Community health improvement through community development: The village at market creek

Beginning as a partnership between community residents and a family foundation to redevelop an old factory site, a commercial development, known as Market Creek Plaza, has evolved into a skill- and asset-building opportunity for residents of a culturally-diverse community in San Diego, California. In 2006, through the first Community-Development Initial Public Offering in the nation, 416 community resident-investors purchased ownership units in this $23.5 million project. The Plaza, now 40% owned by community residents, logged a remarkable $34.2 million in economic activity last year, up 40% from the year before.

The resident-led work that began with Market Creek Plaza continues in The Village at Market Creek. The Village, with its vibrant business environment, international marketplace, and cultural celebrations, has become San Diego's place-to-be for a great multicultural experience. Over the next 10 to 15 years, this resident-planned Village will transform approximately 63 under-utilized acres into a thriving area with 800 new homes, 350,000 square feet of commercial and industrial development, and 800 new jobs. Applying the discipline of the marketplace to the social mission of the non-profit world, The Village at Market Creek creates unique approaches to community change and innovative structures for sustainability.