TYRONE GOODSON

Please tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Tyrone Goodson. I am currently a peer advocate and a substance abuse counselor. I’ve been back in Buffalo for about nine years. I grew up here in the fruit belt but lived down in Northern Virginia for the last 35-plus years and worked in the computer engineering field doing government contracting work. My friend told me about the class, and I said I was interested because I own a lot of property in Buffalo and have done some development in some sort of capacity or another. And I thought, what a great opportunity to network with people who are trying to do some great things here in the city of Buffalo.

Please tell us about your project.

I currently own a four-unit apartment building and want to add a commercial space downstairs. My project is going to serve as a sort of transition for kids who age out of the adoption system – providing them with a stable home and so they have an address. It’s difficult to apply for and land a job without an address. I want to use the commercial space as sort of a resource center where they can get some mental health and other services like helping them fill out job applications. I really want to set them up for success and lead them to some prosperity. Behind my building is some additional property where I could expand the program. I would want to create an additional maybe 60 units and more small businesses to incorporate and serve a variety of people.

How will the things that you learned in the class help you to accomplish your goals?

This class gave me an opportunity to partner up with a young man named Davon McCoy. We formed a relationship. I actually gave him some property in the medical corridor. He’s a young man, very passionate, and I thought, let’s partner up with some additional property. It gave me an opportunity to help this young man form his own property management company. I’m going to give him a couple of units so he can get some experience under his belt. We continue to work together. Another person I partnered with is a young lady who owns a daycare center, and I am helping her try to come up with a concept to take advantage of some of her usable rental space. So, it’s giving me an opportunity to work with people, build a team, and share some of my experiences with others so they can have some of the opportunities I have had.

The program itself allows people to understand the development process better. I’ve been around this real estate business for 40 years, but I was able to get a different perspective and work with a variety of other people with different views and different hopes and aspirations. It’s not an overnight process. It’s a journey. You’ve just got to find the right people who want to be on the journey and work as a team too, and the journey gets a little bit easier.

Would you recommend this program to others?

Absolutely. I definitely recommend this program to anyone hoping to develop commercial property on the East Side. The complete curriculum, expert instruction, networking opportunity, and the focus on the East Side make it an invaluable resource. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to gain the knowledge, skill, and the connections necessary for the success of developing commercial property on the East side. This is a wonderful opportunity that can help the community really grow.

What is your vision for the East Side?

That it is a community with a very diverse population and that it is an area where people feel inclusive. They feel needed, they feel desired, they feel wanted, and they feel protected. That they have a voice in how the community runs and how it moves and how development opportunities and access is granted to everybody regardless. That’s what I see for the East Side of Buffalo. It’ll build into a community that involves young people, middle-aged people, and old people so that the young people don’t forget how important it is to learn and gain wisdom from those that have come before us.

Do you see that happening now?

Yes, I do. It is transforming and it’s making people feel desired, inclusive, unafraid. You have a voice. The only people who don’t feel that that has happened are people who don’t want to be involved in the process. You get involved in the process, then you can feel the change. It changes because you’re a part of it.