POKO Partners is actively engaged in the development of high quality, competitively priced mixed use and residential developments, community revitalization, waterfront redevelopment in both urban and suburban locations within the metropolitan area.
[Business News]
POKO Partners, LLC has completed additional units of affordable housing in Harlem.
At a recent showing, the socially responsible real estate company also announced the winners of the Delany Lofts Art Contest, which they hosted for local Harlem Centers administered by The Children’s Aid Society.
The event was launched because POKO both recognizes and embraces the importance of immersing themselves in the communities in which they build.
The Delany Lofts, named after legendary sisters Sadie and Bessie Delany, whose inspiring life story was depicted in a New York Times Best Seller, Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years (with Amy Hill Hearth) is just one of the many POKO Partners projects being developed.
Entrants, who have benefited from the services offered by The Children’s Aid Society and ranged in ages from 5 to 17, were from four different Children’s Aid Society Harlem-based Centers: Dunlevy Milbank, Frederick Douglas, East Harlem and Drew Hamilton Centers. The theme was “A Glimpse of Harlem’s Future”; the categories were art and essay, with two age groups (5-10 and 11-17). The theme tied in nicely with the goals and objectives POKO embraces for Harlem’s future through the development of the Delany Lofts.
Winners of the Art Category were twin sisters Dimond and Cyrstal Bucanan (6, FREDERICK DOUGLASS) and Imerald Jenkins (11, FREDERICK DOUGLASS); in the Essay Category, Chamylah General (10, MILBANK CENTER MASPAS Program) and David Arroyo (11, FREDERICK DOUGLASS).
Contest judges included Kenneth Olson, CEO of POKO Partners, LLC; Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer; Lolita Jackson, Director of Community Outreach, Office of the Mayor and Trustees, The Children’s Aid Society Trustee; Milton Allimadi, Publisher, Black Star News; Herman Bagley, The Children’s Aid Society; Maeve Gyenes, Trustee, The Children’s Aid Society, and Neil Waldman, Advisory Council, The Children’s Aid Society.
In addition to presenting the winners with iPod Nanos, and gift cards to the runners up, Olson presented Casper Lassiter, Center Director, The Children’s Aid Society’s Drew Hamilton Learning Center, with a $5,000 donation to encourage the positive work they do with enabling and inspiring local youth.
Following the winners’ announcement, Olson unveiled and dedicated a plaque in honor of sisters Sadie and Bessie Delany, after whom the Delany Lofts are named. Present at the unveiling was Harry Delany, great-nephew of the sisters, and his three daughters.
Comprised of two, newly constructed seven-story buildings, Delany Lofts boast 24 spacious 1-bedroom, 1 bath loft homes and 12 1-bedroom, 2 bath loft home duplexes with terraces. Delany Lofts provide owners with the option of flexible living in loft homes and reinforces POKO Partners’ corporate philosophy of developing high quality housing at competitive prices. Ranging from $420,000 to $1,000,000, Delany Lofts are exclusively marketed by Warburg Marketing Group. For more information, please visit www.delanylofts.com.
POKO Partners LLC is a socially responsible real estate company founded in 1993 by Kenneth Olson and has developed over $220 million of property, including over 500 units of housing and 500,000 square feet of commercial space.
POKO Partners is actively engaged in the development of high quality, competitively priced mixed use and residential developments, community revitalization, waterfront redevelopment in both urban and suburban locations within the metropolitan area.
For additional information on The Children’s Aid Society, please visit www.childrensaidsociety.org.
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