Rebuilding Cities: How My Early Work in Detroit Shaped My Path Into Real Estate Development
When I look back at my early years in real estate and construction, the 1990s stand out as the decade that defined my professional foundation. Between 1992 and 2000, I was working as an electrician, earning my degree in architecture, and spending every free hour investing in and restoring old homes across Detroit and other post-industrial cities like Cleveland, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh. These were cities with incredible bones—neighborhoods lined with early 20th-century architecture, built by craftsmen who believed in permanence. But decades of economic decline had left many of those homes vacant and forgotten. Where others saw blight, I saw opportunity and history worth saving. My construction background gave me the technical confidence to take on projects others avoided. I understood systems, structure, and wiring—but I was equally drawn to how buildings could be reimagined. My architectural studies helped me think beyond repair and toward design—toward how a building could serve both ...