Giving Back

Mirador’s three partners have long been active in the Charlotte community.  

We each have own individual passions, but they intersect in the areas of conservation and affordable housing. As a firm, we’ve chosen to make these our focus areas when it comes to giving back. 

ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING

We are committed to active engagement on this issue, which is a pressing national concern. But it’s critical in Charlotte.

According to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition’s 2017 report, every major metropolitan area in the US has a shortage of affordable and available rental homes. Growth in low-income households from 2000 to 2015 has outpaced production of housing units affordable to them.

In Charlotte, affordable housing is defined as housing costs – including utilities – of no more than 30 percent of an individual’s or family’s income. Cost-burdened households are those paying more than 30 percent for housing costs, and insecure households spend more than 50 percent of income on housing or are experiencing homelessness. 

The people who need affordable housing are essential workers. They include customer service agents, who make a median hourly wage in NC of $15; healthcare aides ($10 an hour); retail sales associates ($10 an hour); and food prep workers ($8 an hour). 

Increasing Charlotte’s affordable housing supply is of vital importance to the community where we live and work. Building, broadening, and sustaining affordable housing requires a commitment from all involved. Geoffrey serves on the board of Community Link, a non-profit whose mission is to enable individuals and families to obtain and sustain safe, decent and affordable housing. We at Mirador are educating ourselves about a number of endeavors proposed and underway, meeting the leadership involved and collaborating to maximize our collective value-add. 

ON CONSERVATION

Tom and Dave met through their service on the Charlotte region’s lead land conservation organization. The two worked on land conservation projects throughout the Charlotte region, securing fee interest or conservation easements on thousands of acres and attracting millions of dollars in both private and public capital for conservation.  

The conserved lands secured through their efforts permanently benefit local communities through improved water quality, enhanced wildlife habitat, and by providing open space and publicly accessible trails as part of the Carolina Thread Trail network.  

Tom continues to serve on the Catawba Lands Conservancy board, where he led the land acquisition committee for years. Dave chairs the Davidson Land Conservancy’s land acquisition committee and has volunteered to complete several significant land conservation projects in recent years. He also chairs the Redlair Foundation which oversees an endowment fund benefiting a 1,400-acre preserve in Gaston County.  

Dave helped establish and continues in a leadership role with TreesDavidson, an urban forestry initiative, and serves on the Town of Davidson’s Livability Board, which is focused on green space preservation, greenways and parks, and urban forestry.

Permanent conservation is a gift in perpetuity to future generations.