Innovative Solutions Benefiting Local Communities
The Paro Group has completed numerous economic and community development initiatives. Our process identifies the most pressing needs of a community, finds funding that benefits each partcipating entity, and constructs or improves tangible assets that foster human flourishing. In this approach, existing entities (businesses, nonprofits, and municipal organizations) thrive, gaps are filled, and people have opportunities for career advancement.
While the desired focus of our involvement is workforce housing and workforce development, we coordinate with local leaders to determine the most pressing gap in their community. In some cases, the local tourism industry is suffering; so, we construct a boutique hotel or a restaurant. Some communities need additional retail space; so we facilitate shopping centers. Or, a community may need additional housing units or childcare slots to ease price points that are unaffordable; so we design and build those facilities. Perhaps a group of businesses want to increase employee satisfaction and retention; so we work with their HR teams to provide funding for career advancement. The following list illustrates a selection of our commercial, residential, and workforce development projects. For many of the initiatives, our team served as lead developer to design, capitalize, and oversee project deliverables. For other initiatives, Paro utilized our subsidiary company to perform General Contractor services or as a subcontractor under the oversight of a partner development company. This list shows a few recently completed projects that illustrate our capacity and the work we've performed in 47 US States. Beyond the selection below, we have completed initiatives for municipalities, military site developments, and additional private investors.
Paro Pathways: Workforce Housing
Typically, Paro partners with housing developers to secure site control for the outcome of workforce housing developments. Once a development is operational, Paro Communities will provide wraparound services in support of community members, utilizing grant funding secured and administered by Paro Strategies. In some cases, Paro has served as a property developer on behalf of equity partners, Paro operates as the owner's representative to serve the interests of the investment group. Depending on the deal structure, Paro Communities may stay involved to provide support services to community members. This multifamily community is an example of a community our team helped develop and gives insight to a typical aesthetic base, which can be customized based on the specific location and desired finish to accommodate local expectations. If Paro needs to perform the function of vertical construction and ongoing asset management, we partner with several developers and construction companies to execute on projects, depending on the local project needs. Currently, Paro Communities holds a longterm position in several mixed use developments in which we deliver workforce development support services for residents.
Paro Pathways: Workforce Development
The Paro team works alongside of local employers and leaders to cultivate a community's greatest opportunity: workfoce development. Everyone wins when people have a clear pathway to career advancement that connects their interests and open opportunities for employment. Paro's identifies the employment opportunities of local businesses and coordinates efforts to connect people seeking work with those openings. One example is our efforts that began in 2024 in conjunction with the city of Franklin, PA and several businesses in the community to expand manufacturing production that should generate 250+ new jobs over the next five years. These positions are considered advanced manufacturing jobs that demand higher wages for existing employees seeking career advancement, as well as entry level positions for those beginning their career.
Creating Affordable Energy
Since 2023, Paro has assisted seven local communities to create more affordable energy through renewable energy systems that benefit businesses and home owners. We have partnered with Green Wave Solar (link), which is the top-ranked energy firm within the TVA footprint, to deliver cost-effective solutions to reduce energy costs. These initiatives include large scale Renewable Energy Systems through substation development, rooftop and ground-mount solar arrays, and increased R-Value solutions for building envelopes.
Savannah GA Megasite
Infrastructure Development: Paro served on the core team of the megasite in Bryan Co GA to perform strategic design and funding acquisition through local and State investments as well as private partnerships. Beginning in 2021, Paro began working with Bryan County GA to secure grant funding during the design phase of the Bryan County Megasite. Coordinating with County Commissioners and administrators, Thomas & Hutton, the Regional Commission, and several surrounding Counties, Paro was able to design a grant package to help fund the project. Read more about this initiative here. Regional coordination among multiple County governments resulted in Paro securing more than $80MM in grant funding to support the overall financial requirements of this initiative. For several years following this infrastructure phase, Paro continued to work with local municipalities in the region to address the impact of the megasite on expected population increases with associated concerns regarding infrastructure needs, housing capacity, water and sewer provisions, and school system structuring. This project illustrates Paro’s ability to coordinate the interests of multiple government entities and work with engineering companies to secure available grant funding for various stages of a project implementation.
USDA REDI Community Development
From 2019 to 2020, Paro led a USDA project to address workforce housing, workforce development, and opioid abatement in Bartow County GA. The process consisted of 200+ community leaders, including municipal leaders, university researchers, nonprofits, and business owners. The outcome resulted in defining key metrics and strategic pathways to utilize funding and develop needed assets to facilitate the community's desired goals. Paro has continued our involvement as of the fall of 2025.
Manufacturing and Retail
Our team works with developers and construction companies to deliver design and build projects for commercial purposes that range from manufacturing facilities to convenience stores. For example, we are assisting in the construction of a $5MM manufacturing site in the middle TN area. This picture is from a manufacturing / fulfillment facility in the Midwest where we have been engaged since 2024 to secure funding for business expansion an the addition of 50+ FTEs.
Redevelopment Projects
Beginning in 2023, Paro received a contract from the USDA Rural Development to facilitate business development initiatives throughout the state of Tennessee. In many cases, these efforts lead to ground-up construction or renovation projects of existing assets. When requested to reimagine and redevelop existing facilities to align with a future vision, the Paro team has a track record to delivering projects that honor the property history while meeting the site’s needs for future use.
Tourism and Travel
The Paro team has increased our engagement in the travel and tourism industry over the past 5 years for multiple hotel brands to upgrade facilities at 100+ locations and implement a $150MM initiative for improved safety and security at 2,200 locations in the Southeast.
Private Nonprofit Initiatives
Nonprofit entities frequently request assistance from our team to help with funding once a site is in the design stage as capital raises and debt financing efforts sometimes leave the client with a financial gap to move the project forward. Working with a nonprofit leadership team and Board, we facilitate this process to deliver an asset that will create a financially viable product for the organization.
