Community-Development Initial Public Offering (CD-IPO)
Ultimately, all assets and social enterprises in The Village at Market Creek will be owned by the community. Community ownership is key to long-term change, providing a way for residents to have a voice in how resources are used and to benefit from community assets.
A resident-led Community Ownership Design Team worked to find a way to transfer ownership of Market Creek Plaza to residents. They created a ground-breaking new tool for building wealth in under-invested areas, the Community-Development Initial Public Offering (CD-IPO).
It took six years of work, 40 drafts by a legal team, and three attempts to earn approval for the CD-IPO from the California Department of Corporations. Working hand-in-hand with residents to design the investor criteria, the CD-IPO transfered 20% ownership in Market Creek Partners, LLC, the company that owns Market Creek Plaza, to a preferred group of investors called the Diamond Community Investors. Another 20% is owned by a community-foundation, the Neighborhood Unity Foundation, which invested $500,000 in the Plaza and uses the dividends to fund philanthropic efforts in the community.
The offering opened on July 5, 2006 and closed on October 31, 2006, with investments ranging from $200 to $10,000. In total, 415 investors purchased all 50,000 available units, at $10 per unit, for a total of $500,000.
In 2008 and 2009, the Diamond Community Investors received a full 10% return on their investments.
