By Toure

This week on “Masters of the Game,” it was my honor and privilege to interview one of the true GOATs — Don Peebles. If you watch no other episode of the show, it’s gotta be this one. Peebles has created the Peebles Corporation, one of the largest Black-owned real estate companies in America. He’s an important developer in New York City, Miami and other cities. He’s a billionaire. He’s fought his way through the racism of the real estate industry with a unique strategy that’s led to his wealth.

Each month on “Masters of the Game” on theGrioTV, we talk to some brilliant, successful Black people about their career and their journey and how they “made it.” We’ve talked to performers like Debbie Allen, athletes like tennis star France Tiafoe, and comedians like Kenan Thompson, but Peebles is the first businessman we’ve had on the show, and his advice could change your life. I was excited to talk to him because I aspire to become a real estate investor. That’s how you build lasting wealth that you can pass on to future generations — by owning valuable real estate. But it’s an intimidating world to enter. How do you start? How do you keep from making mistakes? So Peebles was incredibly inspiring. He has spent his life working in real estate and everything he said about his business was an important opportunity to learn.

Peebles was tall and smooth, as cool as any of the entertainers we’ve had on the show. He’s charismatic and charming, which, of course, is important in networking and building a career. People are more likely to work with people they like. Peebles noted the racism that’s common in real estate but said he’s crafted a strategy that would let him circumvent some of that — instead of working with private individuals who may discriminate against him or shut him out of deals, he preferred to work with the local city government because they tend to have properties that they need to sell. Peebles explained that cities don’t want to be in the position of being a developer. They would much rather private citizens and banks deal with that level of debt and risk. So, from time to time, cities must sell some of their buildings, and many times doing business with minority-owned firms means added benefits for the city. In that way, Peebles gets a chance to buy valuable properties that need work. He develops them and creates elegant living spaces. We did our interview in an apartment inside one of his buildings in downtown Manhattan, and it was a gorgeous place to live.

This is a really important “Masters of the Game” because no matter how old or athletic you are, Peebles can show you how to move upward economically. He started small in the real estate industry and slowly moved up, learning everything he could. Now, with economic power, he can bring his vision of the world into reality. For Black people to reach true liberation we have to close the racial wealth gap and one way of approaching that is to create thousands of Black homeowners and landlords. If we gain power in the real estate industry, we gain a foothold on real power in this country. Listen to the master of real estate, Don Peebles, as the first step in that critical journey. My “Masters of the Game” interview with Don Peebles premieres on Friday at 9 p.m. ET on TheGrioTV.

Credit: TheGrio

By Kelly Evans

Don Peebles, founder of the Peebles Corporation, joins ‘Power Lunch’ to discuss the health of the housing market.

Credit: CNBC 

By Neil Cavuto

The Peebles Corporation Chairman and founder Don Peebles argues the 'bar was very low' for the president's speech Tuesday.

Credit: Fox

By Grant Cardone

Roy Donahue "Don" Peebles is an American real estate entrepreneur, author, and political activist. Peebles is the founder, chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Peebles Corporation, a real estate company.

View the full interview here.

By Janelle Harris Dixon

Don Peebles is serious about making the elite entrepreneurial circles he occupies more melanated. Before “diversity” and “inclusion” were buzzwords, he coined (and trademarked) his own phrase, “affirmative development,” to describe how his company and its projects create economic opportunities for women and minorities. That’s particularly impactful because Peebles — a Washington, D.C., native appointed to his first government position by legendary Mayor Marion Barry — is founder, CEO and president of the Peebles Corporation, a Black-owned real estate development firm with an $8 billion portfolio.

Last year, the mogul announced plans to construct Affirmation Tower, the first skyscraper in New York City built by a majority Black-led team. Once completed, it will be the second tallest building in the Western hemisphere, towering 1,663 feet and devouring 1.2 acres of Manhattan’s prime West Side real estate. The proposal for it stalled, a move Peebles says is racially motivated, but he remains undeterred.

Since building Miami’s Royal Palm Resort, the nation’s first major hotel developed and owned by an African-American, Don Peebles has formalized his corporation as a leader in property developments in D.C., Philadelphia and Los Angeles—including Angels Landing, a $2 billion luxury hotel project that will reportedly create more than 8,300 jobs in America’s second-largest city. He wants more people who look like him to join him in that rarified strata of success.

Credit: TheGrio

By Allen Media Group

Honorees Include: Tyler Perry, Norman Lear, Patti LaBelle, Kenan Thompson, Ben Crump, Alena Analeigh McQuarter, Robert F. Smith, Allyson Felix, Don Peebles, Queen Latifah, Dave Chappelle, and Jennifer Hudson 

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Allen Media Group's African American-focused news, lifestyle, sports and entertainment platform theGrio (www.thegrio.com) will celebrate icons, leaders and legends at TheGrio Awards, a star-studded, black-tie event at the Beverly Hilton on Saturday, October 22, 2022 with co-hosts comedian Sheryl Underwoodand Taye Diggs. The television event will be broadcast on Saturday, November 5, 2022 on broadcast television stations nationwide, theGrio Television Network and other Allen Media Group television and digital platforms.

Attending in person, this year's honorees include: Tyler Perry (theGrio ICON Award, @tylerperry), Norman Lear (theGrio Champion Award, @TheNormanLear), Patti LaBelle (theGrio Music Icon Award, @mspattipatti), Kenan Thompson (theGrio Comedy Icon Award, @kenanthompson), Ben Crump (theGrio Justice Icon Award, @AttorneyCrump), Alena Analeigh McQuarter (theGrio Young Icon Award, @thebrownstemgirl), Robert F. Smith (theGrio Philanthropy Award, @RFS_Vista), Allyson Felix (theGrio Sports Icon Award, @allysonfelix), Don Peebles (theGrio Business Icon Award, Queen Latifah (theGrio Television Icon Award, @iamqueenlatifah), Dave Chappelle (theGrio Cultural Icon Award, @davechappelle), and Jennifer Hudson (theGrio Trailblazer Icon Award, @IAMJHUD). The event will also feature special musical performances by Yolanda Adams, Tyrese, Fantasia and Patti LaBelle. Greg Phillinganes will serve as musical director, and DJ Kiss will serve as both D.J. and announcer.

"I created theGrio Awards to celebrate and amplify African-American excellence and the incredible champions from other communities who truly support us," said Byron Allen, Founder/Chairman/CEO of Allen Media Group. "As a child, strong, positive African-American icons such as Berry Gordy, Jr., Rosa Parks, Muhammad Ali, and Martin Luther King, Jr. helped me see myself differently, and changed the trajectory of my life. Celebrating and amplifying iconic individuals is something we can never do enough of, especially for our children."

TheGrio Awards celebrates excellence in film, music, comedy, television, sports, philanthropy, business, fashion, social justice, environmental justice, education and the cultural icons and innovators, whose many contributions positively impact America. TheGrio Awards pays tribute to, and amplifies, the history makers, change agents and artists who define and influence our world. Allen Media Group and Backhand Productions are co-producing theGrio Awards. Executive Producers include: Byron Allen, Carolyn Folks, Jennifer Lucas, Jeff Atlas, and Michelle Willrich.

About Allen Media Group
Chairman and CEO Byron Allen founded Allen Media Group/Entertainment Studios in 1993. Headquartered in Los Angeles, it has offices in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and Charleston, SC. Allen Media Group owns 27 ABC-NBC-CBS-FOX network affiliate broadcast television stations in 21 U.S. markets and twelve 24-hour HD television networks serving nearly 220 million subscribers: THE WEATHER CHANNEL, THE WEATHER CHANNEL EN ESPAÑOL, PETS.TV, COMEDY.TV, RECIPE.TV, CARS.TV, ES.TV, MYDESTINATION.TV, JUSTICE CENTRAL.TV, THEGRIO, THIS TV, and PATTRN. Allen Media Group also owns the streaming platforms HBCU GO, SPORTS.TV, THEGRIO, THE WEATHER CHANNEL STREAMING APP and LOCAL NOW--the free-streaming AVOD service powered by THE WEATHER CHANNEL and content partners, which delivers real-time, hyper-local news, weather, traffic, sports, and lifestyle information. Allen Media Group also produces, distributes, and sells advertising for 68 television programs, making it one of the largest independent producers/distributors of first-run syndicated television programming for broadcast television stations. Allen Media Group International Television continues to extend its corporate branding and content around the globe.  It currently has active license agreements and programming in South Africa, The United Arab Emirates, Australia, The Bahamas, Canada and New Zealand.  With a library of over 5,000 hours of owned content across multiple genres, Allen Media Group provides video content to broadcast television stations, cable television networks, mobile devices, and multimedia digital. Our mission is to provide excellent programming to our viewers, online users, and Fortune 500 advertising partners.

Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures is a full-service, theatrical motion picture distribution company specializing in wide release commercial content. ESMP released 2017's highest-grossing independent movie, the shark thriller 47 METERS DOWN, which grossed over $44.3 million. In 2018, ESMP also released the critically-acclaimed and commercially successful Western HOSTILES, the historic mystery-thriller CHAPPAQUIDDICK and the sequel to 47 METERS DOWN, 47 METERS DOWN: UNCAGED. The digital distribution unit of Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures, Freestyle Digital Media, is a premiere multi-platform distributor with direct partnerships across all major cable, digital and streaming platforms. Capitalizing on a robust infrastructure, proven track record and a veteran sales team, Freestyle Digital Media is a true home for independent films.

In 2016, Allen Media Group purchased The Grio, a highly-rated digital video-centric news community platform devoted to providing African-Americans with compelling stories and perspectives currently underrepresented in existing national news outlets. The Grio features aggregated and original video packages, news articles and opinion pieces on topics that include breaking news, politics, health, business and entertainment. Originally launched in 2009, the platform was then purchased by NBC News in 2010. The digital platform remains focused on curating exciting digital content and currently has more than 100 million annual visitors

About Backhand Productions
Jeff Atlas founded Backhand Productions with a contract to produce 14 hours of live TV content for the Democratic National Convention. From there, Backhand went on to produce a series of diverse, high-quality productions for ABC, NBC, FOX, TNT, Nickelodeon, MTV, and more. Notable projects include Kevin Hart's theatrical blockbuster, Laugh at My Pain, the launch of  YouTube Space LA, and the National Urban League's National Annual Conference and NAACP Image Awards.  His virtual event credits include The Gracie Awards, the 2016 and 2020 Democratic National Conventions, and the go90s live stream of the Outside Lands Music Festival in San Francisco. In addition, he co-created, and executive produced the limited series Blood Ivory for Animal Planet, which focuses on the non-profit group of American veterans (VETPAW) and their first mission to Tanzania to support the elephant anti-poaching effort. More recent projects include the Biden Inaugural in 2021, the NBA All-Star Game, and project launches for Instagram and Facebook. Backhand is represented by Robyn Lattaker-Johnson at A3 Artists Agency and Kerry Smith of Smith Entertainment Legal Group.

Credit: Cision

By Marta

ATLANTA – The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) Board of Directors today approved a resolution authorizing MARTA to enter into negotiations with a development joint venture for the transit-oriented development (TOD) of the Bankhead rail station, the western terminus of the Green Line. The joint venture is led by the Peebles Corporation, one of the largest minority-owned real estate development firms in the country, with a deep track record of public private partnerships, and includes co-developer Exact Capital out of New York and local firms Third & Urban and Bolster Real Estate Partners.

The Bankhead TOD is located on just under five-and-a-half acres of land, along with air-rights above the station itself, which sits at 1335 Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway. The rail station is adjacent to the Microsoft proposed 90-acre campus development and is a half-mile southeast of Westside Park. Other nearby development includes the Atlanta BeltLine Westside Trail and the Proctor Creek Greenway in the historic Grove Park community.

The development plan includes 495 multi-family housing units, with 148 of them designated as affordable at 80 to 120 percent of the area median income by zip code. The concept also includes office and workshare space,

retail and a hotel, along with over an acre of open space. To further support the type of mixed-use density that defines successful TODs, MARTA, with support from Atlanta City Councilmember Dustin Hillis, had the station rezoned to Mixed Residential Commercial District 3 (MRC-3), to align with the zoning applied to the Microsoft property and the zoning presented in the City of Atlanta’s Transit-Oriented Development Plan, which recommends that nine of MARTA’s rail stations undergo a proactive rezoning to support higher density at transit stations.

“Bankhead Station is in a part of Atlanta that is undergoing significant growth and land use changes. Our rezoning efforts with the City and the station’s location within a Federal Opportunity Zone make this TOD an incredible opportunity to provide affordable housing and other community amenities convenient to transit,” said MARTA Interim General Manager and CEO Collie Greenwood.

The Bankhead Station transformation project is part of MARTA 2040, a decades-long several billion-dollar transit improvement and expansion program. The project includes a platform extension from two-car to eight-car capacity (matching the capacity of the other 37 rail stations), and other modifications necessary to accommodate the subsequent increase in rail cars and customers. Last year the Georgia General Assembly approved a $6 million appropriation toward the transformation of Bankhead Station, in support of the economic development taking place in surrounding areas.

Credit: Marta