University of Delaware Office of Public Relations The Messenger Vol. 5, No. 4/1996 Construction company helps fill need for low-income housing You could say it all started back in ninth grade. That's when Eric Broadway, Delaware '85, won an architecture award from the Princeton Day School. Today, Broadway is the president of his own development company, Birchway Corp., which he and four others started in the late '80s. Back then, the Trenton, N.J., company specialized in small repairs and large amounts of "sweat equity." While weekdays were consumed by their regular jobs, the partners would spend evenings and weekends doing manual labor. They were motivated not only by the desire to make their company succeed, but also by the desire to make a difference. The Birchway Corp. specializes in low- and middle-income housing, a market frequently neglected by developers. The lack of interest among developers, Broadway says, results from "a low profit margin and a high level of risk." But, Broadway and his partners are not driven solely by profits. "I grew up in a rural area, not in the inner city, but I want to make a difference here, to help ensure that African- Americans in Trenton have quality housing, schools and other resources," says Broadway, who was raised in Princeton. In just a short time, Broadway's company progressed from making repairs to renovating dilapidated homes and constructing new homes. In 1992, the company completed construction of four single-family units in a predominantly African-American neighborhood in Trenton. The company also has assisted in other projects. In addition, the partners have renovated 12 dilapidated units over the years-duplexes and triplexes as well as single- family homes-that are rented out with the option to buy. Birchway currently is pursuing public housing construction contracts while continuing to do renovations of dilapidated sites. At one time, Broadway intended to make Birchway his career, but his plans have taken a slight detour since then. In 1992, he began studying at the Vermont Law School because he hoped an understanding of the law would be an asset in his role as president of Birchway. "I wanted to understand the risks we were taking and to understand better who was sitting across the table from me," he says. Although Broadway never intended to be a practicing lawyer, he discovered a talent and interest in law that he wanted to pursue. Today, Broadway is an associate in the Trenton firm of Hannoch Weisman, where he specializes in environmental law. His responsibilities there include counseling and litigation for the firm's Fortune 500 clients. Broadway is a rarity among lawyers. With an undergraduate degree in chemistry and more than three years' experience working at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, he brings to his work a scientific expertise few lawyers can. "My background has allowed me to practice law at a level that would not be possible without my knowledge of science," he says. The demands of a law career have forced Broadway to reduce the time he spends on the development company. He now calls his work with Birchway his "hobby," but it's clear he is both devoted to and passionate about the undertaking. "The overriding theme of my life now is to give back to the community, both through my law career and through Birchway," he says. Now that the Birchway Corp. subcontracts most of its work, Broadway is more likely to be negotiating with financiers than fitting pipes. He also is the company's visionary. Broadway says he hopes some day to expand Birchway's construction efforts beyond Trenton to such other New Jersey cities as Newark, Camden and Elizabeth, all of which share a need for quality, affordable housing. Expansion to cities in other states might be a possibility, too, he says. -Theresa Gawlas Medoff, Delaware '94M