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Communities

Moving underserved communities forward

OPAL helps historically underserved communities lay a foundation for long-term revitalization through our Community Growth Accelerator (CGA), Property Development Assistance Program (PDAP), and Grant Writing Assistance program.

37

Communities Served

$16M+

Secured for CGA Real Estate Deals

$1.48M

In Grant Funding Secured

Community Growth Accelerator

We partner with community leaders through our Community Growth Accelerator (CGA) to identify creative ways to improve quality of place and local economic vitality. During CGA, we work with a local team to identify the project or initiative that can deliver the best results for the community based on the three metrics of speed to market, cost, and community impact. Then, we all work together to accelerate the execution process.

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Our focus is local and place-based, so each community’s results are unique to their needs and opportunities at the time of the engagement. CGA engagements have produced the following:

  • Grant funding for a LMI housing initiative
  • Design and capitalization of a local small business revolving loan fund
  • Pathway to revitalization of an anchor rural grocery store
  • Plan for redevelopment of historic downtown properties

For additional details, see our compilation of case studies around our CGA communities.

Thanks to a grant from the Economic Development Administration, OPAL is able to offer these services free of charge to any community in Alabama that is undergoing an economic recovery process from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Property Development Assistance Program (PDAP)

To ensure more great projects break ground, our Property Development Assistance Program (PDAP) helps commercial property owners and emerging developers take a community-supported project from concept to construction. We provide technical assistance to people working in underserved markets, helping to navigate pre-development planning, budgeting, pro forma creation, and capital stacking. PDAP often builds upon an already developed plan to activate a property to meet community needs and improve economic vitality.

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During PDAP, our technical assistance focuses on the following:

  • Producing a detailed pre-development schedule
  • Building a capitalization strategy, identifying applicable tax credit incentive programs
  • Building a detailed construction pro forma based on findings from pre-development activities
  • Guidance on meeting social, environmental, and economic impact standards

By the end of the PDAP engagement, project leaders will typically have all materials required to secure funding from public or private investors. OPAL cannot ensure that these projects ultimately receive funding.

If you have a project that merits consideration for this program, submit it here.


For projects that meet a certain return threshold and impact standard, OPAL may discuss the possibility of financial participation from one of OPAL’s financial investment vehicles.