Ommeed Sathe: Facelift for a Midsize City
By Nicole Wallace for Chronicle of Philanthropy's 40 Under 40
Originally Published on Philanthropy.com
Ommeed Sathe, 37
Vice President, Impact Investments, Prudential Financial
Newark
Ommeed Sathe has a big job. He oversees a $500 million portfolio of investments designed to produce both financial and social returns, and Prudential aims to increase the amount of money invested to $1 billion by 2020.
But the financial-services giant isn’t just investing in other people’s deals. The company is recruiting partners and creating its own projects for social good.
"A lot of our peers are mostly picking from a Chinese menu of what’s available," says Mr. Sathe. "We get to go in the kitchen and actually cook the projects."
The most ambitious recipe to date is the redevelopment of the Hahne & Company department store, a spectacular 1901 building that has sat empty in downtown Newark since the late 1980s. When the renovation is complete, Whole Foods is set to move into the ground floor, and Rutgers University’s College of Art and Design will be on the second floor. The top two floors will be a mix of market-rate and affordable apartments.
Over the last three years, Prudential has invested more than $180 million in projects that have brought 1,000 housing units, 250 hotel rooms, and 300,000 square feet of retail space to downtown Newark.
