Our Story: Against All Odds,

A Vision Takes Root.

 

 

Every transformative project begins with a story.

This one begins with belief, going direct to the community from the beginning. 

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The Green District PVD was envisioned by I.“Lanre” Ajakaiye—a first-generation son of Providence, Rhode Island, whose roots in this city of Providence, Rhode Island and New England run deep. From kindergarten at the Nickerson House Community Center, to school at St. Mary’s on Barton Street, to playing baseball with JR’s Fastlane in nearby Silver Lake, and growing up in Hartford Park, this journey was shaped by lived experience, community, and place.

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That lived experience formed a simple but powerful conviction: development should not happen to a community—it should be built with it.

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Before renderings, before capital stacks, before construction, this project began with listening. With community voice. With trust. In a move never before attempted in Rhode Island, Lanre became the first person in New England approved by the SEC to crowdfund a real estate development, inviting the public into the process from day one. The result: 188+ community supporters and more than 50 testimonials—proof that people believed not just in a project, but in a new way of building.

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This effort represents more than brick and mortar.
It is a testament to partnership, persistence, and possibility.

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After more than 60 years of disinvestment and decline, The Green District PVD is designed to demonstrate what intentional, inclusive development can achieve—revitalizing a long-underserved corridor into a vibrant, sustainable, and future-ready community.

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A New Model for Community-Centered Development

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Guided by local understanding and global expertise, The Green District PVD brings together community leaders, regional partners, and national and international professionals—all deeply invested in Providence’s future. Each plays a critical role in transforming vision into reality.

The goal is bold and deliberate: to reimagine a historic manufacturing corridor—long overlooked and under-resourced—into a mixed-income, intentionally empowering ecosystem that integrates housing, workforce development, economic opportunity, and agricultural innovation, designed to serve communities of all income levels for generations to come.

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Along the way, an intentional coalition was built—environmental specialists, architects, financial advisors, technologists, and community advocates—united by a shared purpose: to create something extraordinary that endures.

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What sets this project apart is not just what we build, but how we build it—through collaboration, transparency, sustainability, and an unwavering commitment to positive, lasting impact. The Green District PVD exists because of the collective brilliance, courage, and dedication of so many who believed this could be done differently—and better.

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Here’s to Building What Lasts and Most Importantly is Built to Lift! 

 

Against all odds.
With the community.
For the future.

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Here’s to creating something meaningful—together with a great team.  Now Meet Some of Them (who aren't shy)! 

— Idrees “Lanre” Ajakaiye