Hi. Welcome.
Glad you’re here.
What comes to mind when you hear the term Sister City? We think of the spirit of diplomacy. A genuine exchange. Curiosity. Inclusion. And giving the best we have to one another.
How about Equity? Well, there’s equity in the sense of a vested financial stake in a business or company. But there’s also Fairness. Deliberate inclusion. And the empathetic retooling of broken systems.
Now think of Real Estate Developer. What does that conjure? Biff Tannen in Back to the Future II? Displacement? Insensitivity? Profits before people?
Well, dang. That puts us in a pickle. Because think about it - we can’t have cities without developers. But what would happen if community activists and visionaries and regular people proudly took up the mantle of Real Estate Developer? And those developers approached their work with a broadened definition of equity? And the very act of placemaking became a way to lift one another up – to share the best of what we’ve got?
That’s the world Sister City sees. Let us help you get there.
OUR APPROACH
Sister City is a real estate design, development and consulting firm based in Portland, Oregon. We specialize in placemaking that creatively compliments the community and its needs. Every Sister City project reevaluates standard development practice to emphasize a just balance of equity - social, environmental, and financial.
Sister City exists as an oasis of realness in an industry long shrouded in opacity. We’ve done the legwork. We know what’s going on here. And because we’re so intimately familiar with standard development practice, we understand exactly where our opportunities for disruption lay. In that way we’re a bit of a Trojan Horse. Sister City projects normalize radical inclusion and sneak them right into that building over there.
Yeah, but how? Well, it helps to get to the party early. Equity ain’t something you tack on at the end next to some arbor vitae. And some folks might say a project with clearly defined social and environmental goals won’t pencil. (What’s with those folks?) We developed the Sister City Approach to ensure no opportunities to make our projects Meaningful Places pass us by.
If you’re making a place you will at some point consider the building itself (The Building), who goes in it (The Program), and how you’ll make it (The Mechanics). It is our belief that each of these areas are refined, surprised and made more dynamic when they are taken as part of a whole instead of a kit of pieces. The earlier you see these as intrinsically linked, the more opportunities emerge to imbue your project with what is important to you. Are you curious to see how the Sister City Approach may inform your development?
OUR FOUNDER
If you know Anna Lucey Mackay, you know she can’t write an email without including “y’all”. Once she counted 5 y’alls in a three-sentence email (after she hit send and the option to Undo vanished).
But she’s not going to let that get her down. There’s work to be done and she gets up every day to do it. Anna knows not everyone can be a real estate developer, but she knows everyone has an important role to play in her brand of community-first placemaking. If you’ve got the notion, she’ll second that emotion. She should know – she kinda came at it through the back door. When all’s said and done, she’s just a regular person with a penchant for making buildings with people and a pretty fun list of built projects. Because she’s had to ask every question (and unabashedly continues to do so), Anna’s just the woman to share what she’s learned along the way.
Need to see the real credentials? Check ‘em out.
OUR ENDEAVORS
Rocket Empire Machine
How do you create inclusive and affordable retail with the goal of representing the diverse community where your project resides?
Crowd-investing the Fair-Haired Dumbbell
How do you democratize development?
CHILES HOUSE
When the goal is to bring uplifting housing to Portland’s most vulnerable as quickly as possible, how do you do it?
Crowd-investing Jolene’s First Cousin
How do you create opportunities for everyday people to financially back local solutions for homelessness and to earn a return?
LET’S WORK TOGETHER
Coffee Talk.
Join Anna Mackay of Sister City and five of your placemaking contemporaries for an hour-long open forum. Currently held on Zoom.
On the house - free of charge.
Digging In.
Interested in getting the Sister City perspective on your early-phase development? Schedule an hour with Anna Mackay where she’ll dole out some hot takes. Currently held on Zoom.
Sliding Scale Pricing.
Feasibility Studies.
Sister City engages in feasibility studies on a limited basis. These comprehensive, early-phase deep dives will equip you up with a clear path to developing your project with the Sister City Approach. Feasibility studies take between 3-6 months depending on the size of the project.
Pricing varies by Project.
Crowd Investing Advising.
So, you want to do crowd-investing! Let Sister City dig through some Federal and State-specific options and advise you on how to tackle this admirable goal. From coordinating legal to establishing an online portal, we’ve been there and can help you do that.
Pricing varies by Project.