Carole Griffin can pinpoint the moment Harlem spiraled into decline: the 1970s
blackout.
During the blackout, Griffin, the owner of Griffin Real Estate Group (GREG), recalls
the looting that took place along the boulevards of the neighborhood she calls home.
Afterwards, she witnessed Harlem become HUD-hood and would-be developers
avoid the area like a quagmire.
Since the blight, Griffin has also seen and helped Harlem blossom (not without
controversy) into one of the sexiest real estate spots in the city.
"Now there's so much going on, I wouldn't want to think about moving to another
area," says the 54-year-old who continues to live and work in Harlem. Her trendy
offices sit on the upper floor of an Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard walkup.
The divorced mom founded GREG in 2000, shortly after her only daughter
graduated college. Her firm consults developers on the layout, interior design,
amenities and pricing of prospective projects.
Griffin has had a hand in bringing sophisticated developments like Strivers Gardens
and 1400 on Fifth, Harlem's first green building, to the community.
"The new trend is not only for affordable [housing] to continue to grow, but to bring
in market-rate housing," she says.
Among the market rate projects Griffin is involved with is the Lenox. Slated to open
in the fall of this year, the luxury apartment complex comes with posh perks like
valet parking, hardwood floors, and a fitness center, at a starting cost of $500 per
square foot.
While many in the neighborhood fear the realty boom is squeezing moderate-income
residents out of Harlem, Griffin embraces the so-called revitalization of her
neighborhood.
In 20 years' time she envisions life above 110th Street will be not far removed from
that of the present day Upper West Side, with a little more color perhaps.
"Although we say gentrification, I think we're just going to see a healthy mix across
the board of all nationalities, all ethnicities and of all income ranges," says Griffin.
The businesswoman of Jamaican ancestry, who stays true to her tropical roots by
escaping to Caribbean isles when she can get away, has come a long way since her
days with the state-funded Harlem Community Development Corporation (HCDC).
"I started development with them, of course. I started with affordable housing," says
Griffin, who now mostly works with private, luxury projects.
Dressed in an azure suit, the petite businesswoman with the short-cropped hair
exudes a medley of confidence and modesty. Her firm reports turning over $40
million in its 6-year span.
Sometimes Griffin thinks back to her decade with HCDC, particularly of the first-time
homeownership program she helped spearhead.
"At that point it was an easier sell to sell Harlem to Harlemites, as opposed to selling
it to people who lived below 110th Street," recalls Griffin.
"I went in and developed a whole program. I started with education, doing seminars
with African Americans within the community," she says. Griffin persuaded residents
to make the leap from renting to owning.
It was this work, helping moderate income folk secure homes, which Griffin
acknowledges as the most fulfilling of her career.
"I don't know if I really make a difference if a market rate person purchases," she
says ironically.
She expresses different sentiments when she talks about her days with HCDC,
selling to first-time Harlem homebuyers. "You're making a really big difference," she
says.
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