🎙️ Local Real Estate Developers

Sometimes the biggest wins start with trust. This is how locals reshape their communities from the inside out.

Ben Sears and the Star House team didn’t just redevelop a closed church in Columbus, Ohio. They are creating a drop-in center that’s now transforming young lives.

In this minisode, we pull back the curtain on how they navigated zoning, city bureaucracy, and a neighborhood that already believed in them before the project eve...

This isn’t just a podcast. It’s a movement for LOCALS ready to lead.In this insightful episode of Local Real Estate Developers, we sit down with Chris King, a young and ambitious real estate investor and developer based in Pensacola, Florida. Chris shares how he transitioned from licensed realtor to full-time developer—all before age 30—by tackling a high-risk, high-reward historic redevelopment in downtown Pensacola.Chris opens up...

From Beer Talk to Deal Structuring in Idaho | Think Like a Developer Minisode#02

You don’t need a pitch deck—you just need to talk about what you’re doing.

In this minisode, we’re back in Idaho with Craig Parsons as he unpacks how funding actually happens when you’re starting small. One moment he’s chatting about his project at a local bar—next thing you know, someone overhears and offers to connect him with an investor.

...

This isn’t just a podcast. It’s a movement for LOCALS ready to lead.In this compelling episode of Local Real Estate Developers, Rachel Chwaszczewski — a 30-year real estate veteran, builder, and community strategist — shares her powerful journey from flipping homes to spearheading transformational workforce housing and infill development projects. Rachel’s work sits at the intersection of private, nonprofit, and municipal collabora...

This isn’t just a podcast. It’s a movement for LOCALS ready to lead.In this inspiring episode of Local Real Estate Developers, we sit down with Rajan Chida — a young entrepreneur who went from reselling sneakers to co-developing a modern cabin resort alongside his partner, Renzo. With no formal background in real estate, Rajan shares how sheer curiosity, hustle, and relationship-building opened the door to his first major developme...

🎙 From Deli Sandwich to 19-Lot Deal in Small-Town Idaho | Minisode #01

Wait—did that deal just fall into your lap at the deli?

That’s exactly what happened in Idaho, where Craig Parsons went from chatting about an old building to uncovering a 19-lot residential development opportunity—already zoned, mapped, and nearly shovel-ready.

No trust fund. No formal title. Just local relationships, smart questions, and the guts to ...

🛑 What if the future of real estate isn't about ROI… but about rebuilding trust?

In this episode of The Local Real Estate Developer Podcast, we’re handing the mic to someone who’s walking the talk—Ben Sears, VP of Expansion at Star House in Columbus, Ohio. Ben’s team didn’t wait around for the system to fix itself—they became the community operator & developer.

From turning a condemned motel into housing to navigati...

This isn’t just a podcast. It’s a movement for LOCALS ready to lead.In this powerful episode of Local Real Estate Developers, Garland Harris shares his journey creating affordable, innovative housing solutions rooted in community and equity in Houston.

Garland dives deep into the challenges and opportunities of missing middle housing, zoning code changes, and designing developments that support small businesses and entrepreneurs who...

This isn’t just commercial real estate. It’s community-building at its boldest.

What if the strip malls, empty lots, and tired old shopping centers in your city weren’t dead—they were just waiting for someone like you to reimagine them?

In this episode of The Local Real Estate Developer Podcast, Kristi and Raphael sit down with Beth Azor—a retail leasing legend turned developer—who proves you don’t need to fly across the coun...

This isn’t just a podcast. It’s a movement for LOCALS ready to lead.

In this powerful episode of Local Real Estate Developers, Kenneth Bell, a seasoned developer, entrepreneur, and community advocate, explores the world of real estate development from a deeply personal and practical lens.

Kenneth shares his unique journey from early entrepreneurial pursuits to becoming a full-time developer passionate about revitalizing commu...

Ever thought your dream project was too risky… or too remote?

Lynn Makela didn’t let any of that stop her.

In this episode, we’re diving into the story of how she and her husband left the grind of city life to redevelop a forgotten lakeside resort in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula—using grit, vision, and a whole lot of sweat equity.

This isn’t some fairytale flip. This is what it really looks like to start where you are, with what you’ve ...

This isn’t just a podcast. It’s a movement for LOCALS ready to lead.

What if the buildings you drive by every day—the vacant lots, the rundown corner stores, the old warehouses—were yours to reimagine?

This first episode of The Local Real Estate Developer Podcast kicks off the mission: breaking down the gatekeeping in development and showing locals exactly how to start building real projects in their own communities.

Kristi Kandel and...

Most podcasts talk about real estate from the top down.
This one’s different. We’re starting from the ground up.
With locals.

The Local Real Estate Developer Podcast is for people who are tired of waiting for someone else to fix their town.
For people who drive past the same vacant building every day thinking, “That could be something.”
For people who care deeply—and are ready to build boldly.

In Episode 1, we’re setting ...