Why Jumpstart?
Jumpstart is a new model of community development that provides training, mentoring, networking, and financing options for aspiring local developers. Jumpstart:
- creates opportunities for local residents to invest and develop in their neighborhoods
- builds wealth locally
- supports scattered-site rehabilitation (as opposed to urban renewal)
- encourages a healthy mix of affordable and market-rate housing
- improves neighborhood safety and raises property values through blight reduction
- helps first-time investors become more attractive to traditional lenders
- increases diversity, changing the face of real estate development
Three Jumpstart Initiatives
Training and Mentoring
9 hours of instruction and access to an experienced mentor
Developers' Network
A speaker series and online forum for sharing resources
Loan Program
Financing options for acquisition and construction
Resources To Get Started
what people are saying about jumpstart
“JumpStart Germantown has really caught the attention of other communities, both around the city and the country. It is exciting that others are getting on the bandwagon to start their own JumpStart programs.”
Chestnut Hill Local
Margaret Fahringer | 6/1/18
“Imagine hundreds of developers getting their start all while breathing new life into their childhood neighborhoods and without pushing longtime residents out. If this sounds like some sort of fantasy, you haven’t met Ken Weinstein yet. ”
Philadelphia Magazine
Sandy Smith | 2/10/18
“It took Weinstein years to gain the kind of knowledge, network and skills he has to be able to share with others. And so as the name suggests, Jumpstart is all about giving others a head start in ‘trying to put all the pieces together,’ Weinstein said.”
Generocity
Albert Hong | 11/6/17
“The idea is to stave off blight by incentivizing development in neighborhoods where the real estate market is lukewarm. It is also meant to ensure that the housing stock is rehabilitated by responsible developers.”
Plan Philly
Jake Blumgart | 8/31/17
“The combination of slow growth, scattered site development, and a mix of price points act as a bulkhead against gentrification, encouraging healthy development that sustains and attracts real economic diversity in our communities.”
Newsworks WHYY Op/Ed
Ken Weinstein | 7/7/17
“The Mt. Airy-based redeveloper is doing more than renewing Northwest Philly’s commercial buildings—he’s preparing a new generation of developers to do the same for distressed homes in Germantown and beyond.”
Philadelphia Magazine
Sandy Smith | 5/9/17
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Sign up to get involved and financially support a Jumpstart Program.