“Property development is a long play rather than a quick fix. When done by local owners who are supported thoughtfully, the built environment has the potential to have a long-term, transformational impact on the community it exists to serve.”
Cherie Ong is a real estate developer and business consultant working to create innovative, sustainable and equitable communities in Atlanta.
Ong is the co-founder of Good Places, a firm that develops properties with mission and community impact at its forefront. She works directly with property owners, residents, artists, historically significant neighborhood churches, and nonprofits advocating for innovation in affordable housing and commercial spaces.
Ong has helped drive catalytic efforts in recent years, including developing the city’s first micro-housing apartments, converting a historic department store into an incubator for creative and socially conscious businesses, and launching a main street initiative promoting local businesses and economic investment. Currently, she is partnering with affordable housing advocates, planners, academic institutions, city administrators, developers, faith based and neighborhood organizations to create more effective pathways to innovation and scale in affordability including capitalizing on the city’s new changes in zoning which allow “granny flats”.
Ong was born in Malaysia and immigrated to Australia at the age of 15. She has been a U.S. resident living in Atlanta for the past eight years. Cherie is board member of the Urban Land Institute, holds degrees in finance and economics, and has a master’s degree in religious education.
Organization:
Good Places, Atlanta
Area of Focus:
Comprehensive community development
Fellowship Project:
Empower mission-driven property owners with the right tools to create sustainable, community-aligned spaces and develop equitable places to live, work and play.