Monthly Archives: April 2022

Newest Project to Cover 3,173-acres in Caldwell County

DALLAS, April 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- RREAF Communities, a division of RREAF Holdings focused on acquiring, developing, and delivering highly-amenitized, large-scale master-planned communities, today announced the closing on a 3,173-acre mixed-use development between Austin and San Antonio in Caldwell County.

"RREAF Communities' master plan proposes a wide variety of land uses," said Kip Sowden, Chairman and CEO of RREAF Holdings. "Our current plans build on the exciting economic momentum in Texas. We have seen tremendous interest in commercial opportunities, and this property is ideally situated to become a commercial and industrial hub."

The community is anticipated to include thousands of residential homes, abundant retail, restaurants, hotels, offices, healthcare, and light industrial sites, as well as future school sites. The property is located at the intersection of State Highways 130 and 80, a 30-minute commute to Austin and 40-minute commute to San Antonio. Its location offers convenient access to two major Texas markets.

"Being within a reasonable commute to the exploding job markets of Austin and San Antonio, as well as the vibrant cities of San Marcos and Lockhart, puts us in perfect position to deliver much needed inventory to a market area that is significantly constrained on future housing," said Shannon Livingston, President of RREAF Communities. "Without new communities like this in the pipeline, area residents will continue to struggle to find and afford a place to live."

By providing single family lots along with build-to-rent, townhomes, and multifamily properties, RREAF Communities plans to meet the needs of a growing population of people coming to this area for decades to come. The development will offer a surplus of amenities including hiking and biking trails, outdoor event pavilions, athletic fields, and fitness centers for a live, work and play environment. This will be one of the most thoughtful and intentional communities in Central Texas.

For more information, please visit: http://www.rreaf.com.

About RREAF CommunitiesRREAF Communities, a division of RREAF Holdings, was established in 2020 to focus on acquiring and developing highly-amenitized, large-scale master-planned communities located in the path of growth within rapidly expanding markets. Its veteran team of real estate professionals seeks projects that offer substantial opportunity to deliver a variety of uses including residential, commercial, retail and mixed-use. RREAF Communities is currently developing projects in the Texas Triangle, including Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, Houston and San Antonio with over 6,500 acres in these high growth markets. Learn more at http://www.RREAF.com.

About RREAF HoldingsRREAF Holdings LLC ("RREAF") is a privately held, vertically integrated commercial real estate company based inDallas, Texas with roots that go back 35 years in the industry. RREAF focuses its portfolio of commercial real estate projects and development under five main divisions catering primarily to middle America with its programmatic value-add multifamily acquisitions, opportunistic hospitality and resort acquisitions, core ground-up development, large and highly amenitized master planned developments and its ground-up extended stay hospitality development division.

RREAF employs over 375 people, mostly across the Sun Belt region, handling a wide range of commercial real estate investment matters, including in-house underwriting, due diligence, capital markets, acquisition, asset management, property management, construction management, project development, accounting and legal support. RREAF, along with its debt and equity partners, has built a diversified portfolio in its core competencies in excess of$3.5 billionin assets, across 14 states,under management.Winner of the 2021 Multifamily Operator of the Year Award and selected as anOptigo 2022 Select Sponsor, RREAF values the impact that it has on local communities.RREAF's mission is to enhance the lives of its investors, partners, residents and guests by providing outstanding service, excellence and expertise with integrity, vision, values and purpose. For more information, please visitRREAF.com.

SOURCE RREAF Communities

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RREAF Communities Announces Master Planned Community Between Austin and San Antonio - PR Newswire

In partnership with Golf Canada, RBC Community Junior Golf will support the implementationof theFirst Tee Canadaand Youth on Courseprogramsat municipal or publicly accessible golf courses, with the goal to engage 15 facilities in 2022.The courses were selected based on accessibility to local public transit as well as proximity to community centres, with an intentional focus on regional and diverse representation.

By 2023, RBC Community Junior Golf is expected to engagemore than 10,000 young people by deliveringfreeFirst Teeprogramming, which teaches life lessons through the game of golf,as well as $5Youth on Coursegreen fees to select Canadian courses across the country.

RBC Community Junior Golf Locations:

"As a long-standing supporter of golf and an advocate for youth, RBC is proud to bring RBC Community Junior Golf to life," said Shannon Cole, Vice-President, Brand Marketing, RBC. "We believe that sport has the power to build character, teach valuable life lessons, and provide opportunities for young people to grow, and we are excited to work with Golf Canada to provide First Tee and Youth on Course programming across the country."

Canadian youth ages five to 18 years can benefit from programming at one of the participating golf courses. RBC Community Junior Golf participating facilities will work with community centres or schools in their local area to register youth participants. For more details, visit the RBC Community Junior Golf website: https://www.golfcanada.ca/rbcjrgolf.

Golf Canada is grateful to have a like-minded partner in RBC with a shared intentional focus to increase access to junior golf, especially for youth from backgrounds that historically have been underserved.

"The enthusiasm from RBC to advance the sport and provide funding to introduce the game to a diverse range of young golfers at municipal and especially publicly accessible facilities has been extraordinary," said Kevin Blue, Chief Sport Officer, Golf Canada. "RBC Community Junior Golf will accelerate the delivery of First Tee programming across the country and with RBC's support, golf will be a vehicle to foster life skills and positively impact Canadian youth from all backgrounds."

PGA TOUR professional golfer and Team RBC ambassador Harold Varner III serves as an advisor for RBC Community Junior Golf and helped launch the initiative at Humber Valley Golf Course in Toronto a participating location last September. He was joined by youth from the Rexdale Boys and Girls Club, where he offered advice and guidance for reaching one's potential both on and off the course. Learn more about the launch event and Harold's and RBC's vision at RBC Stories.

"RBC Community Junior Golf will give many kids who don't currently have access, the opportunity to play golf and experience all of the benefits associated with the game," said Harold Varner III, Team RBC ambassador. "I've always been passionate about introducing young people to golf, and I'm excited to champion this initiative that will provide youth across Canada with an equal opportunity to play the sport I love."

One of the important ways RBC brings its Purpose of helping clients thrive and communities prosper to life is by empowering young people. RBC Future Launch is the bank's $500 million commitment to help Canadian youth prepare for the jobs of tomorrow, including $50 million in focused funding to create meaningful and transformative pathways to prosperity for 25,000 BIPOC youth by 2025. In addition, through the RBC Heritage and RBC Canadian Open tournaments, RBC has helped raise over $35 million in support of local charities in Canada and the United States.

About RBC

Royal Bank of Canada is a global financial institution with a purpose-driven, principles-led approach to delivering leading performance. Our success comes from the 88,000+ employees who leverage their imaginations and insights to bring our vision, values and strategy to life so we can help our clients thrive and communities prosper. As Canada's biggest bank, and one of the largest in the world based on market capitalization, we have a diversified business model with a focus on innovation and providing exceptional experiences to our 17 million clients in Canada, the U.S. and 27 other countries. Learn more at rbc.com.

We are proud to support a broad range of community initiatives through donations, community investments and employee volunteer activities. See how at rbc.com/community-social-impact.

About Golf Canada

Golf Canada is the National Sports Federation and governing body for golf in Canada, representing nearly 270,000 golfers and 1,400 member clubs across the country. A proud member of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Golf Canada's vision is to be a world leader in golf and achieving the mission to increase Canadian participation and excellence. For more information about what Golf Canada is doing to support golf in your community, visit http://www.golfcanada.ca.

SOURCE RBC

For further information: Brianne Sommerville, RBC, [emailprotected], 437-228-5396; Dan Pino, Golf Canada, [emailprotected], 416-434-5525

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RBC Community Junior Golf partners with publicly accessible golf courses to build greater diversity and inclusivity in the sport - Canada NewsWire

MARSHFIELD, WI (OnFocus) Marshfield area businesses were seen wearing the color purple on Friday in support of Justice for Lily Day and the Chippewa Falls community.

Chippewa Falls School District initiated the trend, posting on social media earlier this week: In support of Lily and her family, we invite students, staff, and our entire community to wear purple on Friday, April 29th.

Ten year-old Lily Peters was reported missing by her father on Sunday and her body was found on Monday morning after an extensive search.

The juvenile suspect arrested Tuesday was charged with first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree sexual assault and first-degree sexual assault with a child under age 13 resulting in great bodily harm, and is being held on a $1 million bail.

Situations like this make us think about our own circumstances, our own children and our own communities. This could happen anywhere. We want to show our support for those who are impacted by this tragedy so they know that we are thinking about and praying for them during this difficult time, said David Murphy, President at MMCCU in Marshfield.

Along with MMCCU, staff at Weilers Convenience Stores and Marshfield Insurance were among the businesses also sporting purple.

Many of us are parents, tragedies like this make us reflect on our own communities and families, said Nick Arnoldy, President & CEO at Marshfield Insurance. We want to show support and awareness to further discussions so that situations like this become even more unlikely.

We welcome your stories! Contact us at [emailprotected]!

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Local Businesses Wear Purple in Support of "Justice for Lily" Day - OnFocus

update: 4/29/2022 7:38 am pst

Lily Peters died of strangulation and blunt force trauma, an autopsy has revealed.

Prosecutors claim the 10-year-old was also sexually assaulted by the 14-year-old suspect before she died.

On Wednesday the teen, identified only by the initials "C.P-B.", was charged with first-degree intentional homicide, first-degree sexual assault and first-degree sexual assault of a child under age 13, resulting in great bodily harm.

Chippewa County District Attorney Wade Newell said the boy admitted to police he had punched the victim in the stomach, knocking her to the ground, "essentially strangled her, hit her with a stick, before strangling her to the point of death, before he then sexually assaulted her," ABC7 reported.

Newell said the teen also admitted "his intention was to rape and kill the victim from the get-go" after they went to the wooded area where her body would eventually be found.

Arguing for bail, the accused's defense attorney insisted the boy did not pose a flight risk.

"He cannot drive. He is not in a position to raise much money, frankly, at all on his own. He resides with his mother. He is a lifetime resident of Chippewa County," lawyer Karl Schmidt said, per the broadcaster.

The judge set $1 million cash bond. The teen is due in court via video link on May 5.

It has not yet been determined if the teen will be tried as an adult; In Wisconsin, first-degree intentional homicide cases go to adult court by default, but it may not necessarily stay there due to the age of the suspect.

original story: 4/27/2022 8:07 am pst

A juvenile has been arrested in connection to the death of a 10-year-old Wisconsin girl and police say the suspect was not a stranger.

Lily Peters disappeared from Chippewa Falls on Sunday night; her father raised the alarm around 9 PM after she failed to return from a visit to her aunt's house, just blocks away.

Officers and Sheriff's deputies began combing the area, using search dogs and drones; 12 hours later, her body was discovered near a walking trail. Her bicycle was discovered nearby.

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On Tuesday, Chippewa Falls Police Chief Matthew Kelm announced they had a suspect in custody a juvenile.

"The suspect was not a stranger," the Chief told a press conference. "The suspect was known to the victim."

"We do not believe there is any danger to the community."

"While nothing will bring Lily Peters back or change what happened, we are very grateful to be able to deliver this news for the family and for the community," the Chief added. "Driving through town and through our communities, we can see the purple ribbons and honestly, I expect nothing less from the Chippewa Falls community."

He said a tremendous amount of work had gone into the investigation at the federal, state, country and local level, and law enforcement had been working 24/7 on the case; he thanked the public for over 200 tips they received, which were "critical" to solving the case.

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He did not reveal the exact age of the suspect, nor how they knew the victim, but did refer to the suspect as "he".

The cause of death also remains unknown.

Neighbor Jeremy Machnik, whose children often played with Lily, told KSTP he frequently saw the child riding through the area on her bike.

"I grew up here all my life, never heard of anything like this," he said. "It's a scary situation when you know we're just inside the house and it's Sunday afternoon, we're cleaning and making dinner and that's going on a block away from our house and it's scary."

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Lily Peters Was Strangled, Bludgeoned And Raped By 14-Year-Old Boy: Prosecutor - TooFab

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are perfectly positioned to become leaders in the burgeoning field of public interest technology.

Dr. Chad Womack, senior director of the National STEM Programs and Initiatives at the United Negro College Fund (UNCF).Thats according to experts who gathered Tuesday night at #BlackTechPolicyWeek, hosted by #BlackTechFutures Research Institute, in partnership with Diverse.

#BlackTechFutures, from its home base at HBCU Stillman College, connects local, Black leaders with their nearest HBCU, and shares the data and policy know-how to build an equitable technological future. Currently, #BlackTechFutures is working with four cities in the U.S.: Birmingham, AL; Houston, TX; Nashville and Memphis, TN.

Public interest technology puts people at the center of technology. For #BlackTechFutures, partnering with HBCUs is intentional. HBCUs' unique mission, to uplift Black individuals and their communities, gives them a leg up on understanding how to put people first. Using public interest technology, experts said, can be a way for HBCUs to reclaim their narrative and promote Black excellence.

I do fundamentally believe that HBCUs are the institutions and space in which our students and faculty can merge the tech with the core mission of our schools, by definition connected to community and in the public interest, Dr. Chad Womack, senior director of the National STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Programs and Initiatives at the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), told the moderator, Dr. Jamal Watson.

Dr. Brittany Mosby, director of HBCU Success, the first state-organized group focused on the success of public and private HBCUs in Tennessee.The mission statement underneath HBCUs [is] to transform the world through the African American experience. Our schools are sacred in that they represent who we are as a people, as a folk, said Womack. As we engage the world, we need to make sure were allowing our young people to gain the skills that are important. At the same time, we have a lot to bring to the worlds in terms of a humanistic understanding of what this world is all about.

Isaac McCoy, dean of Stillmans School of Business, said that it was an easy decision to bring #BlackTechFutures to the college because of the leadership of Stillman President Dr. Cynthia Warrick.

One of the first things I remember [Warrick] saying, Stillman in the community, and the community in Stillman. How do we include them into research, design, advocacy, growth? asked McCoy. Public interest technology looks at public good, that fits what Warrick said about being in the community. We understand tech is the common denominator of what we do.

Stillman recently joined the Public Interest Technology University Network (PIT-UN), which supports schools as they explore the new discipline and includes technological strongholds like Stanford and MIT. McCoy said he believes the model established by Stillman, incubating #BlackTechFutures, is easily replicable for other institutions looking for innovative ways to bring research and change to their campus.

Technology as it stands today does not work for everyone, said Afua Bruce, author of The Tech That Comes Next.: How Changemakers, Philanthropists, and Technologists Can Build an Equitable World.

Whether its different tech systems, algorithms that dont recognize dark skins or overlook genders, said Bruce.HBCUs absolutely have a place and can lead in public interest technology, the idea that we can take a lens of equity and justice into the tech worldhow we develop tech, how we design and employ itits an idea HBCUs are very comfortable with, its what theyve historically done.

Dr. Brittany Mosby, director of HBCU Success, the first state-organized group focused on the success of public and private HBCUs in Tennessee, agreed.

Dr. Eric D. Hart, chief programs officer at the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.HBCUs are in a prime position where they can truly mold the curriculum to be interdisciplinary in a way that serves their students interests, their tendencies to lean into these human serving fields while integrating what we know to be on the horizon, said Mosby. We need to see more HBCUs in that space, and we need to bring the unique experience of HCBUs, which is to say, we have a wealth of this human experience, human empathy, people who have a desire to change the community. And we just need to equip them with the tech skills.

Dr. Eric D. Hart, chief programs officer at the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, said that by becoming leaders in public interest technology, HBCUs might be better able to tell their story.

We have to own the narrative, because we know our schools are producing excellency, said Hart. Were excellent at what we do. We have to reclaim the brilliance and excellence of our HBCUs.

Panelists encouraged those in attendance to not wait for students to graduate to get them involved in their field, and to find innovation at the intersection of different disciplines.

At an HBCU, we have so much to teach, so much to give, said Mosby. Were bringing a lot to this movement. We need to take advantage and step into that powerfully, as HBCUs, and as leaders of HCBUs in this public interest technology space.

Liann Herder can be reached at lherder@diverseeducation.com.

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HBCUs and Public Interest Technology - The Perfect Match - Diverse: Issues in Higher Education