shopmcp – Jacobs Center

Market Creek Plaza

Once the site of an abandoned 20-acre factory at the heart of the Diamond Neighborhoods, Market Creek Plaza is now a diverse community focal point, incorporating cultural traditions, arts, and entertainment with necessary products and services.

Since 1998, the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation (JCNI) has partnered with residents of the community to bring the Plaza to life. Resident working teams worked with Jacobs Center staff to plan, design, and build the Plaza.

Planning for the Plaza began with 800 neighborhood surveys that assessed what the community needed. At the top of the list was a major chain grocery store, followed by restaurants, entertainment, living wage jobs, and more. The Plaza fulfills many of these needs.

Resident ownership of a significant portion of Market Creek Plaza is made possible through Market Creek Partners, LLC. This limited-liability company owns the plaza and another nearby parcel. The company is now owned in partnership with hundreds of community investors. The groundbreaking Community-Development Initial Public Offering (CD-IPO) transferred 20% ownership to these residents who together invested a total of $500,000 in the company. Another 20% of the Plaza is owned by the resident-led Neighborhood Unity Foundation (NUF) for their $500,000 investment in Market Creek Partners, LLC.