The Bay Area Council (BAC), a regional,

The Bay Area Council (BAC), a regional, business-sponsored public policy organization, has launched a trio of funds intended to support real estate development, local businesses, and reclamation of small brownfield sites in 46 low- and moderate-income neighborhoods in the San Francisco region. BAC’s goal is to funnel private investment into the poorest neighborhoods with the stipulation that the development helps build wealth for the community and does not displace residents. The three funds — The Bay Area Smart Growth Fund, The Bay Area Community Equity Fund, and The California Environmental Redevelopment Fund — are seeking to raise a total of $200 million, and $90 million has been raised to date from banks and other institutional investors. According to BAC President Sunne Wright McPeak, the funds will operate with a double bottom line, i.e., strive for financial returns for investors and a social equity return for the community and region. The social equity return might include the creation of local businesses and jobs and housing construction that relieves development pressure from the region’s edges. The Smart Growth Fund, an equity fund, is managed by a private fund management company, Pacific Coast Capital Partners, which will make all the decisions about which projects to invest in. The fund’s first foray focuses on improving retail conditions in a predominantly Hispanic South San Jose neighborhood. The Smart Growth Fund has no specific stipulations about the design or urban form of the residential or retail development it supports — in this case “smart growth” is defined as development focused in the urban core and inner ring suburbs, and development that, according to BAC, supports “the three Es of sustainability: a prosperous economy, quality environment, and social equity.”