Summit has launched Mission Realty Advisors to help other area nonprofits develop effective solutions to their changing commercial real estate needs. Mission Realty Advisors provides commercial real estate consulting and development services at competitive rates to help nonprofits meet their evolving real estate needs while devoting less of their resources to real estate expenses and more to fulfilling their missions. The new nonprofit is led by Pete Kinsella, a former Senior Vice President at Summit, who has over 35 years’ experience in real estate development, including facility and property management, in both the commercial and residential sectors.
Mission Realty Advisors was formed as a direct response to what John Ross, Summit CEO, was witnessing at various local nonprofit organizations. The concern being that commercial real estate is too often impacting the ability of today’s nonprofits to continue and broaden their missions. Customized teams of mission-aligned professional service providers are brought together to develop a plan of action and guide nonprofits to solutions that further their mission and goals. These teams can include planners, surveyors, architects, engineers, attorneys, accountants, construction contractors, real estate brokers, lenders and funding sources including foundations, government programs and corporate philanthropy sources. Further, Mission Realty Advisors proactively seeks to include meaningful engagement with minority- and women-owned enterprises as critical members of its service teams. Kinsella and team are making a concerted effort to overcome the barriers to active participation that MBE and WBE businesses often face in the St. Louis commercial real estate industry. The goal of the new nonprofit is to equip other nonprofits with an understanding of the commercial real estate process, which allows them to make better informed decisions on issues such as site selection, design, financing, construction, entitlement, construction management, compliance, and more.
“Our mission has resonated with many in the local real estate community, and we are receiving sponsorship support from a number of St. Louis-based companies in the form of financial contributions and in-kind services,” Kinsella noted. “These companies are motivated by a shared vision of helping local nonprofits, and thereby helping the St. Louis community as a whole.”