A $30 million federal anchor and a $100M capital stack: Puerto Rico's place-based anti-poverty bet opens its hub in 2027
Platform for Social Impact, one of six EDA Recompete awardees nationally, is building a 136,000-square-foot hub in Villa Prades - a San Juan neighborhood with 47% poverty - and says over $100M is already committed.
Platform for Social Impact, a San Juan nonprofit founded in 2022 and led by longtime Boys & Girls Clubs of Puerto Rico leader Eduardo Carrera, has assembled more than $100 million across blended capital vehicles to fund place-based economic mobility in Puerto Rico. The federal anchor is a Recompete grant of approximately $30 million from the Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration, announced in August 2024 for the Villa Prades public housing community in San Juan.
The award came through the Distressed Area Recompete Pilot Program, authorized by the CHIPS and Science Act with $1 billion authorized and $200 million appropriated to date. The Oasis Expansion Recompete Plan was named one of 22 finalists in December 2023 and stands as one of six implementation awardees selected nationally. EDA's award page states the plan leverages more than $130 million in complementary investment from the Government of Puerto Rico and the City of San Juan.
The geography is one of the island's most distressed. Villa Prades has a 47 percent poverty rate - more than four times the national average - and many residents depend on informal employment. The service area reaches 76,000 residents.
The physical anchor is the Oasis Hub, a 136,000-square-foot facility co-owned by PSI and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Puerto Rico. Construction is more than 50 percent complete, with opening projected for early 2027. The hub anchors Oasis 360, a coordinated system operating within a 2.5-mile radius along the San Juan-Carolina corridor, integrating education, workforce development, healthcare, entrepreneurship, and policy.
Four organizations deliver programs under the PSI umbrella: Vimenti, which runs Puerto Rico's first K-12 public charter school; Project Makers, an entrepreneurship incubator; the Instituto del Desarrollo de la Juventud, which leads benefits-cliff policy work; and healthcare provider Vidalus. PSI itself does not deliver services directly - it structures the capital and governance behind them.
PSI's ambition is set against a scale problem the platform itself cites: more than 1.6 million people live in or near poverty in Puerto Rico, according to the organization's own materials, which draw on census data.Platform for Social Impact, una organización sin fines de lucro de San Juan fundada en 2022 y dirigida por Eduardo Carrera, veterano líder de los Boys & Girls Clubs of Puerto Rico, ha reunido más de $100 millones a través de vehículos de capital combinado para financiar la movilidad económica basada en el lugar en Puerto Rico. El ancla federal es una subvención Recompete de aproximadamente $30 millones de la Economic Development Administration del Departamento de Comercio, anunciada en agosto de 2024 para la comunidad de vivienda pública Villa Prades en San Juan.
La adjudicación llegó a través del Distressed Area Recompete Pilot Program, autorizado por el CHIPS and Science Act con $1 billion autorizados y $200 millones asignados hasta la fecha. El Oasis Expansion Recompete Plan fue nombrado uno de 22 finalistas en diciembre de 2023 y figura como uno de seis galardonados de implementación seleccionados a nivel nacional. La página de adjudicación de la EDA indica que el plan apalanca más de $130 millones en inversión complementaria del Gobierno de Puerto Rico y el Municipio de San Juan.
La geografía es una de las más deprimidas de la isla. Villa Prades tiene una tasa de pobreza de 47 por ciento, más de cuatro veces el promedio nacional, y muchos residentes dependen del empleo informal. El área de servicio alcanza a 76,000 residentes.
El ancla física es el Oasis Hub, una instalación de 136,000 pies cuadrados copropiedad de PSI y los Boys & Girls Clubs of Puerto Rico. La construcción tiene más de 50 por ciento de avance, con apertura proyectada para principios de 2027. El centro ancla a Oasis 360, un sistema coordinado que opera dentro de un radio de 2.5 millas a lo largo del corredor San Juan-Carolina, que integra educación, desarrollo de la fuerza laboral, salud, empresarismo y política pública.
Cuatro organizaciones ofrecen programas bajo la sombrilla de PSI: Vimenti, que opera la primera escuela pública chárter K-12 de Puerto Rico; Project Makers, una incubadora de empresarismo; el Instituto del Desarrollo de la Juventud, que lidera el trabajo de política pública sobre el precipicio de beneficios; y el proveedor de salud Vidalus. PSI en sí no ofrece servicios directamente, sino que estructura el capital y la gobernanza detrás de ellos.
La ambición de PSI se enmarca frente a un problema de escala que la propia plataforma cita: más de 1.6 millones de personas viven en o cerca de la pobreza en Puerto Rico, según los propios materiales de la organización, que se basan en datos del censo.
Proof24 sources · 2 publishers · signed
Background reading
Platform for Social Impact was founded in 2022. · impactpr.coColombia
Platform for Social Impact is led by Eduardo Carrera. · impactpr.coColombia
Eduardo Carrera worked over two decades at Boys & Girls Clubs of Puerto Rico. · impactpr.coColombia
Platform for Social Impact has mobilized over $100M capital. · impactpr.coColombia
The $30 million award is granted to Platform for Social Impact in San Juan Puerto Rico. · document
Oasis Expansion Recompete Plan was named a Recompete Finalist in December 2023. · document
Oasis Expansion Recompete Plan is one of six selected Recompete implementation awardees. · document
The Recompete program was authorized by the CHIPS and Science Act. · document
Recompete was authorized $1 billion; EDA has received $200 million appropriated to date. · document
Over $130 million complementary investment comes from Puerto Rico and San Juan governments. · document
Villa Prades has a 47 percent poverty rate. · document
Many Villa Prades workers depend on informal employment. · document
Villa Prades public housing community has 76,000 residents. · document
Oasis Hub is 136000 square feet in size. · impactpr.coColombia
Oasis Hub is co-owned by PSI and Boys & Girls Clubs of Puerto Rico. · impactpr.coColombia
Oasis Hub construction is over 50% complete. · impactpr.coColombia
Oasis Hub is projected to open in early 2027. · impactpr.coColombia
Oasis 360 operates within a 2.5-mile San Juan-Carolina corridor. · impactpr.coColombia
Four entities operate under PSI: Vimenti, Project Makers, IDJ, Vidalus. · impactpr.coColombia
Vimenti runs Puerto Rico's first K-12 public charter school. · impactpr.coColombia
PSI does not deliver services directly to communities. · impactpr.coColombia
Over 1.6 million people live in or near poverty in Puerto Rico. · impactpr.coColombia
Platform for Social Impact is lead applicant for the Oasis Expansion Recompete Plan. · document
The Oasis Expansion Recompete Plan serves Villa Prades community in San Juan, Puerto Rico. · document
The one we could place publishes from Colombia. 1 could not be placed by their address. None is an official body: that part stands on reporting, not on the underlying document or transcript.