It all started with a Facebook post.

And now six people from different backgrounds are working together to create affordable housing opportunities in Milwaukee.

Alice Pugh, a career educator, shared on social media her interest in an informational meeting on the Homes MKE initiative, which renovates vacant, foreclosed City of Milwaukee properties and then sells them to residents at affordable prices.

Adrienne Hunter reached out to Pugh about their husbands’ shared interest in the initiative. And then the two decided to work together to send a proposal to the Department of City Development to be one of the developers to participate in this project.

Then other folks in their network reached out.

Together, they’ve created EmprUve, a real estate development group that includes: Hunter, the CEO of a nonprofit that serves youths; her husband, Gregory Hunter, who has a background in law enforcement; mother and daughter Alice and Jamila Pugh, a retired Milwaukee Public Schools teacher and a relationship manager with an investment group; Anita Clinton, a real estate broker; and Jennifer Webster, who provides social services to youths and families.

“It just came together organically through shared interest,” Alice Pugh said. “We all had an interest, and we were all OK with all of us working together.”

"A desire to be part of the solution"

EmprUve focuses its efforts on homeownership and community revitalization.

The group is one of 16 developers chosen to work on the Homes MKE initiative across 23 neighborhoods throughout Milwaukee.

Its leaders are working to rehab five homes.

Though no one in the group has ever worked in development, the leaders said they are excited about the future.

“Everything we’ve done so far and will continue to do is out of a desire to be a part of the solution,” Hunter said.

Creating opportunities

In a news conference in May, Lafayette Crump, the commissioner of city development, said implementing Homes MKE aligns with the department’s mission to improve the quality of life in Milwaukee by providing equitable opportunities for residents.

“Creating affordable housing is just the first step,” said Hunter. “This is about pride in communities and creating connections with and between the people and businesses that reside in them.”