2 Philly natives aim to grow work, housing opportunities for minorities in real estate industry

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Philly natives Bryheim Murray and Kyle Easley have been in the real estate business for a little over five years.

Earlier in their journey, the entrepreneurs say they would come across hundreds of vacant properties in the city that inspired them to learn and break into the development industry.

"In commercial real estate and real estate development, you don't see a lot of people that look like us involved in participating in some of these projects," said BKP managing partner Bryheim Murray. "So I think that was another challenge that we wanted to take on for kids that came up under us that look like us that wanted to be a real estate developer or wanted to be an attorney. That was our passion and mission."

The soon to be business partners later founded BKP Development Group, a privately held real estate development and acquisition firm based in Philadelphia.

Their goal is to provide innovative, mixed-income housing throughout the Philadelphia region.

"We don't normally have opportunities in this space. I think when you give Black and Brown people an opportunity, we've just proven we can be excellent in all different fields," said BKP managing partner Kyle Easley.

Murray and Easley have since completed seven projects, with their current development in Olde Kensington being one of their biggest ones yet.

The duo expects to break ground in January on a five-story, 20-unit apartment complex with commercial space, a dog park, and a rooftop terrace called 'The Cecil' named after the late Philadelphia civil rights activist Cecil B. Moore.

Their goal is to provide innovative, mixed-income housing throughout the Philadelphia region.

According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, women make up 9.1% of the construction workforce in the United States, while Black people make up 6%.

With a focus to help diversify the development industry, Murray and Easley have exclusively focused on expanding opportunities for Black and Brown contractors, designers, and its staff members that are actively involved and giving back during community outreach efforts.

The group's most recent effort was during a toy and food drive in partnership with Philabundance and People's Emergency Center.

The event helped over 200 Philadelphia families.

"We take it personally to give our people a chance to show their excellence in this industry," said Easley. "That's a big part of what we do."