5 million square feet. Its current development pipeline exceeds 3.5 million square feet and assets under management are valued at more than $3.4 billion. Projects include the redevelopment of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library and multiple mixed-use developments across Washington, DC.
A partnership with Nuveen and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System produced a $1.3 billion attainable housing portfolio across several markets.
MURAL Real Estate Partners | New York, NY
MURAL Real Estate Partners was founded in 2022 by Robin Zeigler, who serves as Founder and CEO. The firm is a minority- and women-owned real estate development platform focused on mixed-use projects in underserved urban and suburban neighborhoods.
The company’s portfolio includes a 235-unit affordable mixed-use development along the Hillside Avenue corridor in Jamaica, Queens. The project was financed in part through a $24.7 million acquisition loan from the New York City Acquisition Loan Fund administered by LISC.
In 2025, MURAL was selected to co-lead a $316 million transit-oriented redevelopment project in New Haven, Connecticut in partnership with Gilbane Development Company.
Ginosko Development Company | Novi, MI
Ginosko Development Company was founded in 2002 by Amin Irving, who serves as Founder, President, and CEO. The firm operates as a vertically integrated multifamily housing developer covering development, construction, ownership, and property management across Michigan and other markets.
The company’s portfolio exceeds $585 million in value and includes more than 4,900 residential units across more than four million square feet of property. In 2021, Citigroup selected Ginosko as one of five Black-led firms nationally to participate in its Affordable Housing Preservation Program.
The company has also launched a modular construction manufacturing initiative backed by financing from the Black Economic Development Fund to support affordable housing production in Michigan communities.
Mosaic Development Partners | Philadelphia, PA
Mosaic Development Partners was founded in 2008 by Greg Reaves and Leslie Smallwood-Lewis in Philadelphia. Reaves serves as Founder and CEO and Smallwood-Lewis serves as Founder and COO. The firm focuses on ground-up development and adaptive reuse in underserved urban communities, using tax credits, New Markets financing, and public-private capital structures.
Since 2012, Mosaic and its partners have invested more than $100 million across Philadelphia neighborhoods, completing approximately one million square feet of redevelopment. The firm was selected as co-master developer of the Philadelphia Navy Yard alongside Ensemble Real Estate Investments, a $2.6 billion initiative.
In 2022, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment invested $10 million into Mosaic Development Partners to support expansion and workforce diversification across the development industry.
The Menkiti Group | Washington, DC
The Menkiti Group was founded in 2004 by Bo Menkiti, who serves as Founder and CEO. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with offices in Worcester, Massachusetts, the firm operates as a vertically integrated real estate services company covering development, asset management, brokerage, and residential sales.
Over the past two decades, the firm has invested more than $390 million in urban neighborhoods and developed more than 4.7 million square feet of real estate. Its development pipeline exceeds $2 billion.
Projects include MLK Gateway in Anacostia, the Bond Bread redevelopment with Howard University, development parcels at The Yards in partnership with Brookfield, and Parcel D-4 in Boston’s Seaport District.
Civitas Development Group | Cincinnati, OH
Civitas Development Group was founded by Darin Hall, who serves as Founder, President, and CEO. The firm focuses on residential and mixed-use development in neighborhoods positioned for reinvestment, often working through public-private partnerships and community investment initiatives.
Projects include a single-family housing initiative in Cincinnati’s Evanston neighborhood developed with the Hamilton County Land Bank, a shared-equity homeownership program in Columbus created with the City of Columbus and the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, and a minority development partner role in the Burnet Quarter redevelopment project in Cincinnati’s Avondale neighborhood.
TRIBE Development | Detroit, MI
TRIBE Development was founded by Brandon Hodges, who serves as Principal and Founder. The firm specializes in workforce and affordable housing development as well as commercial redevelopment in Southeast Michigan.
Projects are typically structured through federal tax credit programs alongside city and state financing tools. The firm’s work includes Jefferson Avenue Apartments, a 52-unit new construction affordable housing development in Detroit’s Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood. The project was co-developed with CHN Housing Partners and financed through Michigan State Housing Development Authority tax credits and local housing subsidies.
Shoppe Black documents how these firms raise capital, structure development projects, and compete in markets where access to financing and institutional relationships determine long-term growth.
Professional firms interested in a dedicated editorial feature can submit an inquiry here.
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