New housing visionary

Latino Leaders: The National Magazine of the Successful American Latino, April-May, 2005

Henry Cisneros's dream of creating a strong society goes far beyond racial and economic boundaries. He believes that by encouraging and facilitating the economic progress of all groups we can build deeply-rooted, cohesive communities. In order to achieve that, Cisneros created two highly successful development concepts: CityVista and CityView.

Since their inception, American CityVista and CityView have recharged depressed areas of large metropolitan cities by producing high-quality, affordable housing for hundreds of families, inspiring new residents to take part in developing their own lively communities. After starting operations in 2003, CityView appears to be firmly established. Joel Shine, CityView's CEO, expects that by the end of 2005, the company will have under contract about $750 million worth of housing in market value, "a good chunk of that with sacks in the air." The company was established with a $40 Million investment provided by the California Public Employee's Retirement System (CalPERS), and its success has been such that CalPERS has allocated another $100 million to do business not only in California but in Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington State. CityView is a discretionary housing fund that focuses on creating the highest quality housing for America's working families. It's a "one-stop shop" for equity, debt, insurance and community and political relationships and expertise for its builder partners, a "dream team" of experts in the area of infill strategic services. Builders not operating in the West should take note: The CityView concept could be coming to a city near you. Cisneros and his CityView team am considering the possibilities of taking their business model national. "The next decision for our team is to determine whether or not it is advisable to organize a fund like what CityView represents on a national scale" says Cisneros. We can only hope it is.