OM DENNE EPISODE
Cornell Wesley left banking for an 88,000-person town in Arkansas, turned a $2 million fund into $30 million of economic activity in 11 months, and got a call from Washington asking how he did it. You'll love his response.
Today he runs Prosper Portland, with a $200 million budget and 11 urban renewal districts. He talks to Teasha Cable about money, power, and who development is really for.
Why tax abatements, infrastructure, and community benefits agreements all belong in the capital stack
How the Coca-Cola bottling deal in Birmingham came together on a brownfield site
Why he doesn't count construction jobs, and why clawbacks have to be written in up front
The case that gentrification is a policy choice, and what cities owe the neighborhoods they disinvested in
How Prosper Portland's community leadership committees changed who sets the agenda
If you work in economic development, this one will change how you read your next development agreement.
