At NewMark Merrill, we believe that authentic community investment starts with passionate leaders who are committed to driving real change. This month, we sat down with Jermaine McMihelk, Co-Founder and Managing Director of NewMark Merrill Hadler Community Partners, to talk about his personal journey, professional mission and commitment to community. What we found powerful in our conversation with Jermaine is how his journey and deep dedication to community are redefining what investment means in historically undersupplied neighborhoods.
A full-circle moment
Jermaine’s story with NewMark Merrill began with a cold email to CEO Sandy Sigal shortly after he graduated from Harvard Law School, as he was looking for an opportunity to enter the world of real estate development. He was inspired by the company’s dedication and commitment to the community.
After about five years on the team, learning the ins and outs of retail development, Jermaine stepped away to try something new. He opened and ran a 7-Eleven franchise in South Los Angeles on Crenshaw and Washington, becoming the first African American to do so in that area. “I was born and raised in that part of town and was really passionate about it,” he said when talking about what enticed him to step away to that new venture.
He also later worked for a firm specializing in ground-up projects in urban LA. “I had an opportunity to go in and oversee the developer’s portfolio in that market, and I loved the idea of starting a company focused on investing in underrepresented communities and doing it the right way.”
When it became time to pitch that vision of starting his own venture, he didn’t look far. “Sandy, who has always been a great mentor of mine and a great leader, was the only person I ever pitched the business to,” he said. “I was fortunate that he saw that the idea had value and wanted to build it together.”
The result was a new division under Newmark Merrill companies called NewMark Merrill Hadler Community Partners, which is a dedicated platform that focuses on bringing high-quality retail investment to communities that have long been overlooked.
Living the True Definition of Community Investment
What sets this approach apart is pairing community needs with great businesses, a process that Jermaine says requires deep, authentic relationships in every neighborhood they serve. It takes more than just talking to city officials when ready to build. It is about listening early, engaging, and working alongside community leaders and organizations to truly understand the nuances of the communities you are serving before ever breaking ground.
“Being authentically connected to the communities that we serve provides us an opportunity to understand what they desire, how they see and envision their future and then the role that we can play in that from our position as developers,” Jermaine says.
Adapting to the Evolving Community Investment Landscape
As community development continues to change in light of shifting market and economic conditions, increased competition, and more, staying focused and not compromising on core values is key.
“It can be very easy and convenient to be community-focused when times are good and when the economy is strong,” he says. “The real test is what you do when interest rates are high, or when communities are struggling. That’s when consistency matters.”
Part of the consistency comes from being a tech-forward company. From AI-driven tools to internal strategy sessions on PropTech, continuing to look for ways to increase efficiency allows the team to spend more time doing what matters most. In this case, that means being present in the communities they serve.
At the heart of it all is passionate leadership and genuine care, which starts at the top. “You also need commitment and consistency and have to keep showing up, even when it is hard,” he says. “The great developers over the next decade will be the ones who prioritize it as a people-first business and don’t lose focus of that.”
The Most Powerful Lesson
According to Jermaine, the most rewarding part of the job is getting the opportunity to engage cities, community members, nonprofits, and everyday people to understand the nuanced, true needs of a community. “You know what they want, what they desire, how they see their future, how they envision what their lives could be. You know their aspirations,” says Jermaine. “It is truly a privilege to be privy to those things, hear those things and to learn those things.
In the end, these are not easy problems to solve, but they aren’t impossible. “Using expertise, aligning the right people, the right brands, the right resources, and, above all, the right commitment, we can create real change,” he says. “That is where the magic is.”