Houston White discusses desire to uplift his North Minneapolis community through his Camdentown Flats housing development.
Houston White was first bitten by the entrepreneur bug at age seven when he noticed his cousin making money from tasks like cutting the grass and washing cars. Today, as a successful businessman, the Midwest native is on a mission to pour back into the community through his Camdentown Flats housing development property.
Not only did this provide him with a legal way to make good money, but it was during these years that White understood the power of culture.
White’s broader vision for North Minneapolis is coming true through Camdentown Flats. He realizes that this concept of affordable housing, centered around community, has been in him and not on him since he moved to the city from Mississippi in 1985 around the age of seven.
He recalled discovering that Prince attended his high school and how, when he cut hair as a kid, he learned that Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis used to make their hits, including songs for acts like Janet Jackson and New Edition, in the suburbs of Minneapolis, a predominantly white neighborhood.
The community is at the center of everything White puts his hands on, including his latest Camdentown Flats venture, which is funded through a combination of sources, including partnerships with brands like 3M and Target.
“In every city in America, the suburbs is where we go to the movies, to the mall, to do all the good sh*t, and then we just have to live in the neighborhoods with our people if we can’t afford better and so I’m like man, this is BS, so let’s build something to prove that people want to be together,” says White. “That we can be together, that we can build aspirational housing.
Merging modern living with cultural connection, local art and history, and innovative features, thanks to partnerships with brands like Target, Blue Dot, 3M, and Best Buy, Camdentowntown Flats is reshaping the future of North Minneapolis.
Still, White admits the work isn’t done.
“We’re working on a phase three project, which is a 3-story commercial building that’ll have a restaurant, new concept pizzeria, Bruce Leroy’s Pizzeria on the first floor, and then corporate tenants on the second floor, and we’ll bring the headquarters, Houston White Enterprises, on the third floor,” Richard explains.
Adds White, “It’s important for us to build an enterprise and business and create community impact. East Lake in Atlanta is one of our North Stars, right? How they’ve taken a sport like golf, this stodgy white man’s game. We play golf all the time, so we get it’s all about that country club situation, but we want to take that and bring it to Camdentown so as Houston White Enterprises grows, whether it’s with Target or US Bank or Best Buy or Four Seasons or any other corporation, they’re like, ‘Oh, I directly see that relationship impacting a community for the better.’”
Ultimately, the goal is to build a billion-dollar enterprise from the block and pour it back into the community. Houston White and company are leading the charge in North Minneapolis, one housing development project at a time.
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Source: Black Enterprise
