Ellington Jackson Member Spotlight 

Ellington Jackson is the founder and CEO of OBJane Construction & Development Firm. As an entrepreneur and former business banker, Ellington leveraged his investment with his background in financing to create his firm.  

Jackson was born in Miami, FL, and moved to Boston, MA on in 2012 to attend Harvard. Upon graduation, Jackson entered the banking industry working in the small business lending where he began brokering loans for turndowns. Following several successful projects, he became an alternative lending broker and eventually a real estate developer, which also led him to obtain his general contractor license. He has a true passion for real estate which is fueled by his desire for the preservation of wealth in black & brown families. 

Q & A with Mr.  Ellington Jackson 

You recently launched OBJane Construction. What inspired you to move in this direction?  

Frustration – frustration was my inspiration.  My frustration arose when searching for an experienced developer and construction project manager and or General Contractor. This was before I obtained my GC license.  At the time I was deep in a construction project and was facing a series of unique challenges as both developer and self-performing defacto construction project manager. I was looking for guidance from a similar perspective. I knew this person existed; however, I was having trouble locating them.  

Frustration aside, I simply set out to become what I was looking for. My only goal at that time was to serve the needs of my company. However, it became clear that there was an overwhelming need for minority-owned general contractors in the Greater Boston Area. This propelled me to wrap a full construction firm around the GC license to generate outside income to funnel into development and create jobs in the commercial construction opportunities Boston had to offer.  

What attracted you to the field of commercial real estate?  

 I have always had a passion for real estate and specifically residential housing. As a budding developer my focus is mid-rise commercial housing developments.  Additionally, the attraction is also an adherence to something my father always said, which was “Learn in the direction you desire to earn.” Additionally, I feel a sense of community when developing residential housing. I enjoy building a place for families to live, kids to play, retailers to set-up-shop and communities to grow.  

 How has being a part of the ULI Pathways to Inclusion program shaped your understanding of commercial real estate? 

Conceptually, the best way to answer this would be the recognition of the unknown unknown.  ULI introduced me to the unknown… by that I mean it opened a perspective that honestly, I didn’t even know existed. 

How did that shape me?  In a word: access.  It gives me access to knowledge, resources, companies, individuals, concepts, experts and symposiums just to name a few things. This access positively affected my personal growth and the growth of my company. Not to mention that being in the ULI Cohort itself allowed me to engage in conversations, be a part of routine meetups where we would discuss business, and access post cohort business opportunities.  At ULI, I found a Real Estate attorney in Ali Manigat, Esq., Ali was instrumental in getting me through my most recent development project and even availed himself post sellout for buyer concerns.  

Secondly, I was able to meet the amazing staff at ULI Boston. At every turn they were concerned with cohort engagement and nurturing a sense of belonging in each member of the Cohort. The ULI Boston team was warm and hospitable, making the journey into commercial real estate less daunting and positively influencing the shape of my association with the industry. I am grateful for ULI Boston.  

How have you kept balanced during COVID?  

Having and sustaining balance is difficult in the best of times, trying to find balance in a global pandemic is particularly arduous.  For me, I strive to discover my personal balance daily understanding that although it doesn’t have to be rigid, I still must keep focus on my goals.  

The difficulty in COVID, for me at least, wasn’t the isolation but the confinement and by extension the inability to enjoy my favorite pastime – retail therapy! However, this confinement gave me quality time to spend reconnecting and strengthening my relationships with family and friends.  

I also strived for balance by constantly reading, doing online workshops, exercising (though not nearly as much as planned for), eating healthy and leaning into my own personal development.  

What are your hopes for a post COVID world? 

My greatest hope post-COVID is the introduction of decentralized platforms into the investment and commercial real estate industry. Decentralized financing and proptech’s emergence into the commercial real estate space, I believe this will allow for greater public access and remove many historic barriers to entry to investing and or participation.  

COVID has forced business, in general, to rethink how it engages with consumers and contend with its blatant inefficiencies. This ideological shift allows for new and creative ideas to take form and, more importantly, take hold. My ardent hope is that decentralized platforms introduce greater access to commercial Real Estate for marginalized communities. 

Blockchain, and potentially Hashgraph, has paved the way for broader real estate investment and diverse ownership; this requires no exclusive access or relationships, simply a defi platform that can be downloaded on a mobile device or logged into via a web portal. This new form of engagement leads to greater visibility which sparks awareness, cultivates interest, fosters education and finally broadens participation! I think Defi will change how capital is raised, how deals are structured and, potentially, even asset valuation.  

It’s my hope that Defi will for the commercial real estate, and by extension construction, industry echo systems – scale its ability to reach out in ways that are far more effective and transformative than pre COVID methods which – will help the industry at large by bringing innovative ideas, new perspectives and new communities into the fold…and that excites me.