DURHAM, NC — Self-Help is proud to announce that Beacon Point, its flagship community development in Southeast Raleigh, has been awarded the Triangle Business Journal’s 2026 SPACE Award for Top Sustainable Project. The annual SPACE Awards recognize standout development across the region, with the sustainable project category honoring developments that demonstrate excellence in environmental stewardship, innovative design, and meaningful community impact. 

Beacon Point is the final phase of the Beacon Site, a pioneering Purpose Built Community created to bring education, wellness, housing, and commercial services together in one cohesive, community-centered location. Based on a nationally recognized model for holistic neighborhood revitalization, the Beacon Site is the first project of its kind in North Carolina to co-locate affordable housing, an elementary school, and a YMCA within a larger, coordinated development plan.

Located in a historically Black neighborhood that has long faced disinvestment and limited opportunities for generational wealth-building, the Beacon Site serves as a transformational anchor for Southeast Raleigh’s continued growth and well-being. 

Developed by Self-Help Ventures Fund, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) loan fund, the 43,000‑square‑foot, $23 million Beacon Point includes: 

• A rotating UNC Health specialty clinic
• An Advance Community Health complex care clinic
• Cafe Orleans serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner
• The Fresh Collective retail space
• A Self-Help Credit Union branch
• Offices for Southeast Raleigh Promise, Legal Aid of North Carolina, Advance Community Health and the Family Resource Center

   

  In addition to co-locating these community-serving tenants, Beacon Point was designed and constructed to rigorous sustainability standards." The project includes native and drought-tolerant landscaping, low-flow plumbing fixtures, LED light fixtures and an efficient HVAC design. The rooftop 128 kW solar photovoltaic system is expected to cover 24% of the project’s energy needs. Six parking spaces are served by three dual-port electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, with conduit run for future charging capability at 25 spaces (20% of all the parking).
  

  Beacon Point is served by two GoRaleigh bus routes, 5 and 17, with safe pedestrian walkways connecting to the greater Beacon Site. The Beacon Site also has an access point to the Walnut Creek Greenway, and is a 12-minute bike ride to downtown. A covered bike shelter is provided at Beacon Point, along with uncovered bike racks in three other locations adjacent to the building entrances.
  

  “Beacon Point reflects what is possible when partners come together with a shared commitment to community-driven development,” said Dan Levine, Self-Help’s Director of Real Estate. “This project was designed not just as a set of buildings, but as a long-term investment in the people of Southeast Raleigh. We’re honored to see that commitment recognized and even more honored to see the positive momentum it continues to create for the neighborhood.” 

  The Triangle Business Journal’s SPACE Awards are determined through an independent editorial review. Sustainable project honorees are evaluated on: 

• Environmental Impact: Energy efficiency, responsible material use, and waste‑reduction practices
• Innovation: New approaches to solving environmental and community challenges
• Community Benefit: Social responsibility, workforce impact, and positive local outcomes
• Performance and Results: Demonstrated improvements in environmental or operational performance

   

  These awards highlight projects that reflect a strong triple‑bottom‑line commitment to people, planet, and prosperity—a standard that Beacon Point was purposefully designed to meet.
  

  Beacon Point now stands as a statewide model for collaborative, sustainable, community-driven development.
  

  About the Project: 

  The project is part of the Purpose Built Communities initiative spurred by Southeast Raleigh Promise and the YMCA of the Triangle along Rock Quarry Road in Southeast Raleigh, a historically Black neighborhood that has long experienced generational low wealth and disinvestment. The effort is home to the Southeast Raleigh YMCA, which includes an outdoor pool; Southeast Raleigh Elementary School, a Wake County public school serving over 350 students; Beacon Ridge, 120 affordable apartment homes developed by DHIC, a local nonprofit, where over 275 individuals, families and children live.

  Self-Help Ventures Fund was selected to develop the capstone  Beacon Point site with a mix of commercial uses that complement the neighborhood’s broader plan. Our vision for Beacon Point is to make it a hub of health and wellness, financial services, and nonprofit and small-business services that is closely connected to the rest of the Beacon Site and to Raleigh. This vision is the result of a community planning process and aligns closely with Self-Help’s broader mission to create and protect wealth and economic opportunity for all, especially women and people of color.   

  About the Self-Help Ventures Fund

  The Self‑Help Ventures Fund is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) loan fund supported by capital from foundations, religious organizations, corporations, and government partners. It oversees Self‑Help’s higher‑risk business lending, real estate development, and home loan secondary market programs. 

  The Ventures Fund is part of the Center for Community Self‑Help, a national family of nonprofit organizations dedicated to creating and protecting ownership and economic opportunity for all. For more than 40 years, Self‑Help and its affiliates have delivered over $10.5 billion in financing to help more than 150,000 people buy homes, start and expand small businesses, and strengthen community assets.

  Learn more at www.self-help.org. 
  

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